Customer Reviews

A Cop's Guide To Occult Investigations: Understanding Satanism, Santeria, Wicca, and Other Alternative Religions

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

There are numerous reports that can debunk most, if not all, of the ideas presented in this book. A far better (free) report on this type of thing is "The Lanning Report", by Kenneth Lanning, an FBI Agent who used to work specifically with ritual abuse cases. Google for it & check it out; I promise you'll be glad that you didn't waste your money on this piece of junk.

Having been born into a law enforcement family - and having been a part of the magical community for over thirty years - all I can say is, "Hooray for Tony Kail!" This book makes huge strides in clearing up many of the misunderstandings between law enforcement and those who embrace alternative religious paths. Had it been around when I first discovered Wicca, many of the problems we encountered wouldn't have been problems at all.

All I can hope is that this book becomes standard issue for every patrol car in this country - and a staple in the library of anyone even remotely considering an alternative spirituality.

Having read some of the other negative reviews of this book I can only say "Did you read the same book I did?" I found this book to be informative and having done my homework, correct. The purpose of this book is to inform police officers about the different aspects, tools and practices of alternative religions, and it does that. It does not condemn or glorify those differences, only presents the facts.

As the popularity and growth of alternative religions reaches an all time high, the chances of occult groups running into law enforcement increases greatly. This book is the single most important work designed to accurately inform those who are sworn to protect our rights, without the bias and fluffiness you would find in the plethora of other occult books written by practitioners of those faiths. The author presents to the reader very real-life examples of what officers may run into when investigating occult activity, while at the same time reminds the police to be respectful of our beliefs, whether they agree with them or not. Investigators will be able to relate to the concerns addressed in the book, and practitioners of these faiths will find a library of useful information contained in a concise and easy-to-read style. This book has long been overdue and will certainly help bridge the gap between the practitioners and those who must interact with them.

I only wish I could afford to send a copy to every law enforcement agency in this country. This book should be readily available to every police officer and should reside in the library of every teacher of alternative religions.

A big thank you for a very well written and much needed resource.

After reading this book, once can realize two things; First, this book is long overdue, and second, this book is well thought out a painstakingly researched to provide a fair and unbiased guide for police officers wanting to better understand magico-religous practice. I not only recommend this book to law enforcement, but to others who feel that they are "on the outside, looking in".

Not only should Law Enforcement Officers have this book at their fingertips, it would be a good read for anyone subscribing to any faith-- especially those alternative in nature. This would also make a fantastic research material for authors, mystery and otherwise, who wish to include references to such religions and practices in their works.

Concise and filled with invaluable, ACCURATE information, this book is long overdue, and I for one am glad to see it in print.

Kudos Mister Kail!

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a friend of Tony's. I can also say that this book was what led me from being an acquaintance to a friend and colleague. It's not always perfect, but the views within are always sober and measured, and Tony tries to do justice to the needs of both law enforcement and believers alike.

Some of the other reviewers have complained that the book focuses on alternative belief systems, including both Satanism and Wicca, or that Christianity or Judaism aren't included. These people must live in an idealized world where they can always sit down at leisure with a cop and have a lengthy discussion about their belief system. In reality, law enforcement officers are generally Christian in belief, and they have to make quick and tough decisions without the benefit of extensive studies in other religions. Tony takes what they need to know about various faiths that might otherwise be hyped as "human-sacrificing Satanists" and places a respectful summary of each under a single cover. If the local cops ever show up at one of your events, you'd better hope they've read Kail instead of Larson or Kahaner.

If you're in law enforcement and have to buy one book on this topic, this is the one.

I found this book remarkable for its lack of bias regarding the material presented. It is altogether to easy for someone "within the system" to be familiar only with the non-normative practices that wind up being prosecuted for their criminality or show up within the prison system as group structures. This book lays out the facts about the normative practices of the groups as they see themselves, without the alarmist filters that usually are applied in mainstream-written books about alternative cultures. Tightly-written, well-detailed, and wonderfully documented; this book belongs on the shelf of anyone with an interest in alternative cultures.

The author bases his "facts" on outdated myths and urban legends rather than on anything real about any of the groups covered. The chapter on TOPY is one large mistake from start to finish, obviously using information gathered completly from mid-1980's tabloids. This books reads much more like a Christian propaganda tract than as a real guide for understanding anything.

Not only does this book insult the groups it is supposed to be about, but it also does an injustice to police officers who are truly interested in learning about these practices and to how best to deal with a situation where encountering them. Anyone looking to learn the truth about any of these groups or practices in an unbiased fashion would be well advised to look elsewhere.

This is just another rehash of old urban legends. Don't waste your time or money.