Korey Tillman, an assistant professor at Northeastern University, is challenging traditional notions of policing and its implications for Black individuals in society. His research explores how policing shapes the movement and experiences of Black people, impacting their interactions both within their communities and with the broader United States. Tillman’s work emphasizes that the everyday realities of policing are just as critical to understanding systemic issues as high-profile incidents that grab headlines.
From his view, policing is about more than just the criminal legal system. It shapes every aspect of people’s lives. Tillman’s mission is to change the narrative around policing. He argues for a more expansive definition that captures all of the state actors who drive the choices directly affecting people’s lives. His research provides a comprehensive view of the subtle yet profound ways Black individuals navigate their environments under constant surveillance and regulation.
The Impact of Policing on Black Movement
Through Korey Tillman’s lens, we see that policing shapes the time and space of Black Americans’ everyday lives. He suggests that this influence is what shapes their mobility, physical and otherwise. It also determines how they connect with others and how included they feel in our society. Tillman’s research is thorough, featuring on-the-ground interviews with Black people from coast to coast. Along the way, he illustrates just how insidiously policing shapes all of our daily lives.
Tillman points out that the concept of motion—or the lack thereof—is central to understanding how policing intersects with Black experiences. He notes that the restrictions placed on movement contribute to a broader narrative about who is granted humanity and who is not. This dynamic can be traced back to horrific historical events, such as the Middle Passage. These incidents have largely shaped what society understands about the value of both Blackness and humanity.
For Tillman, the real research focus must be on these mundane policing activities. Routine stops, surveillance and community monitoring are every bit as important, if not more so, than the flashier incidents of police violence or police misconduct. Together, these constant interactions form a repressive web of hyper-surveillance. This hostile environment limits Black people’s ability to engage in every aspect of society.
Expanding the Definition of Policing
Korey Tillman, police policy reformer, is on a mission to protect communities and redefine policing. He reflects on past models of policing, especially the civil police system established in London in 1829. He contends that this model sought to ensure public order through a plainly established hierarchy. Moving forward, we need to expand our conception of policing and criminalization to include the many forms that state power takes in our society.
Tillman argues that policing is not just carried out by law enforcement agencies. Rather, it includes everyone, every organization and agency that enforces rules of conduct and establishes cultural expectations. This expanded definition includes a wide array of folks from youth educators to social workers to community leaders. They each perform crucial functions in establishing norms of appropriate behavior. By representing policing in such a disconnected manner, Tillman aims to highlight just how often and how normal these mechanisms are embedded in daily life.
He advances the idea of “punitive inertia,” informed by lessons from the physical sciences and the Black heterodox economists he’s spoken to. This term captures the phenomenon wherein social institutions reproduce domination without the need for punitive policing. For example, communities might uphold these norms in part out of fear from the outside world or because they’ve internalized ideas about power and privilege.
An Interdisciplinary Approach to Societal Issues
Korey Tillman makes the case for an interdisciplinary approach to addressing the profound societal issues connected to policing. He argues that truly unpacking the complexities behind the policing of Black people requires perspectives from a range of disciplines. These disciplines are criminology, sociology, historiography, and cultural studies.
His published research in reputable journals such as Social Problems includes a paper titled “Punitive Inertia: Anti-Blackness and the Policing of Motion,” which lays the groundwork for this interdisciplinary dialogue. This method greatly deepens university conversations and helps drive policy, academic institution, and community practices that push to reform the strategies of policing.
Tillman largely understands that going beyond these conceptualizations is key to deconstructing systemic racism in policing procedures. By combining the viewpoints of multiple disciplines, researchers and practitioners can develop more holistic solutions. This strategy allows them to confront the underlying forces that create inequality and oppression.
