Behind the Shield: The Police in Urban Society

by Arthur Niederhoffer

Genres: Police

263 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1969

Reviews

[FiveBooks]

Former NYPD chief John F. Timoney has chosen to discuss Arthur Niederhoffer’s Behind the Shield: The Police in Urban Society on FiveBooks as one of the top five on his subject - Policing, saying that:

“…Niederhoffer points to a Denver police officer just out of the academy and learning the ways of the profession. First begins a free cup of coffee, followed by free cigarettes and thus begins the process of erosion. The rookie learns from the old-timer how to wait at the end of the bar for the bartender to approach with free cigarettes or perhaps even a bribe. The bar tender looks at the rookie with disgust and the rookie in turn feels disgusted. The bartender will lament that the only time you see a cop is if he’s looking for something…”

The full interview is available here: http://fivebooks.com/interviews/john-...

[Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a scholarly(-ish) study of the shift towards professionalism in police forces in the United States. It was originally published in 1967, so is quite out of date as far as police studies are concerned, but still offers a snapshot of that field at an interesting time. It does come from an insider, but rather than defending the status quo, the author comes down on the side of reform.

But perhaps what is most interesting is the measurement of attitudes that are revealed by a survey the author cites about who cops hate the most. Something suggests that not much has changed in that regard. At the top? Cop-fighter.