Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

Hey I figured everyone could have something to contribute to something like this, alot of mine are military related, since I have served as a Marine for about 6 years, but as an NCO I can testify that while its not as good as real life experience, reading is a great way to expand your understanding and knowledge of any subject. Here are some of my contributions, comment on whatever you'd like.

"The Art of War" - Sun Tzu - This book can teach ANYONE in ANY profession something relevant and useful.

"Bloodstripes" - Dan Danelo - Book about the importance of the small unit leader in the military, follows 4 Marine corporals through Iraq. Great for any small unit leader.

"On Combat" - Dave Grossman - All about the psycological impact that combat, and specifically killing, will have on an individual should they ever be put in such a situation. I had all my Marines read this before deployment.

"Blue Blood" - Edward Conlon - Biography type nonfiction about an NYPD detective. Not finished it yet but from the way he writes it doesnt seem that he over sugarcoats the job. Any NYPD vets who read this with an opinion I would love to hear them.

I've read dozens of other good books, but they are alot more military related and I want to keep this as LE centric as possible. Anyone interested in other military book just PM me, otherwise I'd love to hear recommendations of books from everyone.

No Second Place Winner- Bill Jordan

Der Schwarm - Frank Schaetzing
Lautlos - Frank Schaetzing (I have only 40 pages in front of me to end it)

all Harry Potter novels (please don't laugh but I like them)

all Tom Clancy novels

a lot of Joseph Wambough novels

history books about the otomanians, the turkish history and the janitsarys

books about the civil war in the USA and WW I

books about drug busting, fighting, war against drugs

books about community policing and other police work

I only managed to get a few pages into Blue Blood before I stopped reading, never went back since. Just wasnt my type of book.

What Cops Know - Connie Fletcher

A Cop's Life - Randy Sutton (my favorite)

Cop - Michael Middleton

Turnpike Trooper - Trooper John Hogan

Anything by Nelson De Mille.

Not strictly LE but I still like them, especially Charm School and the other older ones. The new character (last 3 or 4 books I think) are pretty good too, but you gotta read them in order. (Lion's Game, Plum Island and some others - I forget the names now)

http://www.nelsondemille.net/

"Boot" is a good read. I don't know the author's name off-hand, but it's about his rookie year as an LAPD officer.

If you want a good read, I recomend trying something from Jim Coy. He spent a little time with a few folks from the high ranks in the military and has a few books out.

http://www.agatheringofeagles.com/about.htm

Injoy:)

Guns, Bullets, and Gunfights by Jim Cirillo. It's about his time in the NYPD Stakeout Squad, and his experiments in handgun modification and bullet design. Should be required reading for firearms instructors.

The Choirboys, by Joseph Wambaugh. It's about LAPD patrolmen in the
'70s. I've never read a better description of the ball-breaking and camraderie (and the limits of both) between cops.

Bad Guys, by Mark Baker. Interviews with convicts about their methods and mindset. Enlightening.

"Boot" is a good read. I don't know the author's name off-hand, but it's about his rookie year as an LAPD officer.


I believe that the author of "Boot" was William Dunn.............

Also check out "Hollywood Station", Joseph Wambaugh (fiction); "Chief", Darryl Gates; "The Killing Season", Miles Corwin


All of these books are about the LAPD

I can't remember the author's but they're not hard to find (here anyway).

One Down, One Missing: - About two Police officer's murdered by a couple of armed robbers.

Walsh Street: - About two Police officer's who were lured to a location by a false call for the sole purpose of killing the first Police to show up, in retaliation for an armed robber who was shot and killed earlier that day by other Police.

Lots of others, but those qre the two main Police specific ones.

I've read most all of the Richard Marcinko "Rogue Warrior" books. It's mostly military/anti-terrorism stuff. Great stories and fun to read. They start with his autobiography "Rogue Warrior" with about eight fiction books to follow. Highly recommend them as military/law enforcement reads.

I've read I Love a Cop, What Cops Know, and Blue Blood, If Blue Blood is the one I'm thinking of, the author's description of a really sad train wreck has stayed with me ever since I read it.

Everything by Joseph Wambaugh.

On the LE side: "The Soul of a Cop" by Paul Ragonese

and on the military side: "Hazardous Duty: an American Soldier in the Twentieth Century" by MG John K. Singlaub, USA Ret.

I went to the library to gather material for some light weekend reading.

When she detected the pattern, the woman checking me out started asking me why she never gets a warning when she gets pulled over. I'm sure she'll join realpolice.net soon. :rolleyes:

Here is what I picked up:

Verbal Judo (Thompson / Jenkins)
True Blue (Sutton)
On Killing (Grossman)
Into the Kill Zone (Klinger)
A Cop's Life (Sutton)
The Soul of a Cop (Ragonese)
Bad Guys (Baker)
Straight Shooting (Lott)
Boot (Dunn)
Cop: A True Story (Middleton)
Cops (Baker)


If you would like me to write a book report on any of these, PM me.

