Policing America: Challenges and Best Practices [Rental Edition]

This text is suitable for all introductory or general policing courses (both undergraduate and graduate levels) or as a supplemental text for community policing or police administration courses.

A practical, applied approach to “what works” in policing

Based on the author’s thirty-plus years of policing and academic experience, Policing America: Challenges and Best Practices, Ninth Edition, offers a problem-solving approach that emphasizes what is actually working in the field. Throughout the book, dozens of current exhibits, additional cases studies, Career Profiles, and real-world problem-solving examples bring the “what works” theme alive for the reader. Each chapter encourages readers to think critically with Learn by Doing sections. Organized to flow smoothly for the instructor and student, this edition continues to provide a penetrating view of one of the most difficult and demanding occupations in America: policing!

The Ninth Edition addresses head-on the most challenging aspects of policing in our age. New emphases include methods of policing a diverse society—particularly disenfranchised minorities in the “post-Ferguson” era and a call for re-examination of police methods—as well as the fight against terrorism and applications of new information technologies. In addition, chapters examine major issues and formidable crime problems, crime prevention, changing agency culture, evaluating problem-solving initiatives, cyberbullying and cybercrime, special populations, and the future of policing. 

Policing America: Challenges and Best Practices, Ninth Edition is also available via Revel™, an interactive learning environment that enables students to read, practice, and study in one continuous experience.

Kenneth J. Peak is emeritus professor and former chairman of the Department of Criminal Justice, University of Nevada, Reno, where he was named “Teacher of the Year” by the university’s Honor Society. Following four years as a municipal police officer in Kansas, he subsequently held positions as a nine-county criminal justice planner for southeast Kansas; director of a four-state technical assistance institute for the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (based at Washburn University in Topeka); director of university police at Pittsburg State University (Kansas); acting director of public safety, University of Nevada, Reno; and assistant professor of criminal justice at Wichita State University. He has authored or coauthored 30 textbooks (relating to introduction to criminal justice, general policing, community policing, criminal justice administration, police supervision and management, and women in law enforcement), two historical books (on Kansas temperance and bootlegging), and more than 60 journal articles and invited book chapters. He is past chairman of the Police Section of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and president of the Western and Pacific Association of Criminal Justice Educators. He received two gubernatorial appointments to statewide criminal justice committees while residing in Kansas and holds a doctorate from the University of Kansas.

William H. Sousa is the Director of the Center for Crime and Justice Policy and an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Sousa received his B.A. from Stonehill College (Easton, MA), his M.S. from Northeastern University (Boston, MA), and his Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Rutgers University (Newark, NJ). His past research projects include evaluations of policing programs and technologies. The focus of his writing is on crime and disorder reduction policies implemented by police agencies, including the New York City Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department. Sousa’s current projects involve police order-maintenance practices, police management, and community crime prevention in Las Vegas neighborhoods. His recent publications appear in Criminal Justice Studies, The Journal of Experimental Criminology, and Police Practice and Research.

PART 1: Foundations: Development of American Policing and Police Officers

1. History: From English Origins to the United States 
2. Preparing for the Street: Recruitment, Training, and Socialization 
3. On Patrol: Methods and Menaces 

PART 2: Practices and Challenges 

4. Community Policing: “Guardians,” or “Soldiers”? 
5. Criminal Investigation: The Science of Sleuthing 
6. Personnel Issues and Practices: Stress, Labor Relations, Higher Education, and Private Police

PART 3: Adhering to Law, Ethical Principles, and Public Expectations 

7. Rule of Law: Expounding the Constitution
8. Accountability: Use of Force, Ethics, Corruption, and Discipline 
9. Civil Liability: Failing the Public Trust

PART 4: Agency Organization and Administration 

10. Federal and State Agencies: Protecting Our Borders and Freedoms 
11. Municipal and County Agencies: Organization, Administration, and Roles 

PART 5: Best Practices: Addressing Special Populations, Using Specialized Equipment

12. Policing Criminal Organizations: The Changing War on Drugs, Terrorists, Cybercriminals, and Gangs
13. Policing Special Populations and Problems: Mental Illness, Domestic Violence, Immigrants, and Human Trafficking
14. Information Technologies: Contributions and Caveats

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.