Matt Tidmarsh, Professionalism in Probation: Making Sense of Marketisation

were efforts to change the narrative regarding the problematic outcomes of mano dura and the reasons for increased violence in the archipelago. The police were not bringing solutions, thus residents replicated Chicago’s Cure Violence Model by creating their own program of violence interrupters named Acuerdo de Paz built on a feminist framework that paid its workers a living wage. The workers reached out to young people encountering obstacles in a complex social context. They utilized developing a different form of consciousness to disrupt gendered expectations regarding how to respond to personal affronts. Resistance also came from the involvement of university students working to ensure better access and resources at public universities. In addition, social media was utilized to change the perception of victimization and how traditional thinking about who was worthy and unworthy maintained many classist, racist, and sexist viewpoints. In summary, LeBrón’s interdisciplinary training provides a refreshing analysis to the contemporary challenges in Puerto Rico as a colonial possession of the United States. The book shines in outlining how political leaders in the territory ignored, neglected, and targeted certain segments of the population. The use of the Puerto Rican Police Department and National Guard resulted in enhanced inequality. As an act of survival from violent victimization and incarceration, residents created several forms of self-help strategies that lacked ongoing institutional support. Resolving these challenges may be more difficult after Hurricane María in 2017. I look forward to learning more from Dr. Marisol LeBrón, regarding these evolving changes, as residents pursue solidarity and mutual support in the face of inequality maintained by punitive governance.