I saw I Love a Cop mentioned on here and I was wondering if it was a novel, or like a self help/guide kind of book.

The Gift of Fear - Gavin De Becker
Warriors - Loren Christensen
The Street Survival series from Caliber Press
Officer Down, Code Three - Don't know the author it's an old book.
Monster - Leon Bing.

I saw I Love a Cop mentioned on here and I was wondering if it was a novel, or like a self help/guide kind of book.

It's a guide. The purpose is to help family to understand what their significant other is going through in his/her transition to becoming a police officer, what problems to expect, and how to work through them.

Tactical Edge: Surviving High-Risk Patrol

I believe this is the 2nd in that 3 book series from Calibre Press.

Every LEO would benefit from reading this 20+ year old book; wise beyond its years & required reading when I was in the academy.

In addition to "What Cops Know" by Fletcher and "I Love a Cop" (I borrowed heavily from this for an academic paper on stresses of LE...great info for one's family/friends and self)

A great read was "Signal Zero" by George Kirkham about a liberal college professor who took on one of his student's challenges to go through the academy and work a cop himself and the changes he went through.

The Infiltrators - written by 2 undercover officers in the UK. Very interesting read and a good story too.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Infiltrators-Inside-Account-Undercover-Scotland/dp/0140292446/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/026-8834269-4074858?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182424228&sr=8-1

I just recently finished reading "No Lights, No Sirens," it was an excellent book and definitely a great one to pick up if your looking for one.

Right now I am about halfway through "Newjack : Guarding Sing Sing" which is also a really good book.

For LE - definitely the calibre press series.

Non-Fiction:

any books by Tom Clancy
most books by W.E.B. Griffen (some military some police)
books by Dale Brown (military)

I'll second the Harry Potter series. I have book 7 on order already. (I feel like a goof)

A great read was "Signal Zero" by George Kirkham about a liberal college professor who took on one of his student's challenges to go through the academy and work a cop himself and the changes he went through.

I was going to recommend the same book.

As he starts working the street he begins to change from egg head professor full of theories to street cop and how that affects his outlook. Fascinating book. He continued working as a reserve after he went back to teaching. He also works as an expert witness for issues involving cops.

http://www.krimedr.com/

Catherine Coulter's books are great, also Stuart Woods. The ironic thing is that once you've read one of each, you can clearly see the different perspectives of love and sex.

A non fictional book that is awesome is "Why does he do that?" by Lundy Bancroft. It doesn't only explain the manipulation, charm and intention of an abuser, but also why victims of DV many times choose to remain in the unhealthy relationship. I strongly recommend to read it.

A great read was "Signal Zero" by George Kirkham about a liberal college professor who took on one of his student's challenges to go through the academy and work a cop himself and the changes he went through.

Sounds awesome... Anyone have any idea where I can pick it up for less than $50?

Both half.com and amazon have it at between $50 and $100, but I don't want to read it THAT badly...

Citicop.

Sounds awesome... Anyone have any idea where I can pick it up for less than $50?

Both half.com and amazon have it at between $50 and $100, but I don't want to read it THAT badly...

Citicop.

It's out of print which is why it's so expensive. Try the library. Our academy library actually has a copy too.

diary of an on-call girl

WPC BLOGGS is a 21st Century policewoman... a cross between Bridget Jones and PC David Copperfield. She frets about her make-up, flirts with male officers and, occasionally, arrests some very naughty people. Diary of an On-Call Girl offers a hilarious, insider's look at modern day policing from the point of view of a young serving woman officer. Her days are spent dealing with bolshy teenagers, violent drunks and wolf-whistling yobs. "The most comments I attract," she writes, "is when I'm patrolling with Becks. For many members of the public, two female officers fighting crime on their own is quite the most exciting thing they've ever seen; for some, it's second only to watching lesbian porn movies." But along with her wry humour and biting sarcasm, her writing has steel at its core, and makes serious, lacerating points about modern Britain. The town she helps to police is beset by crime and related problems, and Bloggs and her colleagues, fighting a losing battle against the criminals, are being drowned in a rising tide of pointless paperwork, government targets and spin-driven initiatives.

Based on her hilarious blog about life as a police woman – ‘PC Bloggs - a Twenty-First Century Police Officer’ (http://pcbloggs.blogspot.com/)

Not out yet, but looks good.

"The Passion of Command" by Col. B.P. McCoy.

Available only throught the Marine Corp Association. Current, relevant, brief, and absoluetely the best critical examination and application of Leadership you will ever read.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Michael Connelly. I really like his books.

Also recommended to me by Taz were the Lee Child books.

