NCJ Number
178023
Date Published
1999
Length
241 pages
Annotation
This is an insider’s perspective on the job of Los Angeles, CA, police officers.
Abstract
The book presents an overview of the structure of the Los Angeles Police Department, its setting, history and organization, and provides insight into being a police officer. It also contains officers’ views of the structure of the job and the world of policing. Police officers’ career development is described in five phases: (1) “Hitting the Streets” (occupational socialization in the first 3 years on the job); (2) “Hitting Their Stride” (roughly a 5-year period when officers gain confidence and develop their own rhythm and style of policing); (3) “Hitting the Wall” (officers begin to question many aspects of the job and become disillusioned); (4) “Regrouping” (officers reevaluate their careers); and (5) “Deciding to Retire.” The book’s final chapter addresses recent developments, including racial polarization, which may have implications for the future of the city, for the department, and for other research possibilities. The book includes a study guide keyed to the text. References