Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. A Georgia police officer who wrote a true crime novel about the first known serial killer and a New Mexico police officer who has written extensively about street survival were added to the website.
Throughout his career, Dr. Vance McLaughlin has been actively involved in training officers at federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. From 1974 to 1975 he was a police officer for the Sarasota Police Department (Florida). From 1981 through1987 he was an Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice, University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he taught all undergraduate and graduate courses on Law Enforcement He has been a member of the firearms instructor qualification committee of the International Association of Firearms Instructors since 1987 and assisted in designing the PPCT Use of Force Matrix and instructor standards in 1984. Between 1987 and 2001, he was the Director of Training for the Savannah Police Department (Georgia). He is currently the Director of Planning for the Savannah Police Department.
Dr. Vance McLaughlin is the author two books: Police and the Use of Force: The Savannah Study and The Postcard Killer. According to the book description, “In 1912 John Frank Hickey, The Postcard Killer, was one of the first known and captured serial killers. This fascinating story tells how a solitary milquetoast of a man wandered the American east coast for decades, harboring a terrifying assortment of personal demons. Many of the behavior patterns that have long since come to be trademarks of the sociopathic killer are revealed in Hickey's long, demented life of crime. Unfortunately, the police and investigators in the early 20th Century had few if any tools to battle with a solitary individual's compulsion to murder young newsboys who wandered the urban streets alone.
From his first murder at eighteen until his capture and conviction nearly three decades later, Hickey traveled and worked at anonymous clerical or engineering jobs while he committed murders of breathtaking brazenness, sometimes attacking in open view. Hickey was well into middle age when his need for public attention drove him to taunt his victims' families and mock the police. He began a long series of correspondence about his crimes in the form of postcards. He enjoyed knowing that they could be read by anybody while they were en route. The postcards eventually formed the net that snared him.”
Phil L. Duran has been in law enforcement for over 19 years. He has been a member of the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department (New Mexico) for the past 18 years. Currently, Deputy Phil Duran is the Advanced Training Coordinator for his department. His is author of Developing the Survival Attitude and co-author of Tactical Attitude. On reader/reviewer of Tactical Attitude said, “this book is about surviving a deadly encounter, mainly at the mental perspective. The book covers such topics as command presence, mental rehearsal, off-duty survival, sudden stress syndrome, and many others. Almost half of the text is real-life stories told by cops. This makes the book an interesting read.” According to the book description of Developing a Survival Attitude, “this book provides you with the knowledge needed to develop the proper attitude necessary for survival on patrol, or in any other law enforcement assignment.” Phil Duran is working on a third book on role-play training.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 488 police officers (representing 207 police departments) and their 1027 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Actors and Academics
Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. Two of the three writers added during this round started in one career, moved into policing only to return to their original career. One an actor, recruited off the set and into police work and the other a budding academic who changes majors after his experiences in policing.
Steve Allie Collura was an actor on the NBC-TV show "The Doctors" when he was recruited in 1967 by the New York Police Department to work as a Narcotics and Organized Crime Undercover Detective. Steve Collura set an all time record in the New York Police Department for narcotic undercover buys. He solved some of the biggest cases in the history of the force and subsequently became the youngest "Gold Shield" Detective in the history of the NYPD. Steve Collura co-wrote a true crime biography about his double life: Collura: Actor With A Gun. Steve Collura’s book and story were made into the movie Between Love and Honor. According to the description of the movie, “an undercover cop falls in love with the stepdaughter of a notorious mob figure and must choose between his work and his feelings. Based on the true story of Steve Allie Collura, who portrays another police officer in the movie.”
In December 2005, Dr. Richard Kania joined Jacksonville State University as the head of the Criminal Justice Department. Previously, since 1999, he had been at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke leading their Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice. From 1982 to 1999, he was at Guilford College in Greensboro, NC, rising to full professor, to head a department at Guilford. He taught at UNC-Charlotte, and also for the Southern Police Institute of the University of Louisville and as a Senior Fulbright Professor for the Central European University in Warsaw, Poland while on sabbaticals. In 2004-2005, he was awarded his second Senior Fulbright Professorship, teaching at the Belarusian State University in Minsk, the Republic of Belarus.
Dr. Richard Kania originally majored in anthropology at Florida State University, where he earned his BA with Honors in 1968. He continued in anthropology at the University of Virginia, earning the MA there in 1974, and wrote his MA thesis on conflict resolution and the law ways of the Hopi of Arizona. In between the BA and the MA degrees, he served in the Army in Berlin and in Vietnam.
Mid-way through his doctoral degree, his experiences as a Charlottesville Police Department (Virginia) police officer, led him to change his emphasis and eventually pursue a teaching career in Criminal Justice. Presently, Dr. Richard Kania is also a sworn reserve deputy for the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office (Alabama).
Dr. Richard Kania has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals and authored one book: The 1605 Waymouth Expedition to the Coast of Maine: An Assessment of the Rosier Text, He has also co-authored: Diversity and National Identity in Belarus; Police and the Use of Force: The Savannah Study.
Michael D. Ranalli was a police officer for the Colonie Police Department (New York). He retired from the Colonie Police Department at the rank of lieutenant and became the Chief of Police of the Town of Glenville Police Department (New York). He is the author of Search and Siezure Law of New York State, Volume One, Street Encounters.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 480 police officers (representing 206 police departments) and their 1010 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Steve Allie Collura was an actor on the NBC-TV show "The Doctors" when he was recruited in 1967 by the New York Police Department to work as a Narcotics and Organized Crime Undercover Detective. Steve Collura set an all time record in the New York Police Department for narcotic undercover buys. He solved some of the biggest cases in the history of the force and subsequently became the youngest "Gold Shield" Detective in the history of the NYPD. Steve Collura co-wrote a true crime biography about his double life: Collura: Actor With A Gun. Steve Collura’s book and story were made into the movie Between Love and Honor. According to the description of the movie, “an undercover cop falls in love with the stepdaughter of a notorious mob figure and must choose between his work and his feelings. Based on the true story of Steve Allie Collura, who portrays another police officer in the movie.”
In December 2005, Dr. Richard Kania joined Jacksonville State University as the head of the Criminal Justice Department. Previously, since 1999, he had been at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke leading their Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice. From 1982 to 1999, he was at Guilford College in Greensboro, NC, rising to full professor, to head a department at Guilford. He taught at UNC-Charlotte, and also for the Southern Police Institute of the University of Louisville and as a Senior Fulbright Professor for the Central European University in Warsaw, Poland while on sabbaticals. In 2004-2005, he was awarded his second Senior Fulbright Professorship, teaching at the Belarusian State University in Minsk, the Republic of Belarus.
Dr. Richard Kania originally majored in anthropology at Florida State University, where he earned his BA with Honors in 1968. He continued in anthropology at the University of Virginia, earning the MA there in 1974, and wrote his MA thesis on conflict resolution and the law ways of the Hopi of Arizona. In between the BA and the MA degrees, he served in the Army in Berlin and in Vietnam.
Mid-way through his doctoral degree, his experiences as a Charlottesville Police Department (Virginia) police officer, led him to change his emphasis and eventually pursue a teaching career in Criminal Justice. Presently, Dr. Richard Kania is also a sworn reserve deputy for the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office (Alabama).
Dr. Richard Kania has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals and authored one book: The 1605 Waymouth Expedition to the Coast of Maine: An Assessment of the Rosier Text, He has also co-authored: Diversity and National Identity in Belarus; Police and the Use of Force: The Savannah Study.
Michael D. Ranalli was a police officer for the Colonie Police Department (New York). He retired from the Colonie Police Department at the rank of lieutenant and became the Chief of Police of the Town of Glenville Police Department (New York). He is the author of Search and Siezure Law of New York State, Volume One, Street Encounters.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 480 police officers (representing 206 police departments) and their 1010 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Gates, Jordanian King Express Condolences to Virginia Tech
By Kathleen T. Rhem
American Forces Press Service
April 17, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today expressed condolences to the victims and families of yesterday's mass shooting that killed 33 people at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, in Blacksburg, Va. Gates's comments came as he finished a meeting here with Jordan's King Abdallah. "His Majesty expressed his condolences for the tragedy at Virginia Tech," Gates said.
The secretary said he has a special understanding of what universities go through in the wake of tragedy of this magnitude.
"I would just add personally that as a recent president of a university that only about seven and a half years ago had its own tragedy, when 12 students were killed when the bonfire collapsed at Texas A&M, perhaps more than most I can understand the horror and the emotions at Virginia Tech and extend my personal condolences to the students and the faculty and staff there," he said in a news conference.
Gates was interim dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University when a massive pile of logs collapsed Nov. 18, 1999, as students were preparing for a 90-year tradition on the eve of the school's annual football game against its archrival, the University of Texas. Twelve students died and 27 more were injured. Gates later served four years as the university's president before becoming secretary of defense in December 2006.
"Knowing the lasting impact of the 1999 bonfire collapse at Texas A&M, I can only imagine the emotional impact of what has happened at Virginia Tech," he said.
Authorities today identified the gunman at Virginia Tech as Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old student from South Korea.
Cho killed 30 people in Norris Hall, an academic building, before killing himself. University officials said they were still trying to determine if Cho was responsible for an earlier shooting at a dormitory that left two dead; however, ballistics tests show that one of the two guns recovered at Norris Hall was also used at the dorm.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
April 17, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today expressed condolences to the victims and families of yesterday's mass shooting that killed 33 people at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, in Blacksburg, Va. Gates's comments came as he finished a meeting here with Jordan's King Abdallah. "His Majesty expressed his condolences for the tragedy at Virginia Tech," Gates said.
The secretary said he has a special understanding of what universities go through in the wake of tragedy of this magnitude.
"I would just add personally that as a recent president of a university that only about seven and a half years ago had its own tragedy, when 12 students were killed when the bonfire collapsed at Texas A&M, perhaps more than most I can understand the horror and the emotions at Virginia Tech and extend my personal condolences to the students and the faculty and staff there," he said in a news conference.
Gates was interim dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University when a massive pile of logs collapsed Nov. 18, 1999, as students were preparing for a 90-year tradition on the eve of the school's annual football game against its archrival, the University of Texas. Twelve students died and 27 more were injured. Gates later served four years as the university's president before becoming secretary of defense in December 2006.
"Knowing the lasting impact of the 1999 bonfire collapse at Texas A&M, I can only imagine the emotional impact of what has happened at Virginia Tech," he said.
Authorities today identified the gunman at Virginia Tech as Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old student from South Korea.
Cho killed 30 people in Norris Hall, an academic building, before killing himself. University officials said they were still trying to determine if Cho was responsible for an earlier shooting at a dormitory that left two dead; however, ballistics tests show that one of the two guns recovered at Norris Hall was also used at the dorm.