I also like
Clive Custler
James Paterson
Nelson Demille
Clancy
Grisham
Jack Higgins
Stephen J. Cannell
Tolken

There are lots more but I can't think of them.

After seeing the recent movie "Jumper" I decided to read the book by the author. Turns out there's a few of them. The author is Steven Gould.

The original is, you guessed it, "Jumper." It's a bit different from the movie but very interesting with a good pace.

The sequel is "Reflex" and it was even better than the original. I couldn't put it down and got through it in one day.

With the movie coming out he did a prequel to it called "Griffin's Story." This was about the other jumper character in the movie. Also a great story. It was more consistent with the movie "world" than the original two stories.

The are all paperbacks and good reads if you enjoy Sci-Fi books.

Every member of the NYPD or those interested in its historty should read "Circle of Six" by Det. Randy Jurgenson. Great read, a true story about how the NYPD covered up and hindered the investigation of the LODD of Patrolmen Phil Cardillo.

[+1]

Two of the books I've had to get for college I have really enjoyed... they are:

Police Patrol Operations by Mark R. Miller
Crisis Negotiations by Michael J. McMains / Wayman C. Mullins

Both great books, have a ton of info, and are enjoyable to read.

This is a list for professional development. It's a short list, but the info is good. Certainly there are more books, but these are the ones I like best.

http://www.marineshop.net/browse.cfm/professional-books/leadership/passion-of-command-(pb)/4,5586.html
The Passion of Command by Col. BP McCoy - Leadership for senior managers

http://www.marineshop.net/browse.cfm/professional-books/leadership/small-unit-leadership:-a-commonsense-approach-(pb)/4,5552.html
Small-Unit Leadership - for supervisors

http://www.amazon.com/Muddy-Boots-Leadership-Personal-Unexpected/dp/0811701662/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237730213&sr=8-1
Muddy Boots Leadership - for supervisors, has good anecdotes

http://www.amazon.com/Police-Administration-Structures-Processes-Behavior/dp/0131589334/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237730336&sr=1-1
Police Administration - Complete, and the name says it all

http://www.amazon.com/Police-Patrol-Allocation-Deployment-Fritsch/dp/0135131839/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1AURGPGD4YFYE&colid=PY9Z4686NBNL
Police Patrol Allocation and Deployment

http://www.amazon.com/Police-Innovation-Contrasting-Perspectives-Criminology/dp/0521544831/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237730532&sr=1-1
Police Innovation - this book has eight of the most current policing theories, like broken windows, problem solving, community policing, intelligence lead policing, and is set up in a debate format. Two articles per theory, one pro and one critical.

http://www.policeonebooks.com/street-survival-tactics-for-armed-encounters-by-chuck-remsberg.html

http://www.policeonebooks.com/tactics-for-criminal-patrol-by-chuck-remsberg.html

http://www.policeonebooks.com/the-tactical-edge-surviving-highrisk-patrol-by-chuck-remsberg.html
The original three. These are still great books, and classics now. This site allows you to buy them individaully, or buy them all together. These books have been around so long, I read my father's copies years ago. But the info is good and sound. Please tell me you other ol' timers have read them in days of yore.

A decent non-fiction would be No Angels. Its the autobiography of the undercover ATF agent who infiltrated the Hells Angels biker gang in Arizona. Great read

I found "Blue Blood" by Edward Conlon at my local library, reading it now.

I just picked up The Lawmen: United States Marshals and their Deputies 1789-1989, Frederick S. Calhoun Ph.D., since I am working towards being a DUSM.

Like when I joined the Marine Corps, it helps to learn about the history of what you are trying to become a part of.

Supervision of Police Personnel
Excellent textbook

The Character of Harms: Operational Challenges in Control
The author takes a broad perspective on "harms" such as crime, poverty, homelessness, and looks for commonalities and common methots to combat them. Vey good, actually.

The Compstat Paradigm: Management Accountability in Policing
Written by an NYPD sergeant, looks at a brief history of management theory, police management, and the compstat system of management. Those of you here in the NYPD know Compstat is not really a system of management per se, and mny are not even friends of Compstat. But the book is pure intellectaulism about Compstat, and the argument and explanaitons make good theoretical sense.

Leadership and Training for the Fight: A Few Thoughs On Leadership And Training From A Former Special Operations Soldier
Written by a former Delta operator who was in Mogadishu, among other places. He tells a 'war story', then sums up lessons learned, lessons for the future, and discusses considerations for leaders as a result. Bought this after I saw him speak.

The Mission, The Men, and Me: Lessons from a Former Delta Force Commander
My dad gave me this book. Reads very quickly - think I finished it in two afternoons. Practical leadership advice for guys on the ground.

