On the Run

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A riveting account of the impact of the War on Crime on inner-city communities, this work explores how decades of tough-on-crime policies have led to a historic prison boom, disproportionately affecting Black neighborhoods. The climate of fear and suspicion created by arrest quotas and high-tech surveillance criminalizes entire blocks, impacting not just young men entangled in the legal system, but also their families and neighbors. Over six years, Alice Goffman immersed herself in a Philadelphia neighborhood, documenting the daily struggles of young men facing routine stops, searches, and raids. She became roommates with Mike and Chuck, two friends balancing low-wage jobs and the drug trade, caught in a relentless cycle of court cases and probation. The narrative reveals the experiences of their girlfriends and mothers enduring police raids, as well as the challenges faced by "clean" residents trying to maintain their lives amid the chaos. This hidden world serves as a stark counterpoint to mass incarceration, showcasing the grim reality of a justice system gone awry. While acknowledging the drug trade's harm, the work highlights the failures of the War on Crime and offers a compassionate look at the families affected. It is an exemplary piece of scholarship that sheds light on a critical social issue.