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
1000 Cop Books
Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. With the addition of books written by police officer Larry Nevers, Leonard Territo and Neal Trautman, Police-Writers.com now lists over 1000 books written by America’s state and local Cops.
Larry Nevers became a police officer for the Detroit Police Department at the age of twenty-eight. During his 24 year career, he spent four years in patrol and the next twenty years in a variety of undercover assignments. During his career, he made more than 5,000 felony arrests, received over 100 Detroit Police Department honors. Moreover, he was awarded the Michigan Police Chiefs Association Medal.
According to the book description, Good Cops, Bad Verdict “is Detroit police officer Larry Nevers’s own account of how a good arrest turned into a nightmare that left a stubbornly resisting cocaine user dead and two respected veteran policeman on trial for murder. Nevers, at the time only a few months from retirement as one of the city’s most decorated cops, was convicted in a racially charged trial broadcast on national television. Nevers explains in compelling detail the reasons he believes it was the criminal justice system, not he and his partner, that ran amok in the matter of Malice Green’s death.”
Dr. Leonard Territo is a Professor of Criminology, at the University of South Florida, Prior to joining the faculty at the University of South Florida, he served as a Major and then as Chief Deputy with the Leon County Sheriff's Office (Florida). Prior to his service with the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, his law enforcement career included nearly nine years with the Tampa Police Department (Florida). While a police officer with the Tampa Police Department, he worked uniformed patrol, motorcycle officer, detectives and was a member of the police academy training staff. Dr. Leonard Territo is the former chairperson of the Department of Police Administration and Director of the Florida Institute for Law Enforcement at St. Petersburg Junior College, St. Petersburg, Florida.
His academic credentials include an Associate in Arts in Police Administration, a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Social Science, a Master of Arts in Political Science, and a Doctor of Education.
Dr. Leonard Territo has coauthored some of the leading books in the law enforcement profession including: Police Civil Liability; Police Administration; Stress and Police Personnel; The Police Personnel Selection Process; Crime and Justice in America; Hospital and College Security Liability; and, College Crime Prevention and Personal Safety Awareness. His books are presently being used in over 950 colleges and universities in 50 states and he has had numerous articles published in nationally recognized law enforcement and legal journals.
Dr. Neal Trautman’s sixteen year law enforcement career included working as a police officer for the Winter Park Police Department and work with the Florida State Attorney General’s Office. Currently, Dr. Neil Trautman is Director of both the Global Institute of Law Enforcement Supervision at the University of Southern MS and the nonprofit National Institute of Ethics. He is also the President of the International Association of Ethics Trainers and was previously a founder of the Law Enforcement Television Network (LETN). He completed his doctorate course work at the University of Central Florida and the University of Miami. His dissertation and doctorate degree was fulfilled at St. John’s University.
Neal Trautman has authored eleven books, been the researcher for extensive national studies, instructed over 600 ethics seminars and was bestowed the ASLET, Joseph Boyd Award for Service to Society. He chaired the International Association of Chiefs of Police Ethics Sub-Committee; Chaired the American Society for Law Enforcement Trainers, Ethics Committee; Co-chaired the IACP Police Image and Ethics Committee; and Chaired the ASLET Professional Development Committee. His books include: How to Be a Great Cop; Police Work: A Career Survival Guide; A Study of Law Enforcement: A Comprehensive Study of the World's Greatest, Yet Most Difficult, Profession; Law Enforcement In-Service Training Programs: Practical and Realistic Solutions to Law Enforcement's In-Service Training Dilemma; The Cutting Edge of Police Integrity; Fifty Things Teens Can Do to Fight Drugs; Landing a Law Enforcement Job; Protecting Your Kids From Internet Predators - 81 Ways To Keep Them Safe; How to Be a Great Corrections Officer; Law Enforcement: The Making of a Profession : A Comprehensive Guide for the Police to Achieve and Sustain Professionalism; and, Internet Safety Workbook.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 477 police officers (representing 204 police departments) and their 1005 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Larry Nevers became a police officer for the Detroit Police Department at the age of twenty-eight. During his 24 year career, he spent four years in patrol and the next twenty years in a variety of undercover assignments. During his career, he made more than 5,000 felony arrests, received over 100 Detroit Police Department honors. Moreover, he was awarded the Michigan Police Chiefs Association Medal.
According to the book description, Good Cops, Bad Verdict “is Detroit police officer Larry Nevers’s own account of how a good arrest turned into a nightmare that left a stubbornly resisting cocaine user dead and two respected veteran policeman on trial for murder. Nevers, at the time only a few months from retirement as one of the city’s most decorated cops, was convicted in a racially charged trial broadcast on national television. Nevers explains in compelling detail the reasons he believes it was the criminal justice system, not he and his partner, that ran amok in the matter of Malice Green’s death.”
Dr. Leonard Territo is a Professor of Criminology, at the University of South Florida, Prior to joining the faculty at the University of South Florida, he served as a Major and then as Chief Deputy with the Leon County Sheriff's Office (Florida). Prior to his service with the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, his law enforcement career included nearly nine years with the Tampa Police Department (Florida). While a police officer with the Tampa Police Department, he worked uniformed patrol, motorcycle officer, detectives and was a member of the police academy training staff. Dr. Leonard Territo is the former chairperson of the Department of Police Administration and Director of the Florida Institute for Law Enforcement at St. Petersburg Junior College, St. Petersburg, Florida.
His academic credentials include an Associate in Arts in Police Administration, a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Social Science, a Master of Arts in Political Science, and a Doctor of Education.
Dr. Leonard Territo has coauthored some of the leading books in the law enforcement profession including: Police Civil Liability; Police Administration; Stress and Police Personnel; The Police Personnel Selection Process; Crime and Justice in America; Hospital and College Security Liability; and, College Crime Prevention and Personal Safety Awareness. His books are presently being used in over 950 colleges and universities in 50 states and he has had numerous articles published in nationally recognized law enforcement and legal journals.
Dr. Neal Trautman’s sixteen year law enforcement career included working as a police officer for the Winter Park Police Department and work with the Florida State Attorney General’s Office. Currently, Dr. Neil Trautman is Director of both the Global Institute of Law Enforcement Supervision at the University of Southern MS and the nonprofit National Institute of Ethics. He is also the President of the International Association of Ethics Trainers and was previously a founder of the Law Enforcement Television Network (LETN). He completed his doctorate course work at the University of Central Florida and the University of Miami. His dissertation and doctorate degree was fulfilled at St. John’s University.
Neal Trautman has authored eleven books, been the researcher for extensive national studies, instructed over 600 ethics seminars and was bestowed the ASLET, Joseph Boyd Award for Service to Society. He chaired the International Association of Chiefs of Police Ethics Sub-Committee; Chaired the American Society for Law Enforcement Trainers, Ethics Committee; Co-chaired the IACP Police Image and Ethics Committee; and Chaired the ASLET Professional Development Committee. His books include: How to Be a Great Cop; Police Work: A Career Survival Guide; A Study of Law Enforcement: A Comprehensive Study of the World's Greatest, Yet Most Difficult, Profession; Law Enforcement In-Service Training Programs: Practical and Realistic Solutions to Law Enforcement's In-Service Training Dilemma; The Cutting Edge of Police Integrity; Fifty Things Teens Can Do to Fight Drugs; Landing a Law Enforcement Job; Protecting Your Kids From Internet Predators - 81 Ways To Keep Them Safe; How to Be a Great Corrections Officer; Law Enforcement: The Making of a Profession : A Comprehensive Guide for the Police to Achieve and Sustain Professionalism; and, Internet Safety Workbook.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 477 police officers (representing 204 police departments) and their 1005 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Monday, April 16, 2007
School Shootings and Workplace Violence Response
“Active Shooter” is a phrase coined by law enforcement that describes an armed person who has used deadly physical force on persons and continues to do so while having unrestricted access to additional victims. The school shooting at Columbine and similar incidents have caused a paradigm-shift in law enforcement training and tactics. Instead of being taught to wait for a SWAT team to arrive, officers receive training on how to take immediate action during incidents that clearly involve suspects’ use of deadly force.
READ ON
http://criminal-justice-online.blogspot.com/2007/04/school-shootings-and-workplace-violence.html
READ ON
http://criminal-justice-online.blogspot.com/2007/04/school-shootings-and-workplace-violence.html
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Florida Cop Writers
Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. Police-Writers.com added three Florida cop writers: Art Smith, Susan Goreck and Ronald Hunter.
Art Smith had a career in law enforcement from 1970 to 1986. His book, My Life in the Blue Parade details his career beginning with the Wadsworth Police Department (Ohio). He explores the “unusual conflicts of a police officer with the public, other police officers, administrators, and family.” A divorce sees Smith moving to Florida and joining the Fort Lauderhill Police Department. According to the book, “after a couple years, because of internal problems, he moves back to Ohio on a promise of a position by a sheriff’s office. The promise was broken and he worked temporarily at the Marietta Police Department as a dispatcher. Art Smith returns to Florida and works five years as a police officer for the Sunrise Police Department. Again, according to the book description, “unprofessional and unethical treatment by his supervisors and another police officer made him lose all desire to remain in law enforcement any longer.”
Susan Goreck is a deputy sheriff with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (Florida). Her book, Poisoned Mind, tells the story of her year undercover investigating a murder suspect. According to the book description, “Many of us have had neighbors whose loud music, objectionable habits, or destruction of property get on our nerves. This is the story of a man who got so annoyed, he poisoned his neighbors with an extremely painful nerve toxin. The personalities are what make the book: the cartoon-character nerd who was a disgruntled househusband to a female orthopedist, the quietly charming policewoman who went undercover to get the goods on him, the loving Southern family who suffered so much. And there's a revelation at the end of the story that will appall you. As the New York Times wrote, "Florida, the cradle of creepiness in detective fiction, offers up some weird criminals in real life, too.... The authors are good at portraying the oddly disconnected society of small-town Florida, as well as the man who almost committed the perfect crime there."
