Authors Franklin and Hein have witnessed firsthand difficulties experienced in some black communities. They use their knowledge to analyze and discuss the interactions between American policing, a subculture of the black community and the BLM movement. The authors wrote this book not because of attacks on police officers but because of overzealous actions by officers to shoot black men. It describes how blue on black shootings along with police tactics sometimes cause intense citizen responses through public statements, outbursts, and demonstrations. It begins with an examination of the differences between the black and white communities; how the same incident can be viewed from two different perspectives and how a discussion can be perceived unbiased by one but biased and unjust by another. Because of civil rights efforts American policing is going through a transformation. A change in policing tactics must be met with a re-evaluation of some cultural norms by the black community. They also discuss the lack of support by blacks shown to other blacks when there is an impression of being “not black enough.” The authors believe in political correctness, but also believe that political correctness is harming the black community, because well-recognized negative issues in some communities are not being addressed to avoid criticism of black culture. In the final chapter the authors discuss the failure of black leadership to make any earnest effort to rescue a wanting black subculture from itself. Finally, the authors believe that American policing understands its 21st century obligations and is taking steps to meet them.

The Psychology of Police Deadly Force Encounters: Science, Practice, and Police is a fascinating look into the reality of police work. The author integrates noted theories into a “street-wise” understanding of being a police officer. The focus of this book is on the use of deadly force by officers—a topic of considerable importance. The author discusses the psychosocial aspects of deadly force use, stemming from the individual officer, the situation, organizational influences, and the police culture. Expanding further into social issues, the controversial topic of race and use of deadly force is discussed. This depiction looks at both sides—that of racial victimization and that of the police—which helps to provide a rather unique perspective on this important issue. Of interest, the author breaks down the different dimensions of cognition as a factor in decision making among police, including the perception of the situation, the action taken depending on that perception, and the role of present and past memory. This will make for a useful training topic to alert officers to the cognitive processes that go into deadly force use—processes that they have the control to change to make a better decision. Next, the book delves into the biological factors that may be involved in police decision making—again where deadly force is involved. The various negative psychological impacts that a deadly force situation may bring about are identified and explained. This book will be useful as a tool for both law enforcement practitioners and researchers to better understand the intricacies of deadly force by the police. For researchers, the book has a multitude of references available for further exploration. It will prove to be a useful guide and reference volume for police managers and supervisors, mental health clinicians, investigators, attorneys, judges, law enforcement educators and trainers, rank and file police officers, including expert witnesses.

Why Law Enforcement Organizations Faildissects headline cases to examine how things go wrong in criminal justice agencies. The third edition features new cases in each chapter including coverage of LaQuan McDonald's death; excessive force in Baltimore and during the Ferguson riots; and the death of Deborah Danner, a mentally ill woman in New York. Highlight cases that remain from earlier editions include New Orleans' Danziger Bridge after Hurricane Katrina; the death of Amadou Diallo; the Jon Benet Ramsey murder investigation; and the conflagration that ended the siege at the MOVE house in Philadelphia. These human tragedies and organizational debacles serve as starting points for exploring how common structural and cultural fault lines in police organizations set the stage for major failures. The author provides a framework for sorting through these cases to help readers recognize the distinct roles of operational mechanics, organizational structures, rank and file culture and executive hubris in making criminal justice agencies vulnerable to failure. The book examines how dysfunctions such as institutional racism, sexual harassment, systems abuse and renegade enforcement become established and then readily blossom into major scandals. Why Law Enforcement Organizations Fail also shows how managers and oversight officials can spot malignant individuals, identify perverse incentives, neutralize deviant cultures and recognize when reigning managerial philosophies or governing policies are producing diminishing or negative returns. This book is jargon-free and communicates plainly with students and criminal justice professionals. This is a highly-teachable book that also provides pragmatic long-term guidance for how to deal with crises, prevent their recurrence and restore organizational legitimacy. This book is an excellent centerpiece for any class on police organization and management, criminal justice policy or police-community relations. Praise for earlier editions:

Criminal justice professionals are confronted with crisis situations on a daily basis in an era when crime ranks in the forefront of domestic social issues, and the administration of criminal justice is a major concern of public officials and the public. This expanded new edition delves into the historical perspective of crisis intervention and examines the advancements that have been made in order to reflect the latest developments in the field. It is intended for pre-service and in-service criminal justice and social service crisis interveners who come into contact with victims of domestic/spouse abuse, child abuse and neglect, rape and sexual assault, loss of a loved one, or any other type of crisis. This book deals extensively with the special considerations involved in intervening in nonsecure field settings and provides an updated strategy for teaching crisis intervention in the criminal justice curriculum. Step-by-step procedures and numerous examples and role-plays teach readers how to intervene in crises. The intervener is also provided information on self assessment in a field setting and coping with the stresses of frontline work. A statement of objectives, a summary, and learning activities are included in each chapter. The appendices include useful World Wide Web sites, guidelines and scenarios for role-plays, and course outlines for instructors. This unique book is designed for firefighters, police officers, community service officers, correctional workers, emergency medical workers, ministers, probation and parole officers, protective service workers, social workers, and victim assistance workers.

"Authors Franklin and Hein have witnessed firsthand difficulties experienced in some black communities. They use their knowledge to analyze and discuss the interactions between American policing, a subculture of the black community and the BLM movement. The authors wrote this book not because of attacks on police officers but because of overzealous actions by officers to shoot black men. It describes how blue on black shootings along with police tactics sometimes cause intense citizen responses through public statements, outbursts, and demonstrations. It begins with an examination of the differences between the black and white communities; how the same incident can be viewed from two different perspectives and how a discussion can be perceived unbiased by one but biased and unjust by another. Because of civil rights efforts American policing is going through a transformation. A change in policing tactics must be met with a re-evaluation of some cultural norms by the black community. They also discuss the lack of support by blacks shown to other blacks when there is an impression of being "not black enough." The authors believe in political correctness, but also believe that political correctness is harming the black community, because well-recognized negative issues in some communities are not being addressed to avoid criticism of black culture. In the final chapter the authors discuss the failure of black leadership to make any earnest effort to rescue a wanting black subculture from itself. Finally, the authors believe that American policing understands its 21st century obligations and is taking steps to meet them"--

"This timely book addresses the deeply rooted perception of inequality and injustices experienced in Ferguson, Missouri, with a keen focus on the legal and social reverberations following the death of Michael Brown." Excerpt from Foreword by Paulette Brown, President of the American Bar Association, 2015-2016

The massive uprising following the police killing of George Floyd in the summer of 2020--by some estimates the largest protests in US history--thrust the argument to defund the police to the forefront of international politics. It also made The End of Policing a bestseller and Alex Vitale, its author, a leading figure in the urgent public discussion over police and racial justice. As the writer Rachel Kushner put it in an article called "Things I Can't Live Without", this book explains that "unfortunately, no increased diversity on police forces, nor body cameras, nor better training, has made any seeming difference" in reducing police killings and abuse. "We need to restructure our society and put resources into communities themselves, an argument Alex Vitale makes very persuasively." The problem, Vitale demonstrates, is policing itself-the dramatic expansion of the police role over the last forty years. Drawing on first-hand research from across the globe, The End of Policing describes how the implementation of alternatives to policing, like drug legalization, regulation, and harm reduction instead of the policing of drugs, has led to reductions in crime, spending, and injustice. This edition includes a new introduction that takes stock of the renewed movement to challenge police impunity and shows how we move forward, evaluating protest, policy, and the political situation.

