'Undercover, you're never just acting; you're only ever a different version of yourself.' Neil Woods spent fourteen years (1993-2007) infiltrating drug gangs as an undercover policeman, befriending and gaining the trust of some of the most violent, unpredictable criminals in Britain. But Neil was never your stereotypical gung-ho, tough-guy copper. This is the story of how a thoughtful, idealistic character learned to use his empathetic nature to master some of the roughest, most dangerous work in law enforcement. There was no training, no manual and no plan for when things went wrong; he was just dropped at a corner and told to make connections. But, inevitably, having swords thrust against his jugular, witnessing beatings, stabbings, and gangsters burning suspected rats with acid took its toll. Drawing on Neil’s experiences, with the insight that can only come from having fought on the front lines, GOOD COP, BAD WAR is at once a narrative-driven true crime read and a fascinating story of a character under pressure.

From award-winning journalist Mike McAlary comes an unforgettable account of the worst case of police corruption to rock New York since Frank Serpico testified before the Knapp Commission in 1972. McAlary tells the compelling story of a rare, untainted police officer named Det. Sgt. Joseph Trimboli--a man willing to sacrifice everything to put a rogue cop away. Photo insert.

Good Cop, Black Cop is a moving and timely memoir that reveals how racism impacts people on both sides of the "thin blue line."

Presents an account of police corruption involving a system of bribery and drug dealing

"Karen Lynch was an unlikely person to become one of the first female cops in San Francisco. Raised by a counter-culture tribe in summer of love Haight-Ashbury, she was taught to despise "The Man." But when the San Francisco Police Department was forced by court order to hire women, she found herself compelled to prove to the world that women could cut it as cops, a betrayal that caused her police-loathing mother to brand her a Nazi. Good Cop, Bad Daughter is an often humorous, poignant adventure story of Karen's journey from pot-smoking Cal student, to Renaissance bar serving wench, to street cop. Recounting the story of the first women cops, she reflects on life with her bi-polar mother, and comes to realize her chaotic past unwittingly provided the perfect foundation for her chosen career. As she finds family and acceptance in a men's club that never wanted her as a member, she fears she will one day face her mother, not as a daughter but as an arresting officer. When that day came, and it did, her private life and her career would collide dramatically"--P. [4] of cover.

From the Keystones Kops of early cinema to brodcast news coverage of the beating of Rodney King, the media's capacity to amplify police misconduct contributes to police reform. Good Cop/Bad Cop offers the first extended review of the influence of the mass media on local and federal law enforcement. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach and drawing upon popular characterizations of law enforcement from movies, the press, television, and literature, this book argues that police reform is inextricably linked to the rise and technological development of the mass media. It illustrates how new forms of media communication generate new forms of information about police practices while revealing this information to the public for the first time. Periodically, this new information portrays law enforcement in a less-than-favorable light, ushering in public demands for police reform.But while the mass media exert an influence upon police practices, law enforcement officials also exert a powerful influence upon media coverage of crime and justice policies and practices. This book documents law enforcement's close monitoring of the police image as well as attempts by government officials to utilize mass media to further their crime control objectives. It also uses data garnered from a national study on police-media relations to provide a comprehensive discussion of the public relations skills performed daily by police media spokespersons. Unique in its coverage of the history of policing, Good Cop/Bad Cop casts the mass media as central to police reform and argues that a free and independent press is a prerequisite to innovations and improvements in policing.