Ronald D. Hunter is Professor and Head of the Department of Applied Criminology at Western Carolina University. He has also taught at the State University of West Georgia (1999-2005), Jacksonville State University (1989-1999) and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (1988-1989). He received his Ph.D. in Criminology from The Florida State University. Prior to entering academia, Dr. Ronald Hunter was a Sergeant with the Tallahassee Police Department (Florida). He has published a number of articles, book chapters dealing with crime prevention and law enforcement, and books related to law enforcement and criminology. Dr. Hunter is on the Executive Board of Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and has been honored in “Who’s Who Among American Teachers” (2004) as well as other prestigious acknowledgements. His books include: Police-Community Relations and the Administration of Justice; Crime and Criminality: Causes and Consequences; Research Methods for Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 474 police officers (representing 202 police departments) and their 986 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Art Smith had a career in law enforcement from 1970 to 1986. His book, My Life in the Blue Parade details his career beginning with the Wadsworth Police Department (Ohio). He explores the “unusual conflicts of a police officer with the public, other police officers, administrators, and family.” A divorce sees Smith moving to Florida and joining the Fort Lauderhill Police Department. According to the book, “after a couple years, because of internal problems, he moves back to Ohio on a promise of a position by a sheriff’s office. The promise was broken and he worked temporarily at the Marietta Police Department as a dispatcher. Art Smith returns to Florida and works five years as a police officer for the Sunrise Police Department. Again, according to the book description, “unprofessional and unethical treatment by his supervisors and another police officer made him lose all desire to remain in law enforcement any longer.”
Susan Goreck is a deputy sheriff with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (Florida). Her book, Poisoned Mind, tells the story of her year undercover investigating a murder suspect. According to the book description, “Many of us have had neighbors whose loud music, objectionable habits, or destruction of property get on our nerves. This is the story of a man who got so annoyed, he poisoned his neighbors with an extremely painful nerve toxin. The personalities are what make the book: the cartoon-character nerd who was a disgruntled househusband to a female orthopedist, the quietly charming policewoman who went undercover to get the goods on him, the loving Southern family who suffered so much. And there's a revelation at the end of the story that will appall you. As the New York Times wrote, "Florida, the cradle of creepiness in detective fiction, offers up some weird criminals in real life, too.... The authors are good at portraying the oddly disconnected society of small-town Florida, as well as the man who almost committed the perfect crime there."
Ronald D. Hunter is Professor and Head of the Department of Applied Criminology at Western Carolina University. He has also taught at the State University of West Georgia (1999-2005), Jacksonville State University (1989-1999) and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (1988-1989). He received his Ph.D. in Criminology from The Florida State University. Prior to entering academia, Dr. Ronald Hunter was a Sergeant with the Tallahassee Police Department (Florida). He has published a number of articles, book chapters dealing with crime prevention and law enforcement, and books related to law enforcement and criminology. Dr. Hunter is on the Executive Board of Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and has been honored in “Who’s Who Among American Teachers” (2004) as well as other prestigious acknowledgements. His books include: Police-Community Relations and the Administration of Justice; Crime and Criminality: Causes and Consequences; Research Methods for Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 474 police officers (representing 202 police departments) and their 986 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
200 Police Departments
Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. With the addition of Brett Ward and George Kirkham, Police-Writers.com now lists books from police officers employed by 200 police departments in the United States.
Brett Ward began his law enforcement career as a member of the Belleair Police Department. After 13 months, he joined the Clearwater Police Department (Florida) and retired in 2003. He has a BA in Criminology. Brett Ward’s book is Bulletproof: A Cop’s Guide to Financial Success. Brett Ward says his book is, “a firsthand, narrative style guide, written in retrospect, in which I lay out in detail how an average cop was able to successfully retire from a career in law enforcement at a young age, financially secure, and how you can, too. Every conceivable element I could imagine within the realm of finances, written directly to and concerning a law enforcement audience, has been addressed. Bulletproof covers how to get started on a sound saving/investing regimen; examines scenarios that everyone falls into; provides a full chapter answering questions you must have about the book’s content. Most of all, though, Bulletproof gives you the tools you’ll need to build the financial security necessary to retire successfully. It is tailored to you, my brother and sister officers.”
Dr. George Kirkham is nationally and internationally known as "the professor who became a cop." Dr. Kirkham took leave of his university post in order to study the police and the problems of crime in a way that no criminology professor had before, by becoming a police officer. Taking a leave from his university duties, George Kirkham attended the police academy and worked the streets as a patrol officer. From 1974 to 1991, he was a police officer for the Tallahassee Police Department (Florida).
According to his biography, “his observations on the police have appeared in research and law enforcement journals in many other countries, including England, Canada, Germany, India, Australia and Russia. He has authored 23 law enforcement training films and video tapes which are used to instruct police officers and administrators throughout the nation. Under grants from the U.S. Department of Justice, Dr. Kirkham's award winning film series, "Police: The Human Dimension" was distributed to the law enforcement training directors of all 50 states and the F.B.I. Academy. This series is also used at Peel Centre in London to train the British Metropolitan Police.
Dr. Kirkham has served as a consultant to over 50 American law enforcement agencies at the federal, state and local levels. He has been called upon more often than any other criminologist in the nation to serve as a case consultant and expert witness in civil and criminal actions involving police, jail and private security issues. His experience as a consultant to both plaintiffs and defendants throughout his professional career encompasses over 1,500 cases in all 50 states.” He is the author of three books. Two of them are on police operations. His third book, Signal Zero, is his autobiography.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 471 police officers (representing 200 police departments) and their 980 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Brett Ward began his law enforcement career as a member of the Belleair Police Department. After 13 months, he joined the Clearwater Police Department (Florida) and retired in 2003. He has a BA in Criminology. Brett Ward’s book is Bulletproof: A Cop’s Guide to Financial Success. Brett Ward says his book is, “a firsthand, narrative style guide, written in retrospect, in which I lay out in detail how an average cop was able to successfully retire from a career in law enforcement at a young age, financially secure, and how you can, too. Every conceivable element I could imagine within the realm of finances, written directly to and concerning a law enforcement audience, has been addressed. Bulletproof covers how to get started on a sound saving/investing regimen; examines scenarios that everyone falls into; provides a full chapter answering questions you must have about the book’s content. Most of all, though, Bulletproof gives you the tools you’ll need to build the financial security necessary to retire successfully. It is tailored to you, my brother and sister officers.”
Dr. George Kirkham is nationally and internationally known as "the professor who became a cop." Dr. Kirkham took leave of his university post in order to study the police and the problems of crime in a way that no criminology professor had before, by becoming a police officer. Taking a leave from his university duties, George Kirkham attended the police academy and worked the streets as a patrol officer. From 1974 to 1991, he was a police officer for the Tallahassee Police Department (Florida).
According to his biography, “his observations on the police have appeared in research and law enforcement journals in many other countries, including England, Canada, Germany, India, Australia and Russia. He has authored 23 law enforcement training films and video tapes which are used to instruct police officers and administrators throughout the nation. Under grants from the U.S. Department of Justice, Dr. Kirkham's award winning film series, "Police: The Human Dimension" was distributed to the law enforcement training directors of all 50 states and the F.B.I. Academy. This series is also used at Peel Centre in London to train the British Metropolitan Police.
Dr. Kirkham has served as a consultant to over 50 American law enforcement agencies at the federal, state and local levels. He has been called upon more often than any other criminologist in the nation to serve as a case consultant and expert witness in civil and criminal actions involving police, jail and private security issues. His experience as a consultant to both plaintiffs and defendants throughout his professional career encompasses over 1,500 cases in all 50 states.” He is the author of three books. Two of them are on police operations. His third book, Signal Zero, is his autobiography.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 471 police officers (representing 200 police departments) and their 980 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology
NLECTC Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology News Summary
Thursday, April 12, 2007
"LED Flashlights Push Right Buttons for Cops"
USA Today (04/09/07) P. 2B; Krantz, Matt
The Los Angeles Police Department is now distributing to police officers flashlights that use LED technology. The Pelican 7060 LED, from Pelican Products in Torrance, Calif., is unique in that semiconductors serve as its light source, and it also uses less power, is nearly unbreakable, and its bulb lasts longer than those found in most other flashlights. The $200 Pelican flashlight is just 8.7 -inches long and weighs 10 ounces, compared with big, aluminum flashlights that police officers favor and are 10 inches or longer and weigh more than 12 ounces. Police departments in Sacramento, Glendale, and Columbus, Ohio, are also being targeted by Pelican. Since the early 2000s, dozens of flashlight makers have introduced LED models, but market giant Mag Instrument of Ontario, Calif., did not unveil its first LED products until last year. Mag, which offers LED bulbs and flashlights, says it has addressed the inability of LEDs to project light. LEDs glow, buy Mag says its flashlights are able to project light in a powerful beam, which can also be focused by turning the top of the light. The Mag flashlights still have metal bodies that are heavy design crafted of aluminum alloy.
http://www.usatoday.com/money
/industries/2007-04-09-flashlight-usat_N.htm
"Dispatch Systems to Be Studied"
Baltimore Sun (04/08/07); McCandlish, Laura
Four of the five police departments in Carroll County, Md., are forming a task force for a six-month study of the feasibility of creating a single countywide communications center. Under the current system, 911 callers are put on hold as the county emergency call center transfers them to the state police barracks in Westminster, which then transfers calls to municipal police departments in Hampstead, Manchester, Sykesville, and Taneytown. The task force, which will begin meeting next week, will examine two issues: How to consolidate all of Carroll County's seven law enforcement agencies into one call facility, and how to dispatch all the calls on one system. If the task force decides to establish a single countywide communications center, it could help conserve Carroll County's strained police resources and better prepare officers responding to violent crimes, said Col. Robert L. Keefer, chief deputy of the Carroll County Sheriff's Office. For instance, state police might respond to a bank robbed by four armed suspects seen leaving the scene in a white vehicle, he said. Keefer noted that if a sheriff's deputy stops the car for a traffic stop, he would know that the suspects are armed if a consolidated system was in place.
