Brutal murders. Bizarre crimes. Eccentric crooks. And Scotland's toughest gangsters. Bryan McLaughlin faced the challenge of tackling crime on Glasgow's mean streets and throughout Scotland for more than 30 years, finding himself involved with nearly 300 killings. He started as a bobby on the beat, worked in the elite Serious Crime Squad and later headed up the force's Criminal Intelligence Branch. When he retired he became a private eye, helping free the victim of one of Scotland's most notorious miscarriages of justice. Now Bryan McLaughlin lifts the lid on his dealings with notorious godfather Arthur Thompson, tells of his satisfaction at nailing slippery gangster Tam McGraw with an Al Capone-style tax sting, looks back on the bomb attack on Glasgow's High Court and reveals remarkable information about the legendary Bible John murders. As well as these notorious cases, Bryan also looks back at the human side of policing as he encountered it, including the touching tale of the old lady who grew a tree in her living room, the madman who killed a boy for throwing snowballs and reveals how a million-dollar heist in Germany was cracked because a Glasgow ned stole a video recorder.And who could forget the crooked businessman who had a lie-detecting elephant in his office and a teddy bear as his advisor? Or the strange encounters with murder victims who ended up in bizarre situations - up a tree, frozen to the spot and even one taking part in a game of cards. This is an astonishing memoir from one of our top police officers, sometimes shocking, sometimes hilarious or macabre but always utterly fascinating.

In 1976, Detective Greg MacAleese came up with a concept to combat crime. He called the program Crime Stoppers and today it is cited along with fingerprinting and DNA as the top three innovations in modern day policing. The Albuquerque Police Department, which embraced the idea and brought it to fruition, continues to hail Crime Stoppers as the most successful anti-crime program in the history of law enforcement. For MacAleese, who was born in Canada but spent his high school and college years in the United States, Crime Stoppers was like a roller coaster ride, and the book reveals a story, that until now hasn't been told. Assigned as an investigator to the Violent Crimes Unit only three years after becoming a police officer, MacAleese was in a hospital emergency room watching the life ebb from a 20-year-old victim who was callously shot during a robbery at a gas station. A short time later he promised the mother of Michael Carmen that he would solve the slaying and it was that vow which became the catalyst to launch Crime Stoppers. From an idea to curb lawlessness in what at the time was one of the most crime-ridden and dangerous cities in the United States, Crime Stoppers has grown to a worldwide network of more than 1,600 programs. Accumulatively since 1976, Crime Stoppers has solved 1.5 million crimes, seized $10 billion in illicit drugs and recovered more than $2 billion in stolen property. Most people believe Crime Stoppers is run by law enforcement, but this book explains how programs in various cities are charitable organizations with volunteer boards and operate in partnership with the police, the media and the community.

This book provides a comprehensive, authoritative and wide-ranging account of the background, theory and practice of crime prevention and community safety. It will be essential reading for anybody with interests in these fields, and will be the major work of reference on this subject for those engaged in the practice, study or teaching of crime prevention. The book provides a detailed overview of the main theories and perspectives informing crime prevention policy and practice, and includes chapters covering efforts to address a number of the main types of crime problem. It also includes chapters relating to research methodologies used in conducting and evaluating crime prevention initiatives.

Law Enforcement, Policing, & Security

Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted By: George Zoebl “It’s sort of a Gone With The Wind only with a lot more romance, action, and many soul-searching questions about racism that leaves the reader musing the horrors of this evil over many generations.” “The two simultaneously told stories of Donna Washington entering a segregated high school in 1965 and her great, great grandmother Anita-Ann on a plantation outside Atlanta in 1860 brings you face to face with the Ku Klux Klan and plantation slavery in one big heart-pounding ride of a read.” “Zoebl leaves us to think deep and long about this story as it often matches our own journey for meaning, love and understanding.” “Mix a little Fifty Shades of Gray with a good Tom Clancy action drama and off you go on a rollercoaster ride of pure pleasure.” With two stories being simultaneously told in different time periods, the powers of love are tested. With racism at its worst and highest during two periods in history, different couples show what the powers of love can do to fight the terrible effects of racism.

In 1931, the Chicago Tribune introduced the public to an exciting new comic strip destined to become a classic: Dick Tracy. Tracy's creator, Chester Gould, would spend the next 46 years of his life developing the dynamic, crime-fighting character, and his work on the strip won him the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year in both 1959 and 1977. A revolutionary in the comics industry, Gould invented both a genre and an icon. The personal story of this pioneer cartoonist is now presented in a biography written by Gould's only child. Beginning with his young life in a three-room house in Pawnee, Oklahoma, this book traces all the steps Gould took to eventually achieve remarkable distinction at the top of his field. The early pages relate his ancestors' part in the Oklahoma land rush, drawing on the unpublished memoir of his father, Gilbert Gould. Chester Gould's story is then augmented by his own personal commentary, taken directly from recorded conversations with his daughter. Throughout these conversations, Gould recollects the evolution of his career, from painting advertisements on barn roofs at age 17 to documenting the violent crime life of Chicago, from which he drew inspiration for his Dick Tracy strip. Discussion of his ambitions, disappointments, popular accomplishments, and family moments comprise a thorough account of Chester Gould's fascinating life. Appendices include commentary from his two grandchildren and a comprehensive list of his awards and distinctions, which included formal recognition from three American presidents.