Policing's Problems in the Twenty-First Century: Misconduct, Malfeasance, and Murder

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Based on personal experience and academic research, Tom Barker shines a light on the dark side of American policing by examining misconduct and corruption as occupational and workplace forms of deviance. Barker outlines patterns of rule breaking and criminal behavior while providing strategies for management and control. This textbook is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate courses in criminal justice, criminology, justice studies, sociology, and public administration.

Reviews

I have been working in the field of law enforcement for over twenty years as a researcher, trainer, and consultant, and I learned a great deal from this text myself. Tom Barker has crafted a well-supported text that, even for those who might disagree with some of its content, one cannot argue with the quality and breadth of material used to inform it. Barkers presentation of his experience in policing and academia adds a layer of nuance and complexity to this book that makes ignoring his premise difficult and delivers the message all the more clearly. I would assign this book to my police cadets in our police academy to illustrate the problems in the profession, as it would complement some of the other material we cover. This book will make students and instructors rethink some of their assumptions about the history of policing. We need texts like this to continue the discussions about change in law enforcement, which are so desperately needed for a future generation of officers and law enforcement executives to improve the profession. -- David Bugg, SUNY Potsdam
Policing's Problems in the Twenty-First Century addresses current issues in law enforcement today, especially when focusing on police accountability and transparency. This text gives me the opportunity to dig deeper into the issues of policing in my 21st Century Policing course, with great examples to support the material. Realistic, bold, honest, eye-opening, and transparent. -- Mildred Johnson, Geneva College
Solid book about policing and criminal justice from a critical perspective. -- Scott Mathers, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
This book is a wonderful read for students, researchers, police practitioners, and policymakers who are interested in understanding why the American police have encountered such a tremendous national crisis at this very moment. -- Xiaochen Hu, Fayetteville State University; co-author of Electronic Community-Oriented Policing

Author Bio

Dr. Tom Barker is a former police officer, a police academy instructor, a college and university instructor, and a college dean. He is a past president of the Academy of Criminal Justice Studies. He has authored or coauthored seventeen books, including six that have gone into multiple editionsone, nine editions. Dr. Barker is considered a national and international expert in several areas: law-enforcement practices, including reform, and adult criminal gangsstreet, prison, and outlaw motorcycle gangs. Since his retirement from college teaching in 2000, he has devoted his time to full-time writing and research.