Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Expose of the Dark Side of American Policing [Paperback]

Norm Stamper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 24, 2006

Opening with a powerful letter to former Tacoma police chief David Brame, who shot his estranged wife before turning the gun on himself, Norm Stamper introduces us to the violent, secret world of domestic abuse that cops must not only navigate, but which some also perpetrate. Former chief of the Seattle police force, Stamper goes on to expose a troubling culture of racism, sexism, and homophobia that is still pervasive within the twenty-first-century force; then he explores how such prejudices can be addressed. He reveals the dangers and temptations that cops face, describing in gripping detail the split-second life-and-death decisions. Stamper draws on lessons learned to make powerful arguments for drug decriminalization, abolition of the death penalty, and radically revised approaches to prostitution and gun control. He offers penetrating insights into the "blue wall of silence," police undercover work, and what it means to kill a man. And, Stamper gives his personal account of the World Trade organization debacle of 1999, when protests he was in charge of controlling turned violent in the streets of Seattle. Breaking Rank reveals Norm Stamper as a brave man, a pioneering public servant whose extraordinary life has been dedicated to the service of his community.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Breaking Rank reveals an advocate for the kind of progressive social justice that Bobby Kennedy would have loved--a cop with guts enough to admit his own mistakes, learn from them, and remain a voice for changing the institution that both made and broke him."

About the Author

Norm Stamper began his law enforcement career in San Diego in 1966 as a beat cop. In 1994, he was named chief of the Seattle Police Department, where he set about implementing many of the initiatives he writes about in Breaking Rank. Retiring in 2000, he now lives in a cabin on a mountain in the San Juan Islands in Washington State.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 16 and up
  
• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Nation Books (May 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560258551
• ISBN-13: 978-1560258551
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #257,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars easy to read, September 23, 2005

By 

John (Madison, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Expose of the Dark Side of American Policing (Hardcover)

I met Mr. Stamper once briefly about 11 years ago in San Diego at a conference and decided to learn more about an interesting, knowledgeable, and experienced police professional. I'm glad he wrote this book and I recommend it.

Like Norm (I can't imagine anybody calling him anything else) I retired after three decades of professional policing. I began in 1970.

The three decades from 1970 to 2000 were tumultuously (yes, tumultuously) productive in the genuine professionalization of American policing. The profession is still blue collar shift work in many ways in most places, according to my own reading and experience, but it shouldn't be and seems to be heading in the right direction in many places. Myself, I am a proponent of the problem oriented approach. There are other approaches, and that is what makes for genuine professionalization -- vigorous (and tumultuous sometimes) effort.

Norm's personality is on display in his book, as well as his expertise. This is a warm book with plenty of humor, as well as a serious book with the kind of advocacy backed up by research and experience that we need from those of us who are serious about the improvement of American policing.

One big negative but constructive criticism: no index.

One lesser criticism: the chapter on "Undercover." Norm tells a compelling and true story in that chapter, however, having some experience in "UC" work myself, I would have written from the point of view of management analysis of cost-benefit. Most undercover work is very expensive and produces not very much genuine product. I distinguish here between process and product. UC might produce lots of arrests, but it seldom solves any problems. Process vs. permanent results. It should be used sparingly and with well-thought-out direction.

There is nothing new in Norm's book in terms of breaking new ground, but it is unique anyway, in that it is an easy read for those who should read it -- public administrators and elected officials -- who don't normally (no pun intended) have the time to do a lot of research and don't know much about what goes on within their very expensive and mysterious public safety services.

Norm -- Mr. Stamper -- hits the right nails on their heads. What Joseph Wambaugh does for policing in some of his fiction, Norm does here in a popular, non-fiction way.

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stamper's Right On Target, August 8, 2005

By 

Kevin Scott "Kevin Scott" (San Diego) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Expose of the Dark Side of American Policing (Hardcover)

Stamper offers an honest and personal view of policing in America. His first-hand account of police culture makes for excellent reading. Oddly, this self-proclaimed progressive offers many conservative approaches to tackle crime in our country including the decriminalization of drugs, a stance supported by Friedman, Buckley, and Shultz. Breaking Rank proved to be balanced and pragmatic. As a conservative, I was surprised to find how often I agreed with Stamper's recommendations.

Breaking Rank is a must read for all police and public administration courses that tackle the subject of crime prevention.

As a native San Diegan, I'm proud of Stamper's accomplishments and his contribution to police reform.

Kevin Scott

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 9-1-1 to Taxpayers and Voters, July 25, 2005

By 

David Cameron - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Expose of the Dark Side of American Policing (Hardcover)

Police officers do a job that I'm not willing to do. Yet when my car broke down on the highway or we heard noises that convinced us a burglar was breaking into our home, I had no hesitation in calling 9-11 for help. I can't imagine life in these United States without the service of police officers.

Most of my experiences with cops so far have been positive, but not all. I have friends and family who work in law enforcement and I've heard some pretty unbelievable stories from behind the "thin blue line." Breaking Rank validates those stories (and more) and gives the reader an appreciation for all aspects of law enforcement: the nobility of police work, the dangerous work that cops do every day to keep our streets safe, and the problems inherent in every profession-and the big, big difference when problems occur in a profession where the employees have guns and badges and can choose to use them as deadly force against any person. I can't imagine life in these United States without constitutional restrictions on that choice especially now with even more power for local law enforcement granted under the Patriot Act.

In Breaking Rank, Stamper blows the smoke out of our eyes so we can see both the humanity and humanness behind the mystique of a respected and reviled profession. I found myself pensive and then concerned over issues that once seemed far removed from my corner of the world-violence in the home, capital punishment, the war on drugs to name a few. And, rather than getting one narrow opinion on these issues, I appreciated the research that was cited to back up Stamper's thinking.

What this former chief can expect is a steady stream of vitriol aimed his way as a result of authoring this book, although it sounds like he's no stranger to it. One has only to look at the current discord in the AFL-CIO and the personal attacks on union leaders to see what happens when someone in the ranks steps out of line with the rest. Peer pressure is hard to resist in any organization, but Stamper makes it clear that it's especially so for those who work in an environment where to openly talk about problems, admit fault or say you're sorry could cost you or your bosses millions of dollars.

Unfortunately, it's hard to correct problems or even make something better if no one is willing to talk about the flaws. One can hope that some open-minded people in law enforcement and beyond will be willing to consider some of the issues that the author raises in this book.

After reading Breaking Rank, I'm also reminded that we get what we pay for. I'm not sure I buy the argument that most people who use drugs have a "disease," but what I do buy is that I've been unwilling (or uneducated) to use my vote or my voice to question whether my tax dollars are best used to support an established industry that spends $50 billion on drug enforcement when public education and other prevention services are sadly lacking for resources.

I will say that dinner conversations are a lot livelier after reading Breaking Rank. Yours may be, too, if you delve into a book that should be required reading in the classroom and by all of us who conveniently forget that we're responsible as citizens for the quality of public service that we get.