During his 28-year career, Matthew Horace rose through the ranks from a police officer working the beat to a federal agent working criminal cases in some of the toughest communities in America to a highly decorated federal law enforcement executive managing high-profile investigations nationwide. Yet it was not until seven years into his service- when Horace found himself face down on the ground with a gun pointed at his head by a white fellow officer-that he fully understood the racism seething within America's police departments. Through gut-wrenching reportage, on-the-ground research, and personal accounts from interviews with police and government officials around the country, Horace presents an insider's examination of archaic police tactics. He dissects some of the nation's most highly publicized police shootings and communities to explain how these systems and tactics have hurt the people they serve, revealing the mistakes that have stoked racist policing, sky-high incarceration rates, and an epidemic of violence. "Horace's authority as an experienced officer, as well as his obvious integrity and courage, provides the book with a gravitas." -- The Washington Post "The Black and the Blue is an affirmation of the critical need for criminal justice reform, all the more urgent because it/DIVDIVcomes from an insider who respects his profession yet is willing to reveal its flaws." -- USA Today

In one of the most illuminating portraits of police work ever, Chief Charles Campisi describes the inner workings of the world’s largest police force and his unprecedented career putting bad cops behind bars. “Compelling, educational, memorable…this superb memoir can be read for its sheer entertainment or as a primer on police work—or both” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). From 1996 to 2014 Charles Campisi headed NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau, working under four police commissioners and gaining a reputation as hard-nosed and incorruptible. During Campisi’s IAB tenure, the number of New Yorkers shot, wounded, or killed by cops every year declined by ninety percent, and the number of cops failing integrity tests shrank to an equally startling low. But to achieve those exemplary results, Campisi had to triple IAB’s staff, hire the very best detectives, and put the word out that corruption wouldn’t be tolerated. Blue on Blue provides “a rare glimpse inside one of the most secretive branches of policing…and a compelling, behind-the-scenes account of what it takes to investigate police officers who cross the line between guardians of the public to criminals. It’s a mesmerizing exposé on the harsh realities and complexities of being a cop on the mean streets of New York City and the challenges of enforcing the law while at the same time obeying it” (The New York Journal of Books). Campisi allows us to listen in on wiretaps and feel the adrenaline rush of drawing in the net. It also reveals new threats to the force, such as the possibility of infiltration by terrorists. “A lively memoir [told with] verve, intriguing detail, and a generous heart” (The Wall Street Journal) and “an expose of the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureaus [that is] enlightening and entertaining” (The New York Times Book Review), Blue on Blue will forever change the way you view police work.

From the extraordinary Colombian French politician and activist Ingrid Betancourt, a stunning debut novel about freedom and fate Set against the backdrop of Argentina’s Dirty War and infused with magical realism, The Blue Line is a breathtaking story of love and betrayal by one of the world’s most renowned writers and activists. Ingrid Betancourt, author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Even Silence Has an End, draws on history and personal experience in this deeply felt portrait of a woman coming of age as her country falls deeper and deeper into chaos. Buenos Aires, the 1970s. Julia inherits from her grandmother a gift, precious and burdensome. Sometimes visions appear before her eyes, mysterious and terrible apparitions from the future, seen from the perspective of others. From the age of five, Julia must intervene to prevent horrific events. In fact, as her grandmother tells her, it is her duty to do so—otherwise she will lose her gift. At fifteen, Julia falls in love with Theo, a handsome revolutionary four years her senior. Their lives are turned upside down when Juan Perón, the former president and military dictator, returns to Argentina. Confronted by the realities of military dictatorship, Julia and Theo become Montoneros sympathizers and radical idealists, equally fascinated by Jesus Christ and Che Guevara. Captured by death squadrons, they somehow manage to escape. . . . In this remarkable novel, Betancourt, an activist who spent more than six years held hostage by the FARC in the depths of Colombian jungle, returns to many of the themes of Even Silence Has an End. The Blue Line is a story centered on the consequences of oppression, collective subservience, and individual courage, and, most of all, the notion that belief in the future of humanity is an act of faith most beautiful and deserving.