Cooper argues that certain seminal events in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s had a profound and lasting effect on the organization and behavior of police forces in the US. The Supreme Court's rulings on due process challenged police procedures; race riots highlighted long-standing and widespread antagonisms between the police and minorities; and rising crime rates, lawsuits, and social science research ... Read morerevealed police inefficacy and corruption. Cooper provides a lucid synthesis of existing scholarship detailing these important developments. . . .Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above.
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Cooper tells the story of American policing, but the book is much more than a historical review of the police. It is a powerful, insightful analysis that demonstrates the interconnectedness of past, present and future in a way that we have seldom seen. The book is a compelling read for police historians, police futurists, and everyone in between.
Michael White, Arizona State University School of Criminology and Criminal Justice Dr. Cooper has written a well-researched and authoritative account of modern policing's linkages to three important decades-the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. His book is a timely and welcome addition to the annals of law enforcement history.
John L. Worrall, professor of criminology, University of Texas at Dallas This is a timely manuscript in the wake of recent events precipitated in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City, New York by the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. It provides a contemporary and thoughtful discussion on the historical relationship between the police and public, how far the police have come, and how far they still have to go.
Charles Katz, Arizona State University Show Less