- Email: [email protected]
The blue parade
277
BOOK REVIEWS
aspects of the program, it is possible to overlook critical findings. Generalization or summarization could be reasonably substituted for the detail in many instances without diminishing the impact of the study. This report also suffers from ineffective organization of the material. Frequently the style resembles a train of thought rather than a well-organized, systematically presented statement about the development and operation of this unique undertaking. Again, valuable content is weakened through the method of presentation. The most disappointing aspect of the book was the discovery at the end that there were no conclusions, recommendations or summary statements about this massive project. Although chapter summaries have been provided, it appears that the final chapter has been forgotten. This leaves the reader feeling somewhat cheated, wanting the authors, who obviously have the expertise and knowledge, to at least attempt to tie the innumerable strands together. What are the major lessons to be learned? What recommendations can be made? The importance of the book must be viewed in light of the needs and position of the reader. Students of criminal justice change can learn much about the trials and tribulations of applying theory to practice. Theoreticians will find valuable data to assess current thinking. And practitioners can learn important lessons of how and why in planning and innovation. However, it must be noted that such usefulness is not noted without a significant amount of work on the part of the reader. I would like to take the liberty, as a native New Englander to compare reading this study to one of our regional pastimes-eating boiled lobster. Finally consuming the contents will prove an unforgettable event, but you may have a hell of a time getting to the meat.
Robert D. Meier Associate Professor Division of Criminal Justice University of New Haven West Haven, Connecticut 06516
The Blue Parade by Thomas A. Reppetto. The Free Press (A Division of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 866 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10022), 1978, 313 pp. plus notes, bibliography and index, $12.95. This is a book about the development of American police administration, even though it does not rely on organization charts and task descriptions. Indeed, a major theme is that police administration is not applied mechanics, but a living, breathing organism shaped by political, social and economic trends. In particular, the book takes the view that public policy is formed by a struggle of interest groups. With these remarks, Thomas Reppetto introduces a fascinating, easy-to-read analysis of the development of policing in America. This reviewer does not view the book as a
278
BOOK REVIEWS
history of policing. Reppetto was undoubtedly aware of the inherent difficulties involved in writing a history of American policing and wisely confined himself to writing about the organizational, economic, and political involvement in police agencies in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. He also reviews the development of the American constabulary by probing into its development in Pennsylvania as a result of rising industrialization accompanied by violent labor unrest. The history of Colonel H. Norman Swartzkopf and his role in the creation of the New Jersey State Police is especially enlightening because of the detailed research into the personal involvement of Colonel Swartzkopf in its organization, development, and operation. The FBI and Secret Service at the federal level are compared and evaluated with the general concept of policing found in the cities mentioned above. Throughout the book, Reppetto makes it clear that competing political groups have often sought control of the police. These interest groups are identified as radicals, blue-collar workers, progressives, business groups, and the social elite. The interacting pressures on the police agency in each city have often caused political power struggles (frequently in the name of “police reform”). The political involvement of the police can have either a positive or negative connotation. Unfortunately it is too often given an undesirable label. However, Reppetto’s book presents an insight not too often observed-could the police service have progressed professionally from the era of total domination of political bosses to where it is reasonably free from undesirable political involvement today without political involvement of a more desirable kind? One must ask what the status of police selection criteria, educational requirements, training standards, and relative administrative independence would be were it not for the positive political involvement of the individuals like August Vollmer, 0. W. Wilson, Sir Robert Peel, and Patrick Murphy. Professor Reppetto also dwells to a significant extent on the relationship between organized crime and political bosses. Reformers are pictured as well-meaning individuals and groups who consistently view the police as corrupt and the servants of the elite social groups. What comes through in Reppetto’s work is that within a few years of the reformers’ gain of control, the situation once again lapses to its pre-reform state. Perhaps this leads to the recognition that the people do indeed receive the kind of police services that they want. Major city police departments may very well be too large and complex to exclude undesirable political corruption and organized-crime infiltration. The California (specifically, Los Angeles) police model is viewed as a new style of professional policing that has come into existence since the close of World War II. It is based on technical efficiency with significant attention given to quality personnel selection and retention. How this model has functioned effectively in a society that is estranged from its police agencies is; at best, cloudy, especially when one looks at the social upheavals in California (particularly, Los Angeles) during the past decade. Certainly, as pointed out in the book, the image of technical efficiency as being the epitome of good police service has been sold by the public relations efforts of the cities and departments that Reppetto analyzes. While the California experience is enlightening and worthy of study, it is by no means a panacea. Reppetto points this out. The author lays a foundation for policing in America by including a chapter on British police developments that shaped policing in the United States. The impact that the FBI has had on policing is worth reading about whether or not you are interested in any aspect of policing.
