Strewn on my living room floor are a handful of books from my fairly massive collection of law enforcement books and training materials. Image courtesy of Doug Wyllie. image courtesy of doug wyllie. You are reading: Books on becoming a police officer I’m a voracious reader. I love a good spy novel or some action-adventure pulp fiction for the brief mental vacation these books offer. I also love reading non-fiction about law enforcement; in fact, I believe that doing so is essential to be more successful in my chosen profession. Being a civilian in the law enforcement universe for over a decade, I have learned that in addition to speaking directly with police, taking tours and attending police training, there is enormous value in reading a wide variety of of law enforcement books and training materials. The following is a list of some of my favorites. For the most part, I have read these books multiple times and use many of them as desk references when writing about the police profession, preparing to interview officers, and/or a variety of other job-related tasks. this list is woefully incomplete – it barely scratches the surface of what’s on my shelves and appears in this space in no preferred order – but it might get you thinking about your own favorite books, manuals and other, potentially forcing you to revisit one or more of them. Let’s go to the library! “blood lessons” by chuck remsberg Several months before beginning this wonderful journey as a crime writer, I followed the wise advice of a dear friend. he said, “read everything you can find written by chuck remsberg.” My friend added, “Like you, Chuck was never a cop, but he knows police work as well as the most seasoned veteran.” Naturally, I started by reading Remsberg’s trilogy, “Street Survival”, “The Tactical Advantage”, and “Criminal Patrol Tactics”. Next, I read “Blood Lessons,” in which Remsberg recounts the harrowing experiences of officers involved in critical incidents. Chuck’s retelling of those stories had a tremendous impact on me when I began my career as a crime reporter. It’s an amazing book, and Chuck Remsberg is an amazing writer. I echo my friend’s sentiments: read everything chuck remsberg has ever written. “use of force investigations” by kevin davis This is one of the books you should probably buy another copy of. I have opened it so many times that the binding is breaking. it is not a legal guide, davis is not a lawyer, but he does offer sensible information on how the use of force can be taught so that appropriate decisions are made on the streets, how policy can be designed to allow officers to do their jobs safely and with a clear understanding of what is, and what is not, the permissible use of force, and how investigations can be conducted successfully and fairly for all parties. Davis offers some really common sense ideas worth considering by any officer, internal affairs investigator, police leader, or elected official. “building a better gunslinger” by dick fairburn See Also: Final Fantasy X Side Quest: Al Bhed Primer Locations – Jegged.com This book offers some excellent ideas on how to improve your survivability in a firefight. fairburn first focuses on the importance of improving an officer’s marksmanship, mechanics, and mindset in order to win an armed confrontation. fairburn then examines individual and team tactics, as well as what to expect, and how to respond, after an officer-involved shooting, and ends the book with thoughts on the physical, mental, and legal elements that might follow. a shootout. In the years since reading this book, I’ve applied Fairburn’s principles to my own self-defense training and it has made me more prepared to survive an event that, thank goodness, never happened. but I know I’m ready. “in context” by nick selby, ben singleton and ed flosi following the incident in ferguson, missouri, in august 2014, in which officer darren wilson shot and killed michael brown, the topic of police shooting “unarmed” subjects became national nightly news. However, “unarmed” does not mean “not dangerous” and a grand jury found that Officer Wilson acted within the law in self-defense when he fired those fatal shots. In this book, the three authors offer an analysis of more than 150 incidents in which officers shot an “unarmed” person. is an honest and dispassionate examination of events based largely on open source information. The authors found in some cases that the officers involved were justified and in others unjustified in pulling the trigger. in other cases, the authors only concluded that more information was needed to make a judgement. “the war on the police” by heather mac donald heather mac donald set to work analyzing raw data related to crime in the united states following the upheaval over the officer-involved shooting of michael brown in ferguson, noting the rise in violent crime in certain locations and cross-referencing that data with the rise in anti-police sentiment (and the resulting drop in proactive policing by officers in those locations). mac donald’s book is full of empirical research. His evidence-based