The Agitator has a story about a drug raid gone amok. I had never heard about Ryan Frederick or Detective Jarrod Shivers. There is so much I don’t like about this: the war on drugs, a bad CI (confidential informant), a drug raid, and (most of all) a dead police officer. I hate the war…
Read more
To everyone in Baltimore, I’m heading down there this weekend for a variety of on Saturday appearances. First at the Highlandtown Library, then at the Book Festival. For details, look at the “upcoming events” listed in the right column. Then come say hi.
If any of you were planning on hearing me on the Phil Hendrie Show tonight, it’s been rescheduled for next Tuesday night, 1:30AM (eastern time). Something about breaking news. I bet it’s not the shootings in Harlem.
And soldiers aren’t police. Going from the armed forces to a police department may seem like a natural transition. It’s not. A different mentality is needed. Most soldiers can make the transition. Some can’t. De-emphasizing the military aspects of police departments would help. Here’s an interesting article in the Austin Chronicle about the problem for…
Read more
In 2007, the Kansas City Police Department reported a 22% drop in crime to the state (and to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report). Now it turns out that crime actually went up 10%. The department basically blames this mix-up on a paperwork mess. Sounds fishy. But having worked in a real big city police department,…
Read more
Now it’s officially in the news. The Daily News, to be precise.
It’s a great book. And I’m not the only one who says so. “Riveting…. An unsparing boys-in-blue procedural that succeeds on its own plentiful—and wonderfully sympathetic—merits.” —The Atlantic “Never mind ‘The Wire.’ Here is the real thing.” —The Wall Street Journal “[A] riveting tale of policing…. A must read.” —Sudhir Venkatesh “Hard-edged sociological analysis…. A…
Read more
Seems like you’ve officially entered the blogosphere when you’re quoted in other blogs. More on the Harlem shootings at Gothamistand NYC The Blog and great pictures at Harlem Hybrid. Seems like my initial report of 14 guns and 7 shot was right on the mark (at the time I hedged the shooting number with “give…
Read more
I did find this buried in the Daily News. Maybe it’s all about location. Location, location, location. Or, as they said in The Wire, “wrong zip code.” The newspaper headline is “Fatal Gunfire on Westside.” One man was shot and killed. Then in the last paragraph it says this: The slaying came after a chaotic…
Read more
This brings back memories. Bad memories. Cops deal with this sh*t all the time.