NCJ Number
125942
Date Published
1990
Length
240 pages
Annotation
Intended for persons considering a police profession rather than as a training manual, this book provides information on police careers, policing principles and procedures, policing skills and responsibilities, and police weapons.
Abstract
Part I, which provides background information on police careers, presents an historical overview of policing; describes various types of law enforcement careers; and discusses personal and career concerns of policing, stress and family concerns, and human relations. Part II addresses the criminal justice structure under which police operate and the legal parameters within which they must function. Topics covered include the judicial and penal systems, law, detention and arrest, search and seizure, surveillance, and elements of a crime. Part III identifies and describes police skills and techniques. These include personal and professional skills, report writing, interviews and interrogation, investigations, police dogs, identification, and court-related police functions. Police responsibilities "on the street" are covered in Part IV. Topics are patrol procedures, traffic management, crisis intervention, threat response, and defensive techniques. The discussion of police weapons in Part V focuses on defensive devices, weapons as a responsibility, the decision to use deadly force, and the debate over the use of body armor. Appended lists of Federal agencies, helpful agencies, and police organizations; glossary; subject and case indexes; and 37-item bibliography