Simultaneously makes me wish I had joined the police, glad I didn't, and thankful to those that have. ( )

So many message boards boast that, if you are going to write about police officers, you have to read [a:Adam Plantinga|7924917|Adam Plantinga|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] and you should probably start with this book. I am absolutely glad I did.

He is a police officer (patrolman, now sergeant I believe) with a degree in English literature and won awards for writing. The guy knows his stuff, and he knows how to express it clearly. This is invaluable!

The structure of this book has its pros and cons. Plantinga organized his thoughts into individual topics for chapters (which helps greatly if you have a vague memory of a detail but need to look it up, especially since I apparently do not think similarly to his index writer). It does help to get and keep your mind on a mindset. However, it is not a traditional prose chapter.

Plantinga writes these "things" he knows, like trivia. They are small, number bits - usually one paragraph, sometimes more - so when Plantinga says he has 27 things to say about shots being fired, he genuinely has 27 things to say about shots being fired. It makes for very digestible material, easy to pop in and out of as you're busy. The downside of this is that it can mean a lack of depth and detail. If he thinks he told you in two sentences this fact, it's done and he moves to the next.

As a writing reference, this has really helped me with my novel. It confirmed some plot-lines I already had (I was right when he explains to her that all of this will be really boring - it can go from boring to sheer panic in a split second but, most of the time, him doing his job right means they get to be bored - because I need my poker scenes). It gave me some colour to make things more realistic (I knew he'd end up on desk duty, but I had no idea that he'd automatically be assigned the nickname "Speedbump." I was having trouble working in that teasing culture - since I hate it - but it gave a grounding but innocuous way to include it.). It actually even made me realized I'd have to change one of the cop-cop friendships.

It doesn't replace actually talking to cops, which is a shame because the only way I'm getting a cop's attention is if I go shoplift or something, but I don't think he's then going to sit down with me in holding as I ask "what is it like to form cop-to-cop friendships?" You still need to read it. Not only is it better than nothing, but any researcher will tell you that you have to learn a topic, get some baseline, before you ever interview a person because, if you don't, you're never going to ask the right questions. This is an excellent starting place.

You're not going to agree with everything in this book. Plantinga doesn't even agree with everything he says! He freely admits to some of his and/or law enforcement's problems. To paraphrase him: it's wrong (let's say) 20% of the time. It's profiling and not everyone fits the profile. The problem is that if he gives it up, there's no replacement and he doesn't get to be effective at his job. He gets to catch that 80% before he looks harder for the 20%. He gets to live so he can find the other 20%. He gets to go home at night to his girls. You or I may not agree, but it is really helpful to know his thought process.

It's not possible to write the perfect book, especially for everyone's varying needs. This one is strong, understandable and informative. Start here. ( )

Very interesting commentary about what it's like to be a policeman. Almost made me think about becoming one, but I think I get enough excitement as a sysadmin/programmer. ;) ( )

A well written book by a police officer (in San Francisco) about policing. Lots of facts, many of which wouldn't be obvious to anyone outside of policing, and many of which are useful for personal safety, understanding policing, and broader political debates around gun control, policing, and urban policy. One caveat is all of his experience seems to be with large urban departments; rural agencies are fairly different in a lot of ways. ( )

The whole book is written in the second person, this gets tiresome really fast. Most of it is just interesting trivia and the bullet points are just making it seem cheap. This could be a lot more interesting if instead it dropped the list format and went into more detail about fewer stories. I did like the candor. ( )