"Don't call the police on me, I won't call them on you": Self-policing as ethical development in North Manchester

This chapter explores self-policing of urban violence in Harpurhey, Manchester. Smith argues that ethical decision-making is practiced regularly in the process of policing the actions and behaviours of others. She addresses the questions of, what does self-policing in the city actually look like? How does one determine what one ‘ought’ to do in the face of illegal or unethical actions in this part of the city? She concludes by arguing that the act of judgment of the behaviours and actions of others, and the assessment of where, when and whether or not to draw upon the services of the state to fulfill the role of policing, suggest that self-policing is not simply an outcome of neoliberal ideologies of self-management, but is an ethical engagement with the quotidian aspects of everyday life on this Manchester social housing estate.