NCJ Number
184455
Date Published
1998
Length
354 pages
Annotation
This introductory textbook on the theory and practice of policing incorporates the author’s experience as a part-time sworn law enforcement officer for the Tallahassee, Fla., Police Department since 1980 and as a faculty member in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University since 1977.
Abstract
The text addresses four issues: (1) how the police function has involved, (2) what it takes to become a full-fledged law enforcement officer, (3) police activities on the street, and (4) policing issues off the street. Individual chapters explain the early history of social control and how it floundered due to social developments before law enforcement was formally established and problems with the emerging institution of policing in the 20th century. Additional chapters discuss police personnel qualifications, the hiring process, the transition from the civilian arena to sworn status, the fundamentals of criminal law, principles of search and seizure, and interrogation practices. Further chapters explain the concerns involved in decision making about arrest, police typologies, and police use of force. Other chapters focus on police occupational stress, civil liability as a solution to police misconduct, policing as a profession or an occupation, the developments that may affect the future of policing. Checklists, forms, photographs, tables, chapter review and discussion questions, lists of cases cited, index, and chapter reference lists