David Chávez is a Ph.D. student with a B.A. in History and Latin American Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles (2008). He is interested in tracing the genealogies of policing in greater Los Angeles in order to discover connections between state violence and criminalization from the Spanish colonial period to the current formations of policing in LA, be they the LAPD, the Sheriffs Department, vigilance committees, neighborhood watch programs, iWATCH, or other forms of surveillance and policing. He wants to examine the changing definitions and targeting of the “criminal other” based on race, citizenship, age, gender, class, ability, and as determined by the impact of larger sociopolitical narratives throughout the 20th century. His hope is to expand the historical understandings and current discourse on urban policing in greater Los Angeles. His research interests include: LA History, Urban History, Policing, Settler-Colonialism, Carceral Studies, Youth Activism, Ethnic Studies, and Political History.