Big City Police

This book looks at the impact of two major police reform movements on the social mobility of ethnic groups, the distribution of political power, the struggle for status in urban America, and police professionalism are explored. Social and political pressures which led to waves of police reform in 1890 to 1930 and again about 1940 to 1970 not only changed the average city police department into a centralized, trained group of professionals, but also changed the character of the American city. Before 1890, the police department was an adjunct of the political machine. Ward bosses hired and fired; therefore, police loyalty was to the neighborhood. Most patrol jobs were political rewards and went to immigrants or sons of immigrants from the immediate area. Laws were enforced on an ethnic basis. The cost of this community control was widespread corruption and abuse. The first wave of reform began about 1890 when middle-class clergymen, business leaders, and social reformers began a move to centralize the police and remove political appointments. A military model was adopted and the phrase 'war on crime' coined. By 1930 most major police departments had adopted the centralized beat approach and a civil service system was beginning. A second wave of reform came from within police departments themselves. Greater training, greater professionalism, and greater status for police were the cornerstones of this wave. The emergence of police unions, which became major political power blocs, increased the force of the movement. A third reform started tentatively in the late 1960s. This movement calls for return of police accountability to the neighborhoods. To date, it has made little headway because police commissioners have incorporated its protests into the existing police department structure through community relations boards, community grievance procedures, and other institutionalized devices.

A young, idealistic young man from Iowa comes to California to join the Los Angeles Police Department in the late 1950s. The country is in the beginning of the Civil Rights era and many cities are in turmoil. After a two-year stint in street patrol in downtown L.A., Pete Felix achieves his goal of becoming a motorcycle officer. His fellow officers call themselves “B.C.M.C.” meaning, Big City Motor Cops. His first trial is to complete the rigid training required by the LAPD to be accepted as a motor officer. As Pete relates, it was not an easy task. During his motor officer training, Pete meets his future police partner and they begin to experience the challenges and dangers that motorcycle cops face daily on the crowded and mean streets of L.A.. Pete begins his story after his retirement as a middle-aged man watching the riots on TV that followed the Rodney King incident. He fumes at the lack of police attention to the crimes being committed in front of the cameras. Finally, he realizes that he can do nothing to stop the wild scenes and, in frustration, heads off to bed thinking of the past and his time on the job with the BCMCs. He then relates many of his activities, arrests and experiences, which include many humorous incidents mixed with some of the most terrifying times in the City of Angels. The reader will find out what it is like to be a traffic enforcement officer in one of the largest cities in the country. Pete tells how he learned the ins and outs of riding a big police motorcycle on the streets and freeways of L.A. and gives you a personal glimpse of the many personalities that make up the LAPD of that era. Look in on the rollicking times in the police roll-calls as they start their tours of duty. They challenge authority of supervision and generally raise hell at some of these roll-calls! Pete opens his police story with the chilling and most dangerous motorcycle police action: a pursuit! He describes his thoughts and actions as he chases the suspects and tries to stay alive while doing it. As the story unfolds, you get a picture of the private conversations and relationships between the officers with which Pete works in the various phases of his career. Accidents and confrontations with traffic violators are the daily challenge of a BCMC and Pete has his own way of dealing with them. The manner with which cops deal mentally with the horrors and the sadness of the real life and death that the cops must face will surprise you. Some will say that cops must be hardened and cynical to cope. Some are and some aren’t. Go with Pete and his fellow officers as the City of L.A. erupts into the chaos of the Watts Riot. Feel the terror and dangers that faced the BCMCs and the innocent victims of the riot. Pete survives several minor accidents on his motorcycle but, while on a special detail chasing speeders in a busy part of L.A., Pete crashes into a car that makes an illegal turn in front of him. He receives major injuries that threaten his career as a motor cop. Pete recovers and regains his position on the job but things are never the same for him after that. As Pete ages, he looks back at the way things were and the way they for are him now. With a flare for comedy and a dedication to duty, Gary Smith tells the stories that he and other officers lived on the LAPD in his era. The stories in his book are true stories from his personal experiences and of some of his fellow officers. Names have been changed but the realities that Gary portrays here are.... The way it was!

This elegantly written book describes the changes in the perception and experience of the night in three great European cities: Paris, Berlin and London. The lighting up of the European city by gas and electricity in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries brought about a new relationship with the night, in respect of both work and pleasure. Nights in the Big City explores this new awareness of the city in all its ramifications. Joachim Schlor has spent his days sifting through countless police and church archives, and first-hand accounts, and his nights exploring the highways and byways of these three great capitals. Illustrated with haunting and evocative photographs by, among others, Brandt and Kertesz, and filled with contemporary literary references, Nights in the Big City has already been acclaimed in the German press as a milestone in the cultural history of the city. " Schlor] is erudite, and his literary style is alluring." Architect's Journal"

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.

With an engaging and balanced approach, former police officer and policing scholar Willard M. Oliver encourages students to think critically about the role of the police and the practice of policing in American society today. Policing in America builds a basic understanding of contemporary police practices upon a foundation of essential theory and research. In a readable style, the author offers a contextual understanding of concepts in policing, supported by the academic research and balanced with the voice of the American police officer. New to the Second Edition: Updated with new statistics and research Carefully streamlined and edited to ensure teachability and accuracy New, more realistic photos, added Current policing journal articles findings included and cited Professors and students will benefit from: Succinct yet thorough treatment of all policing topics, with a balanced approach that emphasizes contemporary policing. Discussion of best policing practices and research Real-world issues highlighted in text boxes Hypotheticals that exemplify theory in practice in every chapter A design for learning that includes charts, graphics, and summaries of key points Encourages students to think critically about the role of policing in today’s society.

"A wonderful resource, user friendly and very well written." - Timothy J. Horohol, John Jay College A unique approach to studying police forces around the globe How do police forces around the world move toward democratization of their operations and responses? Analyzing police forces from 12 different countries, Comparative Policing: The Struggle for Democratization assesses the stages of each country based on the author's development of a "Continuum of Democracy" scale. Key Features Using five basic themes, this book uses the following criteria to rank and evaluate where each country falls on the continuum, clarifying how policing practices differ: · History of a democratic form of government · Level of corruption within governmental organizations and the oversight mechanisms in place · Scope of and response to civil disobedience · Organization structures of police departments · Operational responses to terrorism and organized crime Intended Audience: This unique analysis of policing is an ideal text for undergraduate and graduate courses in Comparative Criminal Justice, Police Studies, Policing and Society, and Terrorism in departments of criminal justice, criminology, sociology, and government.