Multicultural Law Enforcement: Strategies for Peacekeeping in a Diverse Society (4th Edition) (Paperback)

~ Robert M. Shusta (Author), Deena R. Levine (Author), Herbert Z. Wong (Author), Aaron T. Olson (Author), Philip R. Harris (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of the greatest challenges to American society is developing the ability to respect and acknowledge cultural differences while drawing on the strengths of diversity. The police and all other law enforcement professionals need to be on the cutting edge of meeting that challenge -- this text will help them to effectively fulfill their responsibility." -- Darrel W. Stephens, Chief of Police Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

For courses in Multicultural Law Enforcement and Special Topics in Policing. MULTICULTURAL LAW ENFORCEMENT now in its 4th edition! This classic is used in criminal justice programs throughout North America - from universities and colleges to police academies and professional development programs in law enforcement. This new edition provides culture specifics on major ethnic and minority groups as well as cases, protocols, and guidelines to improve law enforcement within a diverse workforce and society. Multicultural Law Enforcement, 4th Edition, with accompanying instructional tools, is a complete learning package designed to assist all levels of criminal justice representatives in understanding the pervasive influences of culture, race, and ethnicity in the workplace and in multicultural communities. The textbook's information and insights will undoubtedly contribute to the increased professionalism required to address the complex diversity issues that affect law enforcement today. This new edition has been updated and expanded to provide practical information and guidelines for law enforcement managers, supervisors, officers, and instructors.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 4 edition (March 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131571311
• ISBN-13: 978-0131571310
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #33,178 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Criminal Just Instructor and State Police Lieutenant, April 21, 2007

By	L. Wayne Andrews (Indiana U.S.A.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Multicultural Law Enforcement: Strategies for Peacekeeping in a Diverse Society (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

I will simply say this about this text. This information is a must read for all who entertain the thought of being a police officer, be it city, county, state or federal. This text is crucial as an "additional tool" for officers; educating one's self in multi-cultural diversity is a good thing especially when taking into account the incredibly diverse population in the U.S. (A dozen scenarios of unecessarily escalated contact with police officers come to mind...)

I am a Lieutenant with the Indiana State Police and an adjunct criminal justice professor at a local college. My students are all interested in becoming police officers. For the most part they come from small towns in mostly white areas. The benefits of specific awareness/respect of other cultures will only help them should they reach their goal to become officers. The better educated more culturally aware officers are truly the most effective ones. Great investigators know how to relate to all kinds of people. This textbook gives us some insight into the communication barriers and cultural hot buttons as well as general behavioral aspects of others. I consider this topic a fundamental building block for a well rounded police officer. Through awareness and understanding we can perform our jobs better and better serve all of our citizens. (our duty) I think some of the previous reviews of this book must be from officers who are too stubborn to change or too disinterested to study. Most officers mistakenly believe that their skills at marksmanship, hand-to-hand self-defense, pursuit driving skills, physical fitness etc., are the most important attributes of a good police officer. Statististically speaking, officer safety and effectiveness improve dramatically by reversing the order and placing "communication" first in line. This text helps to point out better ways for officers to communicate to the people they are sworn to protect and serve. This improved communication has a residual increased officer safety. "I'd rather talk them into jail than fight all the way there..." My thoughts.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST-HAVE FOR ANY CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROFESSIONAL (Police Tactical & Cultural Diversity Trainer), September 28, 2007

By	Police Sergeant "Police Sgt" (Los Angels, CA) - See all my reviews

"Multicultural Law Enforcement - Strategies for Peacekeeping in a Diverse Society" (Fourth Edition) is an absolute must-have for any police academy, corrections, or college law enforcement program. No other textbook covers such a wide range of topics in such depth concerning how criminal justice professionals are affected by diversity in the society and workforce. As a law enforcement officer with experience ranging from major metropolitan street patrol to Captain in charge of training, I have traveled extensively throughout the West Coast providing training to correctional and law enforcement officers in cultural diversity as well as arrest and control tactics, self-defense, and gun and baton retention. It is my professional opinion that this extraordinary volume will not replace, but instead will complement, the training necessary for street survival tactics, and that professionals who are trained with MULTICULTURAL LAW ENFORCEMENT (MLE) will be more likely to avoid resorting to the use of force. As presented in MLE-4, law enforcement professionals can better understand issues of respect and avoid perceived disrespect due to a lack of cultural awareness. Increased awareness often causes involved parties to be more cooperative and/or exhibit less resistance.

MLE is superior to other materials used in "sensitivity training" in the profession, in several respects. It provides "cultural diversity training" rather than "sensitivity" training, which has been shown to be counter-productive in military and paramilitary training, according to two Pentagon Reports. Each edition of MLE has addressed "hot-button" issues and made recommendations that would surely have prevented unnecessary lawsuits if only more officers had been trained with this text.

On September 19, 2007, the headline of the Los Angeles Independent read: "Jury Award Stands: An LAFD firefighter will receive $6.2 million after winning a harassment case." - These types of payouts that occur each year are specifically due to the type of ignorance of those who limit their professional portfolio to street survival techniques. We would all be better off if these millions of taxpayer dollars were instead spent putting more officers on the streets, providing more and better training, and offering superior equipment to improve officer and public safety.

All law enforcement administrators will realize the liability, and vicarious liability, that comes from not embracing the type of cultural diversity training explained in this easy-to-understand and highly beneficial text.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Better than I expected, May 7, 2006

By	M. Rubin - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Multicultural Law Enforcement: Strategies for Peacekeeping in a Diverse Society (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

This was among the 7 pieces of source material on my most recent exam. It was better than I expected. I looked at it from the perspective that I should use a person's culture to my advantage. With a familiarity of culture specific issues, I can make myself a more effective police officer. I found the author's writing to be of high quality, but book did not make me more culturally diverse. If you are looking for a book that teaches you how to be a police officer, this is not it. If you are looking for a book that might explain why the Iranian guy got mad at you last week, this is the right one.