279
BOOK REVIEWS
Reppetto has written a well-researched book analyzing the police service from the view of six large cities, federal agencies, and several states. It is excellent. More quality materials need to be written on the history of policing in America. The Blue Parade is a good start. Anyone interested in Americana will find the book enjoyable and informative.
George T. Felkenes School of Criminal Justice Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan 48824
Director,
Criminal Violence, Criminal Justice by Charles E. Silberman. Random House, Inc. (201 East 50th Street, New York, New York 10022), 1978,446 pp. plus appendix, notes, bibliography, and index, hardcover, $15.00. Mr. Silbetman’s book, Criminal Violence, Criminal Justice, represents six years of investigation. He acted as director of the Study of Law and Justice, a $537,ooO Ford Foundation project that began in 1972. This sizable text, a report from the study, is peppered with anecdotes, case studies, segments of interviews, and current “facts and figures.” The information for the book was gleaned from a variety of sources including legal and social science literature, the popular press, modem American literature, personal interviews with people located throughout the criminal justice system, and govemment agency reports. The tone of the book is set in the author’s foreword wherein he states, “As I discovered over and over again during my research, most what is believed about crime and about criminal justice is false or irrelevant” (p. ix). In maintaining this tone throughout the book the author is immovably consistent. He treads heavily on the most cherished positions of liberals and conservatives, reformers and status-quo adherents, rehabilitationists and retributionists, and so on. Mr. Silberman makes it quite clear that he is into the serious business of debunking. He refuses to be categorized in any of the traditioal camps. The book will surely be well received by members of various campsbut only parts of it. To this reader, the impassioned search for some idea or conception to debunk is the actual object of the book, rather than the objective reporting of research findings and the suggestion of program or policy alternatives on the basis of those findings. In fact, one is curious as to what kind of orientation, theory, ideology, or principle guided the research effort itself. However, this missing “thread” by no means condemns the individual pieces of which the book is constructed. These pieces are, for the most part, well done and well researched. The text is divided into two major sectionsAriminal violence and criminal justice. Mr. Silberman begins his work on criminal violence with the proposition that the general public’s fear of violence has reached epidemic proportion and threatens the existing social order. The author includes American business activities, Watergate, and the traditional street crimes under the umbrella of “violence.” However, the predominant violence of which he speaks is violent street crime such as murder, aggravated assault, robbery, and
BOOK REVIEWS
aspects of the program, it is possible to overlook critical findings. Generalization or summarization could be reasonably substituted for the detail in many instances without diminishing the impact of the study. This report also suffers from ineffective organization of the material. Frequently the style resembles a train of thought rather than a well-organized, systematically presented statement about the development and operation of this unique undertaking. Again, valuable content is weakened through the method of presentation. The most disappointing aspect of the book was the discovery at the end that there were no conclusions, recommendations or summary statements about this massive project. Although chapter summaries have been provided, it appears that the final chapter has been forgotten. This leaves the reader feeling somewhat cheated, wanting the authors, who obviously have the expertise and knowledge, to at least attempt to tie the innumerable strands together. What are the major lessons to be learned? What recommendations can be made? The importance of the book must be viewed in light of the needs and position of the reader. Students of criminal justice change can learn much about the trials and tribulations of applying theory to practice. Theoreticians will find valuable data to assess current thinking. And practitioners can learn important lessons of how and why in planning and innovation. However, it must be noted that such usefulness is not noted without a significant amount of work on the part of the reader. I would like to take the liberty, as a native New Englander to compare reading this study to one of our regional pastimes-eating boiled lobster. Finally consuming the contents will prove an unforgettable event, but you may have a hell of a time getting to the meat.