http://www.baltimoresun.com
/news/local/carroll/bal-ca.disp
atch08apr08,1,725737.story
"An SOS for 911 Systems in Age of High-Tech"
New York Times (04/06/07); Dewan, Shaila
There are over 6,000 911 call centers in the United States, many unable to pinpoint calls coming from cellphones or VoIP. The Federal Communications Commission is moving ahead with efforts to bring the nation's 911-system up to date by arming all call centers with the technology to pinpoint wireless callers to within 300 meters, but the effort will be expensive-- $340 million according to preliminary estimates by the National Emergency Number Association. Funding will come from surcharges on cellphone lines, which states and local governments can levy by federal mandate. Though Congress in 2004 passed a measure authorizing the spending of $250 million a year for new 911 technology, no money has yet been appropriated. http://www.nytimes.com/2007
/04/06/us/06phone.html?hp
"Dispatchers: Inexact Location Better Than Nothing"
Journal-World (Lawrence, Kan.) (04/06/07); Vockrodt, Steve
When someone places a 911 call from a cellular phone, the call can be traced from a few feet up to 1,000 yards away. Despite the inaccuracy of the coordinates pulled up on the dispatcher's satellite, Douglas County Emergency Communications director Jim Denney says, "However bad it is, it's infinitely better than nothing." Denney is most likely referring to the absence of dispatchers to track emergency calls from cell phones pre-2004. Dispatchers still ask callers their location, although Denney states most people believe the system to be "100 percent accurate and 100 percent functional." Although costly, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin says he will introduce proposals to enhance the accuracy of tracking emergency calls.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news
/2007/apr/06/dispatchers_inex
act_location_better_nothing/?city_local
"City Considers High-Tech System to Spot Gunmen"
New Haven Register (04/07/07); Kaempffer, William
New Haven, Conn., is considering installing Shotspotters' gunshot detection system. The system uses audio sensors, about the size of a coffee can, to detect and triangulate the location of gunfire, notifying police with 10 to 15 seconds of the first shot. The system guarantees accuracy with 75 feet, but depending on barometric conditions and competing noise, can be as accurate as five to 10 feet. The system can also detect how many shots were fired, if the shots were fired from a moving vehicle, and is able to determine the difference between a gunshot and similar sounds like a car backfiring or fireworks. According to Shotspotters, the system is used in 17 municipalities across the country, including Washington, D.C., and Boston has signed a $1.5 million contract to cover six square miles of the city. New Haven averages 400 to 500 confirmed reports of gunfire each year and would have to spend an estimated $700,000 to $800,000, plus annual maintenance, to install the system.
http://www.nhregister.com
/site/index.cfm?newsid=1818
0238&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=8
"DA Wants Drug-Testing Machine"
Hickory Daily Record (04/07/07); Menster, Jennifer
Catawba County, N.C., District Attorney Jay Gaither and state Sen. Austin Allran (R) have teamed up to propose a bill that would help law enforcement agencies in the county purchase technology that determines the authenticity of drugs. The technology, called NarTest, can determine the authenticity of methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, and heroin in about 10 to 15 minutes. The determination is then used as evidence against those facing drug charges. Law enforcement agencies currently send drugs to the State Bureau of Investigation's lab for testing, which can take at least a year. "The time that it takes from arrest to conviction in drug cases is far too long due to the fact that we are waiting on lab results on the drugs," Gaither said. "This technology will give my office the ability to move much more quickly. This means less money spent on inmates waiting in our local jail and less time for drug dealers who are out on bond to spend out on our streets." The technology is already making a difference for police departments in North Carolina that use it, according to Douglas Branch, marketing director for NarTest Technologies. He noted that these departments have seen at least a 10 percent reduction in the number of cases submitted to the state lab.
http://www.hickoryrecord.com
/servlet/Satellite?pagename=HDR/MGArticle/HD
R_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173350620051
"Improved Contra Costa Warning System Ready"
MediaNews (04/07/07); Huff, Ryan
Contra Costa County unveiled its new emergency telephone system, run by Honeywell International. The new system can send residents messages within a few minutes, place calls in foreign languages, and instantly show emergency officials which households have been reached. The new system should prevent any notification delays, such as the one experienced in January when a fire broke out at the Chevron Richmond Refinery and a computer glitch caused a half-hour delay in notifying houses potentially in the path of toxic fumes. The county's Community Warning System notifies residents of refinery emergencies, natural disasters, missing persons, and other situations that require nearby neighborhoods to receive information quickly. The system spreads information using automated telephone calls, sirens, broadcast, and online media and weather radios.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/search//ci_5616610
"Coplink Helps Nab Suspected Serial Robbers"
Daily News of Los Angeles (04/06/07) P. N3; Uranga, Rachel
COPLINK is a database tool in use in Southern California that soon will be placed in all Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) patrol cars. COPLINK links and gathers data from San Diego to Los Angeles from myriad documents, including from suspect descriptions, license plate numbers, arrest reports, citations, criminal records, and more. The LAPD, for instance, recently was faced with a serial criminal targeting people leaving their ATMs. Investigators had "TNV" as three license plate numbers, and after entering "TNV" into COPLINK, found a report in Palmdale, Calif., for one Ricky Marshall with a "TNV" license plate, who also was linked to a similar crime in Palmdale. LAPD tracked Marshall, and caught him and his partner attempting the same robbery.
http://www.dailynews.com
"Grand Haven Police Getting Stun Guns"
Grand Rapids Press (MI) (04/05/07) P. L1
On April 2, the Grand Haven, Mich., City Council approved buying four Taser stun guns for the area's police officers. A couple of Grand Haven police supervisors will take part in a seminar on how to utilize the Tasers. They will educate officers who want to use stun guns. In 2006, Michigan State Police had 175 situations where stun guns were employed to quell suspects. Sgt. Jason Williams notes that none of the injuries caused by the Tasers were serious. He adds that stuns guns are also safe for police officers to use. Separately, Taser International scientists are working on a wireless stun gun, although that technology is not yet accessible by police departments, Williams says.
http://www.mlive.com
"Law Officials Get on Same Frequency"
New Jersey Star-Ledger (04/05/07) P. 24; Haydon, Tom
The Department of Homeland Security is providing a $16,500 grant to the Middlesex County, N.J.'s sheriff's office to finance a computer system allowing sheriff's and police officers to communicate with one another over the radio. The new Radio Inter-Operability System (RIOS) means a radio from the sheriff's department and a radio from the police department would be connected to a computer, which would choose one frequency. In Middlesex County, 10 emergency service groups, including the sheriff's department, got funding for equipment and instruction in the latest offering of Homeland Security grants. Milltown, New Brunswick, and South Brunswick got money for thermal imaging devices that are employed in searches for missing individuals or criminals. Meanwhile, Perth Amboy, Piscataway, and Woodbridge police departments received funds to buy Stedi-Eye night-vision binoculars. Throughout New Jersey, 103 law enforcement and emergency entities got funding through the Homeland Security Department's Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program. The program is meant to deliver costly equipment to law enforcement and emergency response groups, and has donated $1.4 million in grants nationally.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger
"Grant Funds Police Video"
Seymour Tribune (Ind.) (04/05/07); Woods, Aubrey
Brownstown, Ind., police have won a Department of Homeland Security grant for $49,500 for equipment that will improve surveillance videos. Officer Tom Wright, who applied for the grant, stated that police will now be able to break down surveillance video into individual images. Improving and sharpening surveillance may make the pictures clear enough for police to locate a person who has been witnessed on tape doing something inappropriate, Wright added. In addition, he wants to be able to persuade store owners to bring their surveillance systems up to date to offer better video. The grant will finance the training needed to employ the equipment, which will be delivered later in 2007. Brownstown is required to make the grant available to other local departments.
http://www.tribtown.com
"Tac Cams"
Police (03/07) Vol. 31, No. 3, P. 44; Scoville, Dean
There are a number of tactical vision instruments on the market today that can help police officers see around, beneath, and even through barriers. Instrument Technology has been making tactical cameras since 1967, and today offers many types of basic core vision technologies, from gas-tank cameras for drug searches to pole cameras for SWAT teams to peep-hole and under-door cameras. Remington's Eye Ball R1 won a 2006 innovation award as a ball-shaped camera that can be rolled, thrown, or lowered into place to provide two hours of live imagery. This ball-shaped device with an embedded lens is controlled and seen through a remote control and remote screen, and a kit with two Eye Ball R1 cameras costs $5,000. The Supercircuits PC229XP Color Snake Camera costs under $250 and provides a camera attached to a flexible coil that can be extended for around the corner, over the top, and through the crack each. Tacview has a pole mounted camera that can help officers investigate attics and crawl spaces without exposing their physical selves to danger, and the camera can be detached and mounted on a shield also, making this a versatile tool. Zistos' Dual Mode Camera Systems is a pole-mounted camera that can be carried in the back of a squad car. It has detectable poles for various length uses, is water-proof, and has some customizable options in terms of adding infrared illumination or thermal detection.
http://www.policemag.com
"Road Warriors"
Law Enforcement Technology (03/07) Vol. 34, No. 3, P. 50; Mertens, Jennifer
Mobile command centers are used for multiple applications, such as controlling crowds, by both large and small agencies. In Rockville, Md., the city police department relies on a 24-foot motor coach mobile communications center from Dodgen Industries. "By using the mobile communications center, we can staff it with an additional dispatcher and run all our special events on a separate channel," which prevents the disruption of regular police activities, according to Lt. Bob Rappaport, homeland security and emergency preparedness director at the Rockville PD. Representatives from the fire/rescue service, public works, and the parks and recreation division also use the command center during special municipal events. Rappaport urges that before agencies purchase a command center, they should spend time studying vendors and defining how they will potentially use it, communicate with agencies that have already acquired the vehicle, and develop a strong mission when applying for funding. Massachusetts State Police (MSP) relies on a 53-foot, $1.5 million trailer from Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles equipped with such things as six separate communications models, 15 workstations with Internet and intranet, and a 20-foot light tower with surveillance capabilities. During the playoff series involving the Red Sox, MSP positioned the command center in the middle of a street, using a communications patch to enable state police--on 800 MHz radio--to talk with the Boston PD on 400 MHz radios. During the 2004 Democratic National Convention in July, the MSP was used to oversee power coordination, equipment operations, and deployment operations as well as real-time video from helicopters and city surveillance cameras.
http://www.officer.com/magazines/let/
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
"LED Flashlights Push Right Buttons for Cops"
USA Today (04/09/07) P. 2B; Krantz, Matt
The Los Angeles Police Department is now distributing to police officers flashlights that use LED technology. The Pelican 7060 LED, from Pelican Products in Torrance, Calif., is unique in that semiconductors serve as its light source, and it also uses less power, is nearly unbreakable, and its bulb lasts longer than those found in most other flashlights. The $200 Pelican flashlight is just 8.7 -inches long and weighs 10 ounces, compared with big, aluminum flashlights that police officers favor and are 10 inches or longer and weigh more than 12 ounces. Police departments in Sacramento, Glendale, and Columbus, Ohio, are also being targeted by Pelican. Since the early 2000s, dozens of flashlight makers have introduced LED models, but market giant Mag Instrument of Ontario, Calif., did not unveil its first LED products until last year. Mag, which offers LED bulbs and flashlights, says it has addressed the inability of LEDs to project light. LEDs glow, buy Mag says its flashlights are able to project light in a powerful beam, which can also be focused by turning the top of the light. The Mag flashlights still have metal bodies that are heavy design crafted of aluminum alloy.
