Customer Reviews

Police Field Operations (5th Edition)

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

 

 

Too vague and general for someone using the book to use as a reference. Does not go into a lot of key points you actually use on patrol. Also, tends to make remarks that do not reflect the reality of todays police work. The author seems out of touch with policing today.

I had to read this book for a promotional examination and found it to be a good refresher of the very basic points that we all learned at the beginning of our police careers. When I am approached by someone who is not yet in police work and wants to read a good, simply written and understandable book on law enforcement, I always recommend this one. It may seem to be too basic for those of us in this field for the years I have served, but many areas are still very relevant.

My department changed the reading material for a promotional exam from Callibre Press to this junk. I was forced to read and internalize it; I hated it. This book is intollerable from the front cover. Take a look at the guy in the graphic. He is holding a flashlight in his gun hand; nuf said?

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS BOOK. IT IS POORLY WRITTEN AND IT SEEMS THAT EVERY EDITION GETS WORSE. SAVE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY.

This book was on the required reading list for a California POST promotional exam. It would have been more appropriate if third graders were taking the exam. It seems evident that since the author is a college professor, this book is surely required reading for his classes. It's poorly written, overly wordy, and seems to have a target audience of simpletons. I tried and tried to get through the book but every page was so badly cliched that I could not.

No need to take my word for it though, I'll let the book speak for itself.
Here are some of the gems of wisdom from the book:

"If you have been assigned to an urgent call to respond to a robbery in progress, you will not stop and cite a person who is speeding five miles over the speed limit" (page 251)

"Inspecting wondows usually involves first checking for any broken glass..." (page 177)

"Someone may ask you where the best place to get a lobster dinner without having to pay for maintenance of the lobster traps...if there is more than one of each of these places then you should tell the inquirer about more than one of them so it will not appear that you are a walking advertisemnt for specific business establishments. Of course, if there is only one of each of these places, you will have no complaints about preferential treatment. Save the brocures and coupons for your personal use". (Seriously, page 25)

...anyway....it goes on and on like this. I saw in the front jacket that the author was a LT. in SoCal at some point. The long winded blowhardedness of the writing style does remind me of the way some Command Staffers will talk at meetings just to hear their voices for extended periods. Incidentally, I did end up using this book as kindling, and I still got promoted.

Miserable read. Completely unrealistic and one-track BS - only about community policing. This book seems to be written by some retired policeman that is so far removed from the reality of day-to-day operations that makes one believe some of this to be fiction. Too many references to "when I was an officer". Several days of my life that i will never get back. WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY ! ZERO STARS but unfortunately, that was not an option.

book was needed to move up in career. was shipped promptly and in excellent condition. I have always had excellent results whn ordering any book from Amazon.

I did not like this book. The type is very small and it is hard to read. It is filled with the author's "opinion" on how police work should be done. I did not think it related to how police work is really done.

This book is very monotonous. The book is thiner but is top to bottom literature. Ya I know its a book, it's supposed have a lot of writing. The problem is each chapter is 50-60 pages long and has minimal pictures. This combination makes the book very slow and it seems to take forever to make progress.

The book was purchased for a promational exam. The book has a lot of good information and some obscure terms and techniques for law enforcement. The book is a very good source of information if one is beginning a career in law enforcement or criminal justice. But for veteran's this book is a little tiresome and goes over a lot of very basic and simplistic information. There were several pages and chapters that I was able to skim and bypass simply because it was simple and the information was already known. If you are many, many years out of the academy and preparing for a promotional test, this book may be a good refresher. Otherwise, save your money.