conclusion that where police come under verbal, political, and physical attack, and proactive policing is subsequently lost to history, is that citizens pay the price with higher crime rates. “anatomy of question marks” by lou senese Getting a suspect to admit to a crime is an art form that has been perfected over time by many brilliant investigators. One of the main interview/interrogation methods is the Reid technique, which has been in widespread use for more than half a century. in this book, lou senese, an expert in reid techniques, offers ideas on how law enforcement professionals can introduce “threads” during the interview/interrogation process that help elicit confessions to wrongdoing in such crimes. diverse as arson, domestic violence, identity theft, kidnapping. , rape, robbery, stalking, terrorism and others. I “confess” that I have used some of the techniques on these pages during conversations with administrators at my son’s school to accurately understand what happens when I am not personally present. (#forthewin) “law dogs: great cops in american history” by dan marcou This book is an unintended consequence of something Marcou and I worked on several years ago when I was working for a different police publication. Dan approached me with the idea of writing occasional articles on police heroes in American history. I knew he would be the perfect person to do the research necessary to accurately tell the stories of cops like Bass Reeves, Doc Holliday, Frank Serpico, and others. This book is wildly entertaining and wonderfully informative about some of the true legends of law enforcement. dan marcou is an accomplished writer and does a great service to these men and women who came before you in this profession. “If I Knew Then”: A Compilation of Essays Edited by Brian Willis See Also: Brian Haig – Book Series In Order This is an anthology, a collection of essays written by some of the brightest and best minds in law enforcement. Brian Willis, who serves as deputy executive director of the International Association of Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers (ILEETA), compiled writing from a venerable “who’s who” list of crime writers like Jeff Chudwin, Ron Borsch, Chuck soltys, tim dees, dale stockton and many others. The topics are as diverse as the authors, with thoughts on finding a mentor as well as being one. there are “lessons learned” from seemingly mundane events in life, as well as thoughts about mental recovery from highly traumatic events. You could open this book to any random page, spend ten minutes reading it, and find something really useful. “left of bang” by patrick van horne and jason a. riley I’ve probably bought this book more than half a dozen times. I keep giving away copies and need to put it back on my shelf! When the topic of personal safety comes up between me and any dinner guest at my house, I invariably discuss the principles offered in this book; then I take my copy and give it to that person. van horne and riley examine how the concepts taught to marines in the combat hunter course, especially the essential skill of spotting problems before they happen, can help a person prevent something bad from happening. Imagine a timeline of events where “explosion” is a critical incident. the left of bang is what happens before the event, and the right of bang is what happens after. staying “to the left of bang” means that you are constantly making sure that bad things don’t happen. this book delves into what to look for, such as baselines and anomalies, atmospheres, kinetics, geography, and iconography, to be sure. is a deep dive into ensuring the safety of an individual or a group, both officers and citizens. “the gift of fear” by gavin de becker In many ways the predecessor to “left of bang,” this book also teaches readers ways to avoid life-threatening problems. de becker encourages people to listen to that “small voice” inside them that warns them of problems. He explains how people can sharpen their ability to spot pre-incident indicators of an impending attack to prevent such an occurrence. In this book, de Becker examines real-world events. some ended very badly for the victim and others where the potential victim “heard her instinct” of impending danger and was able to survive the event. chapters sometimes read like a thriller, with tension building towards the conclusion of each case study. de becker then offers lessons learned in each case. What’s on your shelves? okay, that’s my list. I could easily make another list of another 10, actually maybe a hundred, books for my friends I read that I could benefit from. In fact, it’s entirely plausible that someday in the future I’ll write a “sequel” to this column that does just that. In the meantime, I ask you, kind reader, to offer your own suggestions. please resonate in the comments section below. See Also: Top 10 books about Sicily | Books | The Guardian
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10 "Must Read" Books for Law Enforcement Officers – Patrol – POLICE Magazine
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