http://www.usatoday.com/money
/industries/2007-04-09-flashlight-usat_N.htm
"Dispatch Systems to Be Studied"
Baltimore Sun (04/08/07); McCandlish, Laura
Four of the five police departments in Carroll County, Md., are forming a task force for a six-month study of the feasibility of creating a single countywide communications center. Under the current system, 911 callers are put on hold as the county emergency call center transfers them to the state police barracks in Westminster, which then transfers calls to municipal police departments in Hampstead, Manchester, Sykesville, and Taneytown. The task force, which will begin meeting next week, will examine two issues: How to consolidate all of Carroll County's seven law enforcement agencies into one call facility, and how to dispatch all the calls on one system. If the task force decides to establish a single countywide communications center, it could help conserve Carroll County's strained police resources and better prepare officers responding to violent crimes, said Col. Robert L. Keefer, chief deputy of the Carroll County Sheriff's Office. For instance, state police might respond to a bank robbed by four armed suspects seen leaving the scene in a white vehicle, he said. Keefer noted that if a sheriff's deputy stops the car for a traffic stop, he would know that the suspects are armed if a consolidated system was in place.
http://www.baltimoresun.com
/news/local/carroll/bal-ca.disp
atch08apr08,1,725737.story
"An SOS for 911 Systems in Age of High-Tech"
New York Times (04/06/07); Dewan, Shaila
There are over 6,000 911 call centers in the United States, many unable to pinpoint calls coming from cellphones or VoIP. The Federal Communications Commission is moving ahead with efforts to bring the nation's 911-system up to date by arming all call centers with the technology to pinpoint wireless callers to within 300 meters, but the effort will be expensive-- $340 million according to preliminary estimates by the National Emergency Number Association. Funding will come from surcharges on cellphone lines, which states and local governments can levy by federal mandate. Though Congress in 2004 passed a measure authorizing the spending of $250 million a year for new 911 technology, no money has yet been appropriated. http://www.nytimes.com/2007
/04/06/us/06phone.html?hp
"Dispatchers: Inexact Location Better Than Nothing"
Journal-World (Lawrence, Kan.) (04/06/07); Vockrodt, Steve
When someone places a 911 call from a cellular phone, the call can be traced from a few feet up to 1,000 yards away. Despite the inaccuracy of the coordinates pulled up on the dispatcher's satellite, Douglas County Emergency Communications director Jim Denney says, "However bad it is, it's infinitely better than nothing." Denney is most likely referring to the absence of dispatchers to track emergency calls from cell phones pre-2004. Dispatchers still ask callers their location, although Denney states most people believe the system to be "100 percent accurate and 100 percent functional." Although costly, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin says he will introduce proposals to enhance the accuracy of tracking emergency calls.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news
/2007/apr/06/dispatchers_inex
act_location_better_nothing/?city_local
"City Considers High-Tech System to Spot Gunmen"
New Haven Register (04/07/07); Kaempffer, William
New Haven, Conn., is considering installing Shotspotters' gunshot detection system. The system uses audio sensors, about the size of a coffee can, to detect and triangulate the location of gunfire, notifying police with 10 to 15 seconds of the first shot. The system guarantees accuracy with 75 feet, but depending on barometric conditions and competing noise, can be as accurate as five to 10 feet. The system can also detect how many shots were fired, if the shots were fired from a moving vehicle, and is able to determine the difference between a gunshot and similar sounds like a car backfiring or fireworks. According to Shotspotters, the system is used in 17 municipalities across the country, including Washington, D.C., and Boston has signed a $1.5 million contract to cover six square miles of the city. New Haven averages 400 to 500 confirmed reports of gunfire each year and would have to spend an estimated $700,000 to $800,000, plus annual maintenance, to install the system.
http://www.nhregister.com
/site/index.cfm?newsid=1818
0238&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=8
"DA Wants Drug-Testing Machine"
Hickory Daily Record (04/07/07); Menster, Jennifer
Catawba County, N.C., District Attorney Jay Gaither and state Sen. Austin Allran (R) have teamed up to propose a bill that would help law enforcement agencies in the county purchase technology that determines the authenticity of drugs. The technology, called NarTest, can determine the authenticity of methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, and heroin in about 10 to 15 minutes. The determination is then used as evidence against those facing drug charges. Law enforcement agencies currently send drugs to the State Bureau of Investigation's lab for testing, which can take at least a year. "The time that it takes from arrest to conviction in drug cases is far too long due to the fact that we are waiting on lab results on the drugs," Gaither said. "This technology will give my office the ability to move much more quickly. This means less money spent on inmates waiting in our local jail and less time for drug dealers who are out on bond to spend out on our streets." The technology is already making a difference for police departments in North Carolina that use it, according to Douglas Branch, marketing director for NarTest Technologies. He noted that these departments have seen at least a 10 percent reduction in the number of cases submitted to the state lab.
http://www.hickoryrecord.com
/servlet/Satellite?pagename=HDR/MGArticle/HD
R_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173350620051
"Improved Contra Costa Warning System Ready"
MediaNews (04/07/07); Huff, Ryan
Contra Costa County unveiled its new emergency telephone system, run by Honeywell International. The new system can send residents messages within a few minutes, place calls in foreign languages, and instantly show emergency officials which households have been reached. The new system should prevent any notification delays, such as the one experienced in January when a fire broke out at the Chevron Richmond Refinery and a computer glitch caused a half-hour delay in notifying houses potentially in the path of toxic fumes. The county's Community Warning System notifies residents of refinery emergencies, natural disasters, missing persons, and other situations that require nearby neighborhoods to receive information quickly. The system spreads information using automated telephone calls, sirens, broadcast, and online media and weather radios.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/search//ci_5616610
"Coplink Helps Nab Suspected Serial Robbers"
Daily News of Los Angeles (04/06/07) P. N3; Uranga, Rachel
COPLINK is a database tool in use in Southern California that soon will be placed in all Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) patrol cars. COPLINK links and gathers data from San Diego to Los Angeles from myriad documents, including from suspect descriptions, license plate numbers, arrest reports, citations, criminal records, and more. The LAPD, for instance, recently was faced with a serial criminal targeting people leaving their ATMs. Investigators had "TNV" as three license plate numbers, and after entering "TNV" into COPLINK, found a report in Palmdale, Calif., for one Ricky Marshall with a "TNV" license plate, who also was linked to a similar crime in Palmdale. LAPD tracked Marshall, and caught him and his partner attempting the same robbery.
http://www.dailynews.com
"Grand Haven Police Getting Stun Guns"
Grand Rapids Press (MI) (04/05/07) P. L1
On April 2, the Grand Haven, Mich., City Council approved buying four Taser stun guns for the area's police officers. A couple of Grand Haven police supervisors will take part in a seminar on how to utilize the Tasers. They will educate officers who want to use stun guns. In 2006, Michigan State Police had 175 situations where stun guns were employed to quell suspects. Sgt. Jason Williams notes that none of the injuries caused by the Tasers were serious. He adds that stuns guns are also safe for police officers to use. Separately, Taser International scientists are working on a wireless stun gun, although that technology is not yet accessible by police departments, Williams says.
http://www.mlive.com
"Law Officials Get on Same Frequency"
New Jersey Star-Ledger (04/05/07) P. 24; Haydon, Tom
The Department of Homeland Security is providing a $16,500 grant to the Middlesex County, N.J.'s sheriff's office to finance a computer system allowing sheriff's and police officers to communicate with one another over the radio. The new Radio Inter-Operability System (RIOS) means a radio from the sheriff's department and a radio from the police department would be connected to a computer, which would choose one frequency. In Middlesex County, 10 emergency service groups, including the sheriff's department, got funding for equipment and instruction in the latest offering of Homeland Security grants. Milltown, New Brunswick, and South Brunswick got money for thermal imaging devices that are employed in searches for missing individuals or criminals. Meanwhile, Perth Amboy, Piscataway, and Woodbridge police departments received funds to buy Stedi-Eye night-vision binoculars. Throughout New Jersey, 103 law enforcement and emergency entities got funding through the Homeland Security Department's Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program. The program is meant to deliver costly equipment to law enforcement and emergency response groups, and has donated $1.4 million in grants nationally.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger
"Grant Funds Police Video"
Seymour Tribune (Ind.) (04/05/07); Woods, Aubrey
Brownstown, Ind., police have won a Department of Homeland Security grant for $49,500 for equipment that will improve surveillance videos. Officer Tom Wright, who applied for the grant, stated that police will now be able to break down surveillance video into individual images. Improving and sharpening surveillance may make the pictures clear enough for police to locate a person who has been witnessed on tape doing something inappropriate, Wright added. In addition, he wants to be able to persuade store owners to bring their surveillance systems up to date to offer better video. The grant will finance the training needed to employ the equipment, which will be delivered later in 2007. Brownstown is required to make the grant available to other local departments.
http://www.tribtown.com
"Tac Cams"
Police (03/07) Vol. 31, No. 3, P. 44; Scoville, Dean
There are a number of tactical vision instruments on the market today that can help police officers see around, beneath, and even through barriers. Instrument Technology has been making tactical cameras since 1967, and today offers many types of basic core vision technologies, from gas-tank cameras for drug searches to pole cameras for SWAT teams to peep-hole and under-door cameras. Remington's Eye Ball R1 won a 2006 innovation award as a ball-shaped camera that can be rolled, thrown, or lowered into place to provide two hours of live imagery. This ball-shaped device with an embedded lens is controlled and seen through a remote control and remote screen, and a kit with two Eye Ball R1 cameras costs $5,000. The Supercircuits PC229XP Color Snake Camera costs under $250 and provides a camera attached to a flexible coil that can be extended for around the corner, over the top, and through the crack each. Tacview has a pole mounted camera that can help officers investigate attics and crawl spaces without exposing their physical selves to danger, and the camera can be detached and mounted on a shield also, making this a versatile tool. Zistos' Dual Mode Camera Systems is a pole-mounted camera that can be carried in the back of a squad car. It has detectable poles for various length uses, is water-proof, and has some customizable options in terms of adding infrared illumination or thermal detection.
http://www.policemag.com
"Road Warriors"
Law Enforcement Technology (03/07) Vol. 34, No. 3, P. 50; Mertens, Jennifer
Mobile command centers are used for multiple applications, such as controlling crowds, by both large and small agencies. In Rockville, Md., the city police department relies on a 24-foot motor coach mobile communications center from Dodgen Industries. "By using the mobile communications center, we can staff it with an additional dispatcher and run all our special events on a separate channel," which prevents the disruption of regular police activities, according to Lt. Bob Rappaport, homeland security and emergency preparedness director at the Rockville PD. Representatives from the fire/rescue service, public works, and the parks and recreation division also use the command center during special municipal events. Rappaport urges that before agencies purchase a command center, they should spend time studying vendors and defining how they will potentially use it, communicate with agencies that have already acquired the vehicle, and develop a strong mission when applying for funding. Massachusetts State Police (MSP) relies on a 53-foot, $1.5 million trailer from Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles equipped with such things as six separate communications models, 15 workstations with Internet and intranet, and a 20-foot light tower with surveillance capabilities. During the playoff series involving the Red Sox, MSP positioned the command center in the middle of a street, using a communications patch to enable state police--on 800 MHz radio--to talk with the Boston PD on 400 MHz radios. During the 2004 Democratic National Convention in July, the MSP was used to oversee power coordination, equipment operations, and deployment operations as well as real-time video from helicopters and city surveillance cameras.
http://www.officer.com/magazines/let/
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Law Enforcement Jobs
Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. Frank Pickens and Jeff Bonilla were added to the list of authors who have written books on how to start a career in law enforcement, policing and criminal justice.
