Rating: 
Summary: Basic Info
Review: This book covers the basics of police departments, investigations, crimes and arrests, and the judicial system. I would not use this as my sole source because every state has different laws, obviously. So does every branch of law enforcement. It was interesting learning the layout of a typical police station.
Rating: 
Summary: Helped me get my novel off the ground
Review: This book helped me get my novel, 'Soul's Desire' (written under the name Simona Taylor), going. As a non-American setting a novel in the US and creating a main character who was both American and a cop, I needed something that would explain to me clearly and precisely what the US system was like. This one did the job.
Rating:
Summary: Helped me get my novel off the ground
Review: This book helped me get my novel, 'Soul's Desire' (written under the name Simona Taylor), going. As a non-American setting a novel in the US and creating a main character who was both American and a cop, I needed something that would explain to me clearly and precisely what the US system was like. This one did the job.
Rating:
Summary: Excellant source for writers of suspense/mystery novels.
Review: This book should become part of every crime writers library. It describes in great detail the organization and investigative techniques of the police. It does become a little "text-bookish" in parts, but it covers a wide spectrum of police issues, investigating homicides, assault & battery and robbery, as well as vice(drug investigations and tips on arresting and interrogating suspects). It also includes a lengthy chapter on the officers testimony in court cases. Not a lot of information on sexual assault or missing persons cases but all in all it's a great book for writers.
Rating:
Summary: A useful reference, but not a fun read
Review: This is a good, solid, thorough information source about police departments and how they operate: it covers everything from how recruits are trained to the typical layout of a police station. It also has useful outlines of how various types of cases (homicide, burglary, etc.) are approached by investigators. And, once someone has been arrested, there's a helpful summary of the sequence of events involved in taking the case to trial and what the investigator's responsibilities are at each stage. (I consulted a friend who's a retired Assistant D.A., and her description of this process was very close to the book's, which I felt was a good recommendation!)Some cautions:
1. This is a "plain vanilla" description of police procedure. For specifics about a department's organization and facilities, whether it has specialists on staff (e.g., a fingerprint expert), and its training and promotion policies, you'll need to consult the actual police department.
2. Ditto for legal information. The definitions of crimes, the terminology used to describe them, the length of sentences, and other factors (e.g., "three strikes, you're out" laws) vary widely from state to state. Also, there may be differences in practice between what the criminal code says and the way it's normally applied, so talking to someone "in the know" is mandatory. Finally, I found the book VERY hard to read. The author clearly knows his stuff, and occasionally he deviates into an anecdote ... but he honed his writing style on police reports, so by and large the book is heavy going. I'm surprised that an editor didn't go through and, at least, break up some of his full-page paragraphs and shorten his longer sentences -- a lot could have been done with formatting and subheadings to make the book easier to use. Also, I felt that the index was barely adequate (no cross-references, for one thing), and the table of contents is very high-level too, so it took me a long time to find the specific piece of information I needed. I think this is a terrific reference book that should be in the library of every mystery writer -- but it definitely has flaws.
Rating:
Summary: A useful reference, but not a fun read
Review: This is a good, solid, thorough information source about police departments and how they operate: it covers everything from how recruits are trained to the typical layout of a police station. It also has useful outlines of how various types of cases (homicide, burglary, etc.) are approached by investigators. And, once someone has been arrested, there's a helpful summary of the sequence of events involved in taking the case to trial and what the investigator's responsibilities are at each stage. (I consulted a friend who's a retired Assistant D.A., and her description of this process was very close to the book's, which I felt was a good recommendation!) Some cautions:
1. This is a "plain vanilla" description of police procedure. For specifics about a department's organization and facilities, whether it has specialists on staff (e.g., a fingerprint expert), and its training and promotion policies, you'll need to consult the actual police department.
2. Ditto for legal information. The definitions of crimes, the terminology used to describe them, the length of sentences, and other factors (e.g., "three strikes, you're out" laws) vary widely from state to state. Also, there may be differences in practice between what the criminal code says and the way it's normally applied, so talking to someone "in the know" is mandatory. Finally, I found the book VERY hard to read. The author clearly knows his stuff, and occasionally he deviates into an anecdote ... but he honed his writing style on police reports, so by and large the book is heavy going. I'm surprised that an editor didn't go through and, at least, break up some of his full-page paragraphs and shorten his longer sentences -- a lot could have been done with formatting and subheadings to make the book easier to use. Also, I felt that the index was barely adequate (no cross-references, for one thing), and the table of contents is very high-level too, so it took me a long time to find the specific piece of information I needed. I think this is a terrific reference book that should be in the library of every mystery writer -- but it definitely has flaws.
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