Customer Reviews

The Crime Fighter: How You Can Make Your Community Crime Free

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For those of us in the policing business who grew up being taught that police performance made little difference to criminals and the crime rate, Maple's book is an ice cold beer in the middle of the desert: wonderful and refreshing. He has an important message not only to empty suit police executives, but also to city managers and local elected officials who spend and enormous amount of tax dollars without having a clue is it produces any meaningful results in terms of public safety. By monitoring crime patterns daily, using timely intelligence, used rapidly to develop strategies and deploy people in the right places, the 20 percent of the criminals who commit 80 percent of the crime can be tracked and captured. Unfortunately, most police departments are evaluated on their ability to respond efficiently, solve an occasional high profile crime, and talk in vague terms about community policing an partnerships. What Maple has shown us is that what police departments need are leaders who know how to lead and manage, but also know about street policing and about investigating crime. This book not only challenges police leaders, but also provides them instruction on how to lead the crime fighting efforts of their police departments. The enormous costs of municipal policing might be justified if more departments followed some of Jack Maple's advice. This book is a "must read" for those in the police business who believe the primary mission of police departments is to fight crime and the number one goal is fewer victims.

Jack Maple's book is both informative and fun reading. with his professional experience as a valuable resource, Maple's book is full of examples of how to lower crime and boost police/community morale. this book explains how to simplify the complicated and bureaucratic approach that many police departments take.maple's book raises many management theories that are important for any successful organization to be familiar with. (i.e. micromanaging vs. macromanaging in " The One Minute Manager", to a degree,and the breaking ball plus theory, a relative of the broken windows theory and other common sense theories) Maple also expounds on the need for managers to be leaders and not coaches and how leaders must allow for innovation in the lower ranks while letting subordinates know their bosses are familiar with their plight. Maple asserts that settling for less can become a cancer on any organization. for example, Maple argues that 10% of cops do 90% of the crime fighting. The Crime Fighter is an educational " page turner". To read it is to enjoy it.

This is the best book on policing that I have ever read. It is not some boring textbook written by some college professor who has never made an arrest or even ridden in a police car. This book is informative, humorous and entertaining. Maple lays out a crime fighting strategy in an easy-to-understand, common sense manner. He also gives a few tips on the tactics to be employed using his strategy.

The main point of his strategy: Map out the crime in your jurisdiction by location and time and deploy your forces to those locations. "Put cops on dots" and then hold people accountable for the crime rates in their areas of responsibility. It is a simple idea but it has hardly been employed by police agencies in the United States.

Maple tells police managers how to proceed and how to get past problems in implementing the strategy. He then gives the reader tactics to use to catch even more crooks, including systematically turning each arrest into an opportunity to find other criminals, drug dealers and illegal guns.

This book should become part of every police academy curriculum and added to every police promotional reading list. It is really that good.

Engaging stories from Maple's career as a detective for
the NY Transit Police, deputy commissioner of NYPD, and
consultant to Newark, Philadelphia, and New Orleans police
departments make this a very interesting read. The fact
that the problems and solutions discussed are relevant to
other cities - not just NYC - broadens the appeal of this
book. While some of the principles will apply to smaller
police jurisdictions, the context of all examples is with
large cities.

The subtitle "How You Can Make Your Community Crime-Free"
is a bit misleading, as this book is really about how the
police can make your community crime-free. Deploying
resources based on analysis of crime tracking, holding
commanders accountable for reducing crime in their
districts, auditing against falsifying crime reports
to artificially improve statistics, having "cold case
squads" take over unsolved cases, interrogation strategy,
rooting out bad cops, and respect for citizens are
among the many topics covered.

I chose to read this book because the author, Jack Maple,
was an interesting character in the book Turnaround by
William Bratton; Bratton shook up several underperforming
police departments including the NYPD and Maple was key
player on his "dream team."

The is the BEST book about effectively fighting crime that I have ever read. Every Cop nationwide should read it, study it, and implement Maples' statagies. The Bad Guys will never know what hit em. God bless Jack Maple for his inspiration. Rest in peace Jackster.

I loved this book; a very fast read and just the excitement and real life action you would hope for. Not a ton of exposition just a great story. Something I would recommend to everyone. I am going to try and write to Mr. Maple, via Random House, and send him a gift of thanks. Kevin

Jack Maple, a truly unique individual in modern policing, has written a book that is composed of equal parts humorous stories from the trenches, ascerbic policy analysis and practical prescriptions for intractable crime problems. It would be a mistake and a reader's loss to dismiss this book as yet another police memoir.

Maple has an extensive background in transit policing and was deep selected to become the Deputy Police Commissioner of the New York Police Department. A promotion he notes was equivalent to a Coast Guard Ensign being promoted to a Vice Admiral in the Navy. In his capacity as the Deputy Commissioner, he formulated a new process - Comstat - that has been credited with increasing police effectiveness and accountability.

Four of the eleven chapters of this book examine the principles of Comstat. In some detail Maple outlines each Comstat principle, its philosophical underpinnings and practical implementation strategies. But he notes in summary that". . . Comstat process is a tool. In the hands of the mediocre, its useless. In the hands of a great leader it can be excalibur."

Maple's writing style is accessible, almost conversational. He takes the reader into the deep dark corners of major police organizations and reveals problems and triumphs. He does not shy from making politically incorrect assessments of some current police practices and strategies. Maple offers thoughtful alternatives to current practices found within many police departments.

The eleventh chapter, The Perfect World, struck me as redundant when compared to the preceding ten chapters. His five page Canon for Crime Free Communities was at best a summary of the points made clearly earlier in the book.

This is an enjoyable read that will leave you laughing and thinking at the same time - a real rarity.

A must for police administrators of towns and cities of all sizes. Outstanding!!!!!!!!

Sadly, we lost Jack Maple a week or so ago to colon cancer, at the young age of 48. His work in NY or in the reinvention of the New Orleans Police Department will long be remembered. This book is mandatory reading for anyone interested in policing and discovering COMPSTAT and it's new role in law enforcement. Jack's looking down on us from Heaven in his spectator shoes, wondering how an old "Cave Cop" got up so high. Peace be with him.

I love this book and couldn't find it anywhere else for a reasonable price. Jack Maple is an amazing author and my Idle. Thanks for delivering quickly and for the porduct being as said...