Police officers Frank Pickens and Jeff Bonilla of the Burlingame Police Department are the authors of So you Want to be a Cop. According to the authors, “When the idea for this book first came to us, we were parked side by side in our patrol cars, talking about the many ups and downs of being police officers. We began to discuss the many books about cops that had been written over the last few years, and it became apparent to us that there wasn't a current book out that gave anyone interested in police work any insight or guidelines on what to expect in a career as a police officer.
According to one reader/review of So you Want to be a Cop, “This book is well written and easy to follow. I was going to start the police academy so i bought this book to get an insiders look on things. It has a lot of great info and is right on with how the entire process works and what to expect. I’ve read this book three times and every once in a while I pick it up just to read a chapter or one of the authors real life stories. This book is perfect for someone that is going to be a police officer, for someone that wants to know how officers think or if you’re a vet and want to remember the good old days. I recommend this book.”
Previously added books on law enforcement, police officer and criminal justice careers by police officers include Barry Baker’s Becoming a Police Officer, Wayne LeQuang’s How to Become a Peace Officer and Raymond E. Foster, editing of the Learning Express Police Officer Exam book.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 465 police officers (representing 196 police departments) and their 969 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Police officers Frank Pickens and Jeff Bonilla of the Burlingame Police Department are the authors of So you Want to be a Cop. According to the authors, “When the idea for this book first came to us, we were parked side by side in our patrol cars, talking about the many ups and downs of being police officers. We began to discuss the many books about cops that had been written over the last few years, and it became apparent to us that there wasn't a current book out that gave anyone interested in police work any insight or guidelines on what to expect in a career as a police officer.
According to one reader/review of So you Want to be a Cop, “This book is well written and easy to follow. I was going to start the police academy so i bought this book to get an insiders look on things. It has a lot of great info and is right on with how the entire process works and what to expect. I’ve read this book three times and every once in a while I pick it up just to read a chapter or one of the authors real life stories. This book is perfect for someone that is going to be a police officer, for someone that wants to know how officers think or if you’re a vet and want to remember the good old days. I recommend this book.”
Previously added books on law enforcement, police officer and criminal justice careers by police officers include Barry Baker’s Becoming a Police Officer, Wayne LeQuang’s How to Become a Peace Officer and Raymond E. Foster, editing of the Learning Express Police Officer Exam book.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 465 police officers (representing 196 police departments) and their 969 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Monday, April 09, 2007
1000 Pages of Cop Information
Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. With the addition of three police officers turned authors, Ray Biondi, William Delaney and Grady Morrison, the website now contains over 1000 pages of information on 463 police officers, their 968 books and their nearly 200 departments.
Ray Biondi retired from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department as Lieutenant. During his career he headed up the homicide bureau. He is the author of two crime books: All his father's sins: The trail of terrifying horror that led to Gerald & Charlene Gallego and Dracula Killer. Publisher’s Weekly said of Dracula Killer, “when he graduated to murder, he not only shot his victims but sexually mutilated them. Former Sacramento homicide detective Biondi supplies inside information on the investigation, such as a television crew's discovery of evidence overlooked by police. In addition, he and Hecox produce crime bulletins issued by police and the surprisingly accurate psychological profile detectives prepared of the killer. Luck combined with old-fashioned detective work flushed out Chase, who initially would admit only to killing dogs. But Chase told a fellow prisoner that he drank victims' blood, and after he took the stand in his own defense, jurors decided not to find him insane.”
William Delaney is a former military policeman, San Francisco City College Campus Police Officer, San Francisco Police Department police officer, and candidate for Sheriff of Adams County in Colorado. A graduate of San Francisco City College, San Francisco State University, and attended The University of Texas at Arlington's Graduate School of Criminal Justice, and Urban Affairs, Chabot College in Hayward, California, The University of Maryland Overseas Extension, and The University of California Berkeley's San Francisco Extension.
He has held a California Community College Instructors Certificate since 1972, did extensive undergraduate research in behavior modification, and social learning theory, and has taught at The Community College of Denver, Arapahoe Community College, AT&T, ARCO Coal Company, The U.S. Army Reserve School, and for Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics. He is the author of three books: How to Avoid being a Chicken Head; Black N Blue; and, his most recent Counterfeit Democracy.
Grady Morrison was a Baltimore Police Department police officer for eleven years. According to the book description of his book, Understanding Police Officers and Staying Out of Trouble, “Reading this book takes the reader up close and personal with understanding the police officer and why it is worth the extra effort to avoid trouble. The author brings this understanding to the reader through facts, discussions, and personal examples from his eleven-year police officer experience. Open the book and read why learning to understand the police officer is much better than fearing and fighting him. The author explains this through strong facts and analogies such as, “having more common sense than to light a match while pumping gas into your vehicle.” This book also serves as a reminder to the reader that learning to stay out of trouble should be a personal goal just like any other worthwhile adventure.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 463 police officers (representing 195 police departments) and their 968 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Ray Biondi retired from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department as Lieutenant. During his career he headed up the homicide bureau. He is the author of two crime books: All his father's sins: The trail of terrifying horror that led to Gerald & Charlene Gallego and Dracula Killer. Publisher’s Weekly said of Dracula Killer, “when he graduated to murder, he not only shot his victims but sexually mutilated them. Former Sacramento homicide detective Biondi supplies inside information on the investigation, such as a television crew's discovery of evidence overlooked by police. In addition, he and Hecox produce crime bulletins issued by police and the surprisingly accurate psychological profile detectives prepared of the killer. Luck combined with old-fashioned detective work flushed out Chase, who initially would admit only to killing dogs. But Chase told a fellow prisoner that he drank victims' blood, and after he took the stand in his own defense, jurors decided not to find him insane.”
William Delaney is a former military policeman, San Francisco City College Campus Police Officer, San Francisco Police Department police officer, and candidate for Sheriff of Adams County in Colorado. A graduate of San Francisco City College, San Francisco State University, and attended The University of Texas at Arlington's Graduate School of Criminal Justice, and Urban Affairs, Chabot College in Hayward, California, The University of Maryland Overseas Extension, and The University of California Berkeley's San Francisco Extension.
He has held a California Community College Instructors Certificate since 1972, did extensive undergraduate research in behavior modification, and social learning theory, and has taught at The Community College of Denver, Arapahoe Community College, AT&T, ARCO Coal Company, The U.S. Army Reserve School, and for Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics. He is the author of three books: How to Avoid being a Chicken Head; Black N Blue; and, his most recent Counterfeit Democracy.
Grady Morrison was a Baltimore Police Department police officer for eleven years. According to the book description of his book, Understanding Police Officers and Staying Out of Trouble, “Reading this book takes the reader up close and personal with understanding the police officer and why it is worth the extra effort to avoid trouble. The author brings this understanding to the reader through facts, discussions, and personal examples from his eleven-year police officer experience. Open the book and read why learning to understand the police officer is much better than fearing and fighting him. The author explains this through strong facts and analogies such as, “having more common sense than to light a match while pumping gas into your vehicle.” This book also serves as a reminder to the reader that learning to stay out of trouble should be a personal goal just like any other worthwhile adventure.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 463 police officers (representing 195 police departments) and their 968 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Officer in Trouble
Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. Three police officers who have written books about officers in trouble were added to the website.
Officer in Trouble is based on the real life experiences of its author, James Crawford, a veteran of the Detroit Police Department. According to the book description, “an intense and committed man, Lieutenant James Crawford dedicated himself to making Detroit's finest one of the best departments in the nation. His efforts, however, were not always appreciated and often he found himself on the wrong side of the political battlefields. Against insurmountable odds, he continued to fight until succumbing to the realization that he might win a battle or two, but he could never win the war.”
A second book entitled Officer in Trouble was also written by a Detroit Police Department police officer. In 1981, over ten years prior to James Crawford’s book, James Viner, a six year veteran of the Detroit Police Department, wrote his novel. Whereas James Crawford’s book is a true-life account, James Viner’s is “fiction, but the dilemmas, challenges, pressures and doubts faced by the men in blue are real.”
In Prison for 31 years, former New York Police Department police officer William Phillips is the co-author of his memoir, On the Pad. According to a recent interviewed by Geoffrey Gray, (February 27, 2007), in the New York Times, “The trouble started one spring day in 1971 at P. J. Clarke’s, the glittering bar and hamburger restaurant on Third Avenue. This place, typically overrun with police officers, bookmakers, ballplayers and prizefighters, was Mr. Phillips’s hangout. He was only a patrolman, but looking at him, you’d never know it.
“I dressed like a million dollars,” Mr. Phillips said during one of two interviews conducted at Fishkill last year. “I was an East Side guy. Making money, hanging around, chasing broads. I was just a fun-loving guy. I mean, I would meet a gal, we would hit it off, go do different things, have fun, she’d drift off and someone else would come along and that’s it.” Or, as he put it in his memoir, “On the Pad,” published in 1973: “My life was one big fun.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 452 police officers (representing 191 police departments) and their 947 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Officer in Trouble is based on the real life experiences of its author, James Crawford, a veteran of the Detroit Police Department. According to the book description, “an intense and committed man, Lieutenant James Crawford dedicated himself to making Detroit's finest one of the best departments in the nation. His efforts, however, were not always appreciated and often he found himself on the wrong side of the political battlefields. Against insurmountable odds, he continued to fight until succumbing to the realization that he might win a battle or two, but he could never win the war.”
A second book entitled Officer in Trouble was also written by a Detroit Police Department police officer. In 1981, over ten years prior to James Crawford’s book, James Viner, a six year veteran of the Detroit Police Department, wrote his novel. Whereas James Crawford’s book is a true-life account, James Viner’s is “fiction, but the dilemmas, challenges, pressures and doubts faced by the men in blue are real.”