A decent non-fiction would be No Angels. Its the autobiography of the undercover ATF agent who infiltrated the Hells Angels biker gang in Arizona. Great read

Just finished "No Angel" and it is a good read. "Running with th Devil" is also by Jay Dobyns about him infiltrating the Hells Angels. Another good read is "Under and Alone" which is about an ATF S/A who infilitrated the Mongols in California. I would also recommend "Cold Zero" which is about a former member of the FBI's HRT and participated in Ruby Ridge and Waco.

Just finished "No Angel" and it is a good read. "Running with th Devil" is also by Jay Dobyns about him infiltrating the Hells Angels. Another good read is "Under and Alone" which is about an ATF S/A who infilitrated the Mongols in California. I would also recommend "Cold Zero" which is about a former member of the FBI's HRT and participated in Ruby Ridge and Waco.

swat-

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Either way, stop by "rap sheets" and introduce yourself. Welcome aboard!

-Citicop.

I only managed to get a few pages into Blue Blood before I stopped reading, never went back since. Just wasnt my type of book.

What Cops Know - Connie Fletcher

A Cop's Life - Randy Sutton (my favorite)

Cop - Michael Middleton

Turnpike Trooper - Trooper John Hogan

Robb, thanks for posting this book. I just finished reading it and boy did it open MY eyes up about what my husband does for a living. He patrols in Chicago so those stories hit really close to home. :)

I recently purchased Blue Blood, NYPD: Stories of Survival from the World's Toughest Beat, and 101 Reasons Why You Should Not Become A Cop. As soon as I read them I'll give a consensus!

I finished 101 reasons not to become a cop, and none of those reasons really made me think too much. The biggest of problems seem to come from careless or cruel supervisors. As someone here said, the name for the book was wrong. It should have been '101 things to know before you become a cop'. It was a good, but short read. The book was about 120 something pages and I finished it in 4 1/2 hours. The book even pretty much stated it was to discourage people who are in it for the security of a Gubmint job and nothing else.

Stories of Survival from the World's Toughest Beat is doing pretty good so far.

I read 101 reasons...and it did give me pause to really think about whether I want those problems or not. Not all of them were terrible, and some were pretty repetitive.

Secret tactics by Tabata was pretty good--aimed at martial arts

meditations on violence was pretty good too, a real no BS look at fights.

Of course I'm no LEO, but these were good books for anyone

Understanding Ethical Failures in Leadership
This is a good book for understanding how we often either fail to examine our own motives, or how we are willing to make ethical exceptions for ourselves based on things such as expediency or 'small' sacrifices of integrity

Challenging the Law Enforcement Organization: The Road to Effective Leadership
This is a deceptively simple book. It is very short and reads very quickly, but the points are important and should not be missed. The author argues that we as LE managers and supervisors fail to recognize our own shortcomings and fail to change ourselves. We also fail to hold others accountable for their actions within our agencies. I saw this author speak. If any of you have any say so in the matter - book this man to speak. It is well worth it.

Leadership in High Performance Organizational Cultures
Another short book (about 120pgs) but has some good stuff in it about creating 'balanced' organizational cultures. Details how Leadership affects Culture to create High Performance, then talks about how to create this.

Character and Cops: Ethics in Policing
Dont remember if I posted this link before. Best thing in this book is a description of how agencies create internal disaster when they sacrifice ethics for meeting numbers.

Great recommendations! Thank You!

I recently read "No Angels" and it is very absorbing/ fascinating...

Especially for us in uniform: The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo.
It's not so much about policing but about group dynamics.
It made me think how I appear in the eyes of my "opponents" and what I can do to get better results interrogation and compliance-wise.

And for fiction: Almost every book of Terry Pratchett (it's hard to describe what these books are about. funny "medieval" stories about a metropolis and its inhabitants with allusions to current events and history)
I especially like the plot line with Samuel Vimes, Commander of the citywatch.
Although Pratchett is no LEO he often nails it. (I highly recommend "Nightwatch", but you better start with "Guards, Guards")

PVB - have you ever read a novel from Joseph Wambaugh? Give it a try - The Choirboys, or Hollywood Station or any other. You'll find a few characters you have in your unit in every book!!!!

Never did, but I'm "amazoning" him right now(=

William Queen is the UC BATF Agent who infilitrated the Mongols MC in Southern California (Under and Alone). It was a good book. He wrote another book, "Armed and Dangerous" about another one of his cases where he had to chase an armed drug dealer through the mountains of San Bernadino. Another good one. As far as fiction, I like any of the Swagger (Bob Lee or Earl Swagger) books by Stephen Hunter. The movie "Shooter" with Mark Walberg was based on one of his books called "Point of Impact" and is only one of several books in the Bob Lee Swagger series about a Vietnam Era sniper. All good reads.

Sorry...I'm a knucklehead. Didn't realize this thread is over a year old. Disregard.