The Danger Imperative: Violence, Death, and the Soul of Policing |Michael Sierra-Arévalo

Join us for the final seminar of the 2025-2026 CrimSL Speaker Series on Wednesday, March18, 2026!

Dr. Michael Sierra-Arévalo, Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin, will present "The Danger Imperative: Violence, Death, and the Soul of Policing." 

This is a free event, however, registration is required.

Prior to the seminar, join us for a light lunch from noon to 12:30 pm in the Centre Lounge. Please indicate your lunch RSVP for catering purposes when you register.

Abstract

Drawing on more than 100 interviews and 1,000 hours on patrol across three U.S. police departments, The Danger Imperative shows how police culture shapes officers’ perception and practice of violence. From the front seat of a patrol car, it shows how the institution of policing reinforces a cultural preoccupation with violence through academy training, departmental routines, powerful symbols, and officers’ street-level behavior.

This violence-centric culture makes no explicit mention of race, relying on the colorblind language of “threat” and “officer safety.” Nonetheless, existing patterns of systemic disadvantage funnel police hyperfocused on survival into poor minority neighborhoods. Without requiring individual bigotry, this combination of social structure, culture, and behavior perpetuates enduring inequalities in police violence.

Rather than an aberrant outcome born of individual immorality or incompetence, The Danger Imperative shows that violence is the logical consequence of an institutional culture that privileges officer survival over public safety.

About Professor Michael Sierra-Arévalo

Michael Sierra-Arévalo is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. He also serves on the Public Safety Commission (District 1) for the City of Austin. 

His research uses quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the intersection of culture, violence, and the law, including topics such as policing, firearms, and violence prevention.  

His work is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Law & Society Review, Criminology, and other venues, and his public writing appears in Texas Monthly Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and Times Higher Education. 

Accessibility

Please note that our Centre Lounge and CG 265 seminar room are on the second floor of the Canadiana Gallery building, with stair access only as there is no elevator. If you have any access needs or if there are any ways we can support your participation in this session, please email crimsl.communications@utoronto.ca and we will be glad to work with you to make the appropriate arrangements.

Notice of photography and videography

Photography, audio and video recording may occur throughout this event. Therefore, by attending, you hereby authorize the University of Toronto to take your photograph, video and/or record your voice and grant the university all rights to these sounds, still or moving images in any medium for educational, promotional, marketing, advertising or other such purposes that support the mission of the university. If you do not consent to this, please speak with a university representative upon your arrival.