In Prison for 31 years, former New York Police Department police officer William Phillips is the co-author of his memoir, On the Pad. According to a recent interviewed by Geoffrey Gray, (February 27, 2007), in the New York Times, “The trouble started one spring day in 1971 at P. J. Clarke’s, the glittering bar and hamburger restaurant on Third Avenue. This place, typically overrun with police officers, bookmakers, ballplayers and prizefighters, was Mr. Phillips’s hangout. He was only a patrolman, but looking at him, you’d never know it.
“I dressed like a million dollars,” Mr. Phillips said during one of two interviews conducted at Fishkill last year. “I was an East Side guy. Making money, hanging around, chasing broads. I was just a fun-loving guy. I mean, I would meet a gal, we would hit it off, go do different things, have fun, she’d drift off and someone else would come along and that’s it.” Or, as he put it in his memoir, “On the Pad,” published in 1973: “My life was one big fun.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 452 police officers (representing 191 police departments) and their 947 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Monday, April 02, 2007
The Mob, Funny Cop Stories and Corporate America
Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. Three cop authors whose books explore Mafia investigations, humorous stories about police work and business in America were added to the growing list.
Frank Friel, spent more than 30 years in law enforcement. A Philadelphia Police Department police officer, he rose through the ranks from police officer to top homicide detective in the Philadelphia Police Department. After retiring at the rank of captain, Frank Friel became the Director of Public Safety for Bensalem Township.
Frank Friel is credited with directing investigations into Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra murders and successfully prosecuting more than 60 organized crime members and associates—including notorious mobster Nicky Scarfo and many of his henchmen, Harry “The Hunchback” Riccobene, Salvatore “Chucky” Merlino and Lawrence “Yogi” Merlino, uncle and father of current Philadelphia mob boss Joseph Merlino. Friel’s work led to the establishment of a network of organized crime informants that still provides both historical and current information on La Cosa Nostra family illegal activities.” His book, Breaking the Mob, explores how law enforcement brought mobsters to justice in the Philadelphia area.
Scott Baker, a highly decorated former New York Police Department police officer co-author The Funniest Cop Stories Ever. According to Scott Baker, “When I was a cop with the NYPD, I saw so many funny things happen on the street that I thought that one day I would collect and write them in a book. This is the final result. For several years I went around interviewing cops from all over the country, and I found that the stories in Baltimore or LA and everywhere else were as funny as any in New York. Nothing quite prepares you for what you see on the street once you become a cop. It is one of the most dangerous jobs, but also the most fun as well. One minute you are shot at the next you are convincing a woman that there are no people from outer space after her.”
In 1966, Michael Solomon joined the New York Police Department. During his 15 year career, he received 19 awards for excellent and meritorious police work. He has a Bachelors Degree; and, Master is Public Administration. After leaving the New York Police Department, he worked several years in the private sector in the areas of management and finance before striking out on his own as an author and speaker. His first book, Success by Default, is about the depersonalization of corporate America. According to Forbes Magazine, “it is an unbelievable study in Humanness. It is a must read, not only for the business leader but everyone. This book belongs on the desk of every CEO in America.
According to Michael Solomon, his second book, Where Did My America Go? was written for two reasons, “First as a traditionalist, I am insulted by the American Civil Liberties Union actions trying to tell me what is good for me. That was my parent’s obligation and I know they did a damn good job of it.
Secondly, I wanted to search for the truth in American politics instead of listening to the biased media that likes to print only what they want us to know. As I spell it out and name names you will constantly be asked are you outraged yet?”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 439 police officers (representing 191 police departments) and their 920 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Frank Friel, spent more than 30 years in law enforcement. A Philadelphia Police Department police officer, he rose through the ranks from police officer to top homicide detective in the Philadelphia Police Department. After retiring at the rank of captain, Frank Friel became the Director of Public Safety for Bensalem Township.
Frank Friel is credited with directing investigations into Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra murders and successfully prosecuting more than 60 organized crime members and associates—including notorious mobster Nicky Scarfo and many of his henchmen, Harry “The Hunchback” Riccobene, Salvatore “Chucky” Merlino and Lawrence “Yogi” Merlino, uncle and father of current Philadelphia mob boss Joseph Merlino. Friel’s work led to the establishment of a network of organized crime informants that still provides both historical and current information on La Cosa Nostra family illegal activities.” His book, Breaking the Mob, explores how law enforcement brought mobsters to justice in the Philadelphia area.
Scott Baker, a highly decorated former New York Police Department police officer co-author The Funniest Cop Stories Ever. According to Scott Baker, “When I was a cop with the NYPD, I saw so many funny things happen on the street that I thought that one day I would collect and write them in a book. This is the final result. For several years I went around interviewing cops from all over the country, and I found that the stories in Baltimore or LA and everywhere else were as funny as any in New York. Nothing quite prepares you for what you see on the street once you become a cop. It is one of the most dangerous jobs, but also the most fun as well. One minute you are shot at the next you are convincing a woman that there are no people from outer space after her.”
In 1966, Michael Solomon joined the New York Police Department. During his 15 year career, he received 19 awards for excellent and meritorious police work. He has a Bachelors Degree; and, Master is Public Administration. After leaving the New York Police Department, he worked several years in the private sector in the areas of management and finance before striking out on his own as an author and speaker. His first book, Success by Default, is about the depersonalization of corporate America. According to Forbes Magazine, “it is an unbelievable study in Humanness. It is a must read, not only for the business leader but everyone. This book belongs on the desk of every CEO in America.
According to Michael Solomon, his second book, Where Did My America Go? was written for two reasons, “First as a traditionalist, I am insulted by the American Civil Liberties Union actions trying to tell me what is good for me. That was my parent’s obligation and I know they did a damn good job of it.
Secondly, I wanted to search for the truth in American politics instead of listening to the biased media that likes to print only what they want us to know. As I spell it out and name names you will constantly be asked are you outraged yet?”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 439 police officers (representing 191 police departments) and their 920 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
The Earliest Police Writer, So Far
Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. A police officer published a book in 1886, making him, thus far, the earliest police officer to write a book.
According to the New York Police Department, Thomas Byrnes, was known as "personification of the police department." As a captain he had solved the Manhattan Bank burglary, recovering $3 million in stolen cash and securities. When the Detective Bureau was established in 1882, Thomas Byrnes was appointed the first chief of detectives and he was named superintendent of police in 1892. His considerable personal wealth and the undeniable corruption of the department cast a shadow over his otherwise distinguished career.”
In 1886, Thomas Byrnes published Professional Criminals of America. According to the book description, it “contains biographical sketches, including photographs, of some four hundred of the nation’s leading criminals. Each profile details the crimes committed and the circumstances leading up to arrest and conviction. Also included are short, informative chapters on criminal methods, executions, opium addiction, fugitives from justice, and prison commutation laws, along with intriguing chapters on mysterious unsolved murders, adventurers and adventuresses, and a list of every prison and state penitentiary in America at the time of publication.”
According to one reader/reviewer, “this book was an attempt to make the public aware of the lives and practices of "career criminals" in 19th Century America. Byrnes gives an explanation of numerous criminal professions, such as bank robbers, forgers, con artists, and thieves, as well as sections on opium addiction. The good inspector's writing style seems to borrow heavily from pulp crime stories of the day; his descriptions are lurid, yet still sanitized enough to not offend Victorian sensibilities.
While an interesting exploration of the practices of 19th Century criminals (in case you're interested in pulling off a bogus horse sale or something), the book is more significant as a reflection of common 19th Century beliefs about origins and practitioners of crime. Inspired by developments in psychology, biology, and other fields, in the 19th Century there emerged an idea of the 'criminal class' or 'professional criminal', the idea that there existed an entire underworld class within ordinary society that lived solely by the fruits of their criminal endeavors. While similar ideas had been posited previously, they reached a new currency (and one might even say obsession) during the Victorian age. Much of the theories that formed the underpinnings of these questionable notions would go on to inspire much of the torturous and confused logic of race that would continue to trouble the West throughout the 19th and 20th Century.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 438 police officers (representing 191 police departments) and their 918 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
According to the New York Police Department, Thomas Byrnes, was known as "personification of the police department." As a captain he had solved the Manhattan Bank burglary, recovering $3 million in stolen cash and securities. When the Detective Bureau was established in 1882, Thomas Byrnes was appointed the first chief of detectives and he was named superintendent of police in 1892. His considerable personal wealth and the undeniable corruption of the department cast a shadow over his otherwise distinguished career.”
In 1886, Thomas Byrnes published Professional Criminals of America. According to the book description, it “contains biographical sketches, including photographs, of some four hundred of the nation’s leading criminals. Each profile details the crimes committed and the circumstances leading up to arrest and conviction. Also included are short, informative chapters on criminal methods, executions, opium addiction, fugitives from justice, and prison commutation laws, along with intriguing chapters on mysterious unsolved murders, adventurers and adventuresses, and a list of every prison and state penitentiary in America at the time of publication.”
According to one reader/reviewer, “this book was an attempt to make the public aware of the lives and practices of "career criminals" in 19th Century America. Byrnes gives an explanation of numerous criminal professions, such as bank robbers, forgers, con artists, and thieves, as well as sections on opium addiction. The good inspector's writing style seems to borrow heavily from pulp crime stories of the day; his descriptions are lurid, yet still sanitized enough to not offend Victorian sensibilities.
While an interesting exploration of the practices of 19th Century criminals (in case you're interested in pulling off a bogus horse sale or something), the book is more significant as a reflection of common 19th Century beliefs about origins and practitioners of crime. Inspired by developments in psychology, biology, and other fields, in the 19th Century there emerged an idea of the 'criminal class' or 'professional criminal', the idea that there existed an entire underworld class within ordinary society that lived solely by the fruits of their criminal endeavors. While similar ideas had been posited previously, they reached a new currency (and one might even say obsession) during the Victorian age. Much of the theories that formed the underpinnings of these questionable notions would go on to inspire much of the torturous and confused logic of race that would continue to trouble the West throughout the 19th and 20th Century.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 438 police officers (representing 191 police departments) and their 918 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Angles on Corrections
Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books, added three writers who give different perspectives on the corrections system; one is a cop who is an expert in conducting investigations in prisons; one is a cop who went to prison; and, the third wrote a thriller were the offenders skip the prison experience.
William Bell comes from a family whose involvement with law enforcement dates back to the Civil War. His own education and career spans more than thirty years. Greatly influenced by his father, a retired Police Inspector, he began with the Dearborn Police Department (Michigan) where his responsibilities included work in road patrol, SWAT, undercover narcotics, and pattern crime. For nearly twenty years the author has been employed by the Colorado Department of Corrections, where he ultimately gained his expertise with the Criminal Investigation Division. He is noted for taking the investigation of prison crime into the streets. He reflects is practical as well as academic excellence in his book, Practical Criminal Investigations in Correctional Facilities.