Robert D. Meier Associate Professor Division of Criminal Justice University of New Haven West Haven, Connecticut 06516
The Blue Parade by Thomas A. Reppetto. The Free Press (A Division of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 866 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10022), 1978, 313 pp. plus notes, bibliography and index, $12.95. This is a book about the development of American police administration, even though it does not rely on organization charts and task descriptions. Indeed, a major theme is that police administration is not applied mechanics, but a living, breathing organism shaped by political, social and economic trends. In particular, the book takes the view that public policy is formed by a struggle of interest groups. With these remarks, Thomas Reppetto introduces a fascinating, easy-to-read analysis of the development of policing in America. This reviewer does not view the book as a
278
BOOK REVIEWS
history of policing. Reppetto was undoubtedly aware of the inherent difficulties involved in writing a history of American policing and wisely confined himself to writing about the organizational, economic, and political involvement in police agencies in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. He also reviews the development of the American constabulary by probing into its development in Pennsylvania as a result of rising industrialization accompanied by violent labor unrest. The history of Colonel H. Norman Swartzkopf and his role in the creation of the New Jersey State Police is especially enlightening because of the detailed research into the personal involvement of Colonel Swartzkopf in its organization, development, and operation. The FBI and Secret Service at the federal level are compared and evaluated with the general concept of policing found in the cities mentioned above. Throughout the book, Reppetto makes it clear that competing political groups have often sought control of the police. These interest groups are identified as radicals, blue-collar workers, progressives, business groups, and the social elite. The interacting pressures on the police agency in each city have often caused political power struggles (frequently in the name of “police reform”). The political involvement of the police can have either a positive or negative connotation. Unfortunately it is too often given an undesirable label. However, Reppetto’s book presents an insight not too often observed-could the police service have progressed professionally from the era of total domination of political bosses to where it is reasonably free from undesirable political involvement today without political involvement of a more desirable kind? One must ask what the status of police selection criteria, educational requirements, training standards, and relative administrative independence would be were it not for the positive political involvement of the individuals like August Vollmer, 0. W. Wilson, Sir Robert Peel, and Patrick Murphy. Professor Reppetto also dwells to a significant extent on the relationship between organized crime and political bosses. Reformers are pictured as well-meaning individuals and groups who consistently view the police as corrupt and the servants of the elite social groups. What comes through in Reppetto’s work is that within a few years of the reformers’ gain of control, the situation once again lapses to its pre-reform state. Perhaps this leads to the recognition that the people do indeed receive the kind of police services that they want. Major city police departments may very well be too large and complex to exclude undesirable political corruption and organized-crime infiltration. The California (specifically, Los Angeles) police model is viewed as a new style of professional policing that has come into existence since the close of World War II. It is based on technical efficiency with significant attention given to quality personnel selection and retention. How this model has functioned effectively in a society that is estranged from its police agencies is; at best, cloudy, especially when one looks at the social upheavals in California (particularly, Los Angeles) during the past decade. Certainly, as pointed out in the book, the image of technical efficiency as being the epitome of good police service has been sold by the public relations efforts of the cities and departments that Reppetto analyzes. While the California experience is enlightening and worthy of study, it is by no means a panacea. Reppetto points this out. The author lays a foundation for policing in America by including a chapter on British police developments that shaped policing in the United States. The impact that the FBI has had on policing is worth reading about whether or not you are interested in any aspect of policing.
279
BOOK REVIEWS
Reppetto has written a well-researched book analyzing the police service from the view of six large cities, federal agencies, and several states. It is excellent. More quality materials need to be written on the history of policing in America. The Blue Parade is a good start. Anyone interested in Americana will find the book enjoyable and informative.
George T. Felkenes School of Criminal Justice Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan 48824
Director,
Criminal Violence, Criminal Justice by Charles E. Silberman. Random House, Inc. (201 East 50th Street, New York, New York 10022), 1978,446 pp. plus appendix, notes, bibliography, and index, hardcover, $15.00. Mr. Silbetman’s book, Criminal Violence, Criminal Justice, represents six years of investigation. He acted as director of the Study of Law and Justice, a $537,ooO Ford Foundation project that began in 1972. This sizable text, a report from the study, is peppered with anecdotes, case studies, segments of interviews, and current “facts and figures.” The information for the book was gleaned from a variety of sources including legal and social science literature, the popular press, modem American literature, personal interviews with people located throughout the criminal justice system, and govemment agency reports. The tone of the book is set in the author’s foreword wherein he states, “As I discovered over and over again