They Wished They Were Honest


Book Description

In fifty years of prosecuting and defending criminal cases in New York City and elsewhere,Michael F. Armstrong has often dealt with cops. For a single two-year span, as chief counsel to the Knapp Commission, he was charged with investigating them. Based on Armstrong's vivid recollections of this watershed moment in law enforcement accountability—prompted by the New York Times's report on whistleblower cop Frank Serpico—They Wished They Were Honest recreates the dramatic struggles and significance of the Commission and explores the factors that led to its success and the restoration of the NYPD's public image. Serpico's charges against the NYPD encouraged Mayor John Lindsay to appoint prominent attorney Whitman Knapp to chair a Citizen's Commission on police graft. Overcoming a number of organizational, budgetary, and political hurdles, Chief Counsel Armstrong cobbled together an investigative group of a half-dozen lawyers and a dozen agents. Just when funding was about to run out, the "blue wall of silence" collapsed. A flamboyant "Madame," a corrupt lawyer, and a weasely informant led to a "super thief" cop, who was trapped and "turned" by the Commission. This led to sensational and revelatory hearings, which publicly refuted the notion that departmental corruption was limited to only a "few rotten apples." In the course of his narrative, Armstrong illuminates police investigative strategy; governmental and departmental political maneuvering; ethical and philosophical issues in law enforcement; the efficacy (or lack thereof) of the police's anticorruption efforts; the effectiveness of the training of police officers; the psychological and emotional pressures that lead to corruption; and the effects of police criminality on individuals and society. He concludes with the effects, in today's world, of Knapp and succeeding investigations into police corruption and the value of permanent outside monitoring bodies, such as the special prosecutor's office, formed in response to the Commission's recommendation, as well as the current monitoring commission, of which Armstrong is chairman.




Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement


Book Description

Click ′Additional Materials′ for downloadable samples Although there is a plethora of studies on crime and punishment, law enforcement is a relatively new field of serious research. When courts, sentencing, prisons, jails, and other areas of the criminal justice system are studied, often the first point of entry into the system is through police and law enforcement agencies. Unfortunately, understanding of the important issues in law enforcement has little general literature to draw on. Currently available reference works on policing are narrowly focused and sorely out-of-date. To this end, a distinguished roster of authors, representing many years of knowledge and practice in the field, draw on the latest research and methods to delineate, describe, and analyze all areas of law enforcement. This three-volume Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement provides a comprehensive, critical, and descriptive examination of all facets of law enforcement on the state and local, federal and national, and international stages. This work is a unique reference source that provides readers with informed discussions on the practice and theory of policing in an historical and contemporary framework. The volumes treat subjects that are particular to the area of state and local, federal and national, and international policing. Many of the themes and issues of policing cut across disciplinary borders, however, and several entries provide comparative information that places the subject in context. Key Features • Three volumes cover state and local, federal, and international law enforcement • More than 250 contributors composed over 400 essays on all facets of law enforcement • An editorial board made up of the leading scholars, researchers, and practitioners in the field of law enforcement • Descriptions of United States Federal Agency law enforcement components • Comprehensive and inclusive coverage, exploring concepts and social and legal patterns within the larger topical concern • Global, multidisciplinary analysis Key Themes • Agencies, Associations, and Organizations • Civilian/Private Involvement • Communications • Crime Statistics • Culture/Media • Drug Enforcement • Federal Agencies/Organizations • International • Investigation, Techniques • Types of Investigation • Investigative Commissions • Law and Justice • Legislation/Legal Issues • Military • Minority Issues • Personnel Issues • Police Conduct • Police Procedure • Policing Strategies • Safety and Security • Specialized Law Enforcement Agencies • Tactics • Terrorism • Victims/Witnesses Editors Marie Simonetti Rosen Dorothy Moses Schulz M. R. Haberfeld John Jay College of Criminal Justice Editorial Board Geoffrey Alpert, University of South Carolina Thomas Feltes, University of Applied Police Sciences, Spaichingen, Germany Lorie A. Fridell, Police Executive Research Forum, Washington, DC James J. Fyfe, John Jay College of Criminal Justice David T. Johnson, University of Hawaii at Manoa Peter K. Manning, Northeastern University Stephen D. Mastrofski, George Mason University Rob Mawby, University of Plymouth, U.K. Mark Moore, Harvard University Maurice Punch, London School of Economics, U.K. Wesley G. Skogan, Northwestern University




Police Misconduct


Book Description




Police Practices and Civil Rights in New York City


Book Description

On May 26, 1999, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights conducted a hearing in New York City to examine current police practices & their impact on civil rights in the community at large. The Commission had a strong interest in studying the methods used by the city to balance crime fighting with the exercise of appropriate restraint, particularly following the highly publicized tragedies involving Abner Louima & Amadou Diallo. This report is intended to offer insights into some of the tensions that exist between the New York Police Dept. & the communities that it serves. Chapters: recruitment, selection, & training; police-community relations; & civilian complaints.







New York Exposed


Book Description

Parkhurst's challenge -- The buttons -- Democratic city, Republican nation -- Anarchy vs. corruption -- A rocky start -- Managing vice, extorting business -- "Reform never suffers from frankness" -- "A landslide, a tidal wave, a cyclone" -- Endgames -- Epilogue: the Lexow effect







Task Force Report


Book Description