Lines Crossed is the true story of Alex Richardson, a Lake County Sheriff’s Department (Indiana) a narcotics detective who was ultimately sentenced to federal prison for taking a bribe from a drug dealer. His book, Lines Crossed: the True Story of an Undercover Cop, describes the activities of the County drug task force; and, “he also reveals his gambling habit, and the corruption that takes place while working narcotics.”
Alex Richardson grew up in Gary, Indiana. He left at the age of 18, joining the Army where he was a military policeman. He graduated Airborne School becoming a paratrooper, then finished his enlistment by serving in a special operations unit at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. After his military duties he served as a patrolman on the Lake County, Indiana, Sheriff’s Department before serving over two years as an undercover detective on the Lake County Drug Task Force.
Mark Osterman, a Detroit Police Department police officer wrote two crime thrillers: Happiness is a Green Light and Justifiable Homicide. According to the book description from Justifiable Homicide, “In this sad aftermath, Jack began his secret war on crime. He joined the Detroit Police Department and rose through the ranks to become a detective. However, Jack's after-hours activities included a different method for reducing crime statistics. This one-man crusade served as judge, jury and executioner.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 429 police officers (representing 189 police departments) and their 908 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
William Bell comes from a family whose involvement with law enforcement dates back to the Civil War. His own education and career spans more than thirty years. Greatly influenced by his father, a retired Police Inspector, he began with the Dearborn Police Department (Michigan) where his responsibilities included work in road patrol, SWAT, undercover narcotics, and pattern crime. For nearly twenty years the author has been employed by the Colorado Department of Corrections, where he ultimately gained his expertise with the Criminal Investigation Division. He is noted for taking the investigation of prison crime into the streets. He reflects is practical as well as academic excellence in his book, Practical Criminal Investigations in Correctional Facilities.
Lines Crossed is the true story of Alex Richardson, a Lake County Sheriff’s Department (Indiana) a narcotics detective who was ultimately sentenced to federal prison for taking a bribe from a drug dealer. His book, Lines Crossed: the True Story of an Undercover Cop, describes the activities of the County drug task force; and, “he also reveals his gambling habit, and the corruption that takes place while working narcotics.”
Alex Richardson grew up in Gary, Indiana. He left at the age of 18, joining the Army where he was a military policeman. He graduated Airborne School becoming a paratrooper, then finished his enlistment by serving in a special operations unit at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. After his military duties he served as a patrolman on the Lake County, Indiana, Sheriff’s Department before serving over two years as an undercover detective on the Lake County Drug Task Force.
Mark Osterman, a Detroit Police Department police officer wrote two crime thrillers: Happiness is a Green Light and Justifiable Homicide. According to the book description from Justifiable Homicide, “In this sad aftermath, Jack began his secret war on crime. He joined the Detroit Police Department and rose through the ranks to become a detective. However, Jack's after-hours activities included a different method for reducing crime statistics. This one-man crusade served as judge, jury and executioner.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 429 police officers (representing 189 police departments) and their 908 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Midwest Crime, Drugs and Fiction
Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books, added three cop writers from the Midwest: Baird Davis, Greg Ferency and Mel McNairy.
Baird Davis retired from the Muncie Police Department (Indiana) at the rank of Captain. His book, The Middletown Myth: Based on True Events, is tale of corruption and conspiracy in Muncie, Indiana. According to one reader/reviewer, “The story involves Davis' search to discover who planted the bomb that nearly killed his police officer father. His quest takes him on a journey through a small-time world of corrupt politicians, corrupt labor unions, bad cops and greedy businessmen. Add an assortment of prostitutes, hit men and petty thieves and you'll see why Muncie has been nicknamed "Little Chicago."
Greg Ferency has been a police officer for the Terre Haute Police Department (Indiana). His assignments have included a county-wide Drug Task Force. He has extensive experience in drug related crimes as both an investigator and undercover officer. Greg Ferency has specialized police training and experience in methamphetamine related investigations. He has certifications from the DEA Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Team in the area of Basic, Site Safety and Tactical Operations. Greg has been at the scene of over 550 methamphetamine lab scenes as both lead investigator and site safety officer since 1999. He is a court certified expert in methamphetamine and its associated clandestine labs. Greg has trained law enforcement, civilian groups, educational system employees, medical staff and correctional personnel in methamphetamine and other drug related topics. Greg Ferency is the author of Narc Ops: A Look Inside Drug Enforcement.
Mel McNairy joined the Indianapolis Police Department 1980. In addition to being a field training officer for the Indianapolis Police Department, he has been a air traffic control in the military, martial arts instructor and a student of creative writing, commercial art and Japanese. His book, Art of Vengeance, is billed as a “fast-paced novel crafted by an 18 year veteran of the Indianapolis Police Department.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 426 police officers (representing 187 police departments) and their 904 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Baird Davis retired from the Muncie Police Department (Indiana) at the rank of Captain. His book, The Middletown Myth: Based on True Events, is tale of corruption and conspiracy in Muncie, Indiana. According to one reader/reviewer, “The story involves Davis' search to discover who planted the bomb that nearly killed his police officer father. His quest takes him on a journey through a small-time world of corrupt politicians, corrupt labor unions, bad cops and greedy businessmen. Add an assortment of prostitutes, hit men and petty thieves and you'll see why Muncie has been nicknamed "Little Chicago."
Greg Ferency has been a police officer for the Terre Haute Police Department (Indiana). His assignments have included a county-wide Drug Task Force. He has extensive experience in drug related crimes as both an investigator and undercover officer. Greg Ferency has specialized police training and experience in methamphetamine related investigations. He has certifications from the DEA Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Team in the area of Basic, Site Safety and Tactical Operations. Greg has been at the scene of over 550 methamphetamine lab scenes as both lead investigator and site safety officer since 1999. He is a court certified expert in methamphetamine and its associated clandestine labs. Greg has trained law enforcement, civilian groups, educational system employees, medical staff and correctional personnel in methamphetamine and other drug related topics. Greg Ferency is the author of Narc Ops: A Look Inside Drug Enforcement.
Mel McNairy joined the Indianapolis Police Department 1980. In addition to being a field training officer for the Indianapolis Police Department, he has been a air traffic control in the military, martial arts instructor and a student of creative writing, commercial art and Japanese. His book, Art of Vengeance, is billed as a “fast-paced novel crafted by an 18 year veteran of the Indianapolis Police Department.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 426 police officers (representing 187 police departments) and their 904 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Over 900 Cop Books
Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books, surpassed a listing of 900 books written by police officers. According to the website’s editor, Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA, “It’s quite a milestone, but there are over 250 police officers whose works are yet to be included!”
The 901st listed book was written by Robert R. Surgenor, a retired detective from the Berea Police Department (Ohio). In 1987, he was one of the first police officers to mount a video camera in his police vehicle; and, in 1988 that camera captured one of the world’s first police chases. In 1995, Robert Surgenor was assigned to the detective bureau and was placed in charge of the juvenile crime unit. His extensive studies on juvenile crime, gangs, parental authority and discipline led to the writing of his book No Fear: A Police Officer’s Perspective.
He has made numerous television appearances supporting his position that “spanking is a necessary part of child rearing.” As an example, he has appeared on MS-NBC, Fox News and other talk shows. According to his website, “he continues to educate parents, police officers, prosecutors, and judges, about Ohio's Child Abuse laws and parental rights in raising children.”
Ovid John McLaughlin, known as O.J., is a 34 year veteran of the Toledo Police Department (Ohio). O.J. attended the now closed DeVilbiss High School in Toledo where he was All-City in both Football and Wrestling.
He attended the University of Toledo, where he played football for one year before playing two years of semi-professional football in Toledo. He joined the Toledo Police Department and during his career has worked in Communications, Traffic Section, Records Section and Street Patrol; and, had a number of commendations during his career
His book, Tales from the Bat Cave, is a look at policing during the 1960s and 1970s. According to the book description, “The “kick ass and take names” days are gone. Police work nowadays is more the “touchy-feely” way. During this era of police work the Officers carried .38 revolvers, did not have portable radios, copy machines, computers and bulletproof vests were the exception rather than the norm. The vests that were worn by officers in this era were the old-fashioned flak vests that weighed about thirty-five pounds.”
Joseph Niehaus is a lieutenant with the Kettering Police Department (Ohio). He has authored five books. Two of Lieutenant Joseph Niehaus’ books concern hypnosis; and, one, Investigative Forensic Hypnosis, looks at the use of hypnosis in law enforcement. He is also the author two novels, Beware the Whale’s Wake and Fade Out.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 423 police officers (representing 185 police departments) and their 901 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
The 901st listed book was written by Robert R. Surgenor, a retired detective from the Berea Police Department (Ohio). In 1987, he was one of the first police officers to mount a video camera in his police vehicle; and, in 1988 that camera captured one of the world’s first police chases. In 1995, Robert Surgenor was assigned to the detective bureau and was placed in charge of the juvenile crime unit. His extensive studies on juvenile crime, gangs, parental authority and discipline led to the writing of his book No Fear: A Police Officer’s Perspective.
He has made numerous television appearances supporting his position that “spanking is a necessary part of child rearing.” As an example, he has appeared on MS-NBC, Fox News and other talk shows. According to his website, “he continues to educate parents, police officers, prosecutors, and judges, about Ohio's Child Abuse laws and parental rights in raising children.”
Ovid John McLaughlin, known as O.J., is a 34 year veteran of the Toledo Police Department (Ohio). O.J. attended the now closed DeVilbiss High School in Toledo where he was All-City in both Football and Wrestling.
He attended the University of Toledo, where he played football for one year before playing two years of semi-professional football in Toledo. He joined the Toledo Police Department and during his career has worked in Communications, Traffic Section, Records Section and Street Patrol; and, had a number of commendations during his career
His book, Tales from the Bat Cave, is a look at policing during the 1960s and 1970s. According to the book description, “The “kick ass and take names” days are gone. Police work nowadays is more the “touchy-feely” way. During this era of police work the Officers carried .38 revolvers, did not have portable radios, copy machines, computers and bulletproof vests were the exception rather than the norm. The vests that were worn by officers in this era were the old-fashioned flak vests that weighed about thirty-five pounds.”
Joseph Niehaus is a lieutenant with the Kettering Police Department (Ohio). He has authored five books. Two of Lieutenant Joseph Niehaus’ books concern hypnosis; and, one, Investigative Forensic Hypnosis, looks at the use of hypnosis in law enforcement. He is also the author two novels, Beware the Whale’s Wake and Fade Out.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 423 police officers (representing 185 police departments) and their 901 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
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