ABSTRACT
This is a book about violence and safety. Our primary focus is the nature and practices of safety and security, not violence, a departure from most contemporary writing on violence. The focus on safety can be explained simply. Safety and security are at the heart of reactions and responses to violence, yet violence is predominantly represented as being in opposition to safety. But this is a very partial and limited representation of the relationship of violence and safety. The loss of safety and insecurity — the threat of, the drama, the anxiety, the possibility — shapes the whole public imaginary of violence. 1 Violence, we suggest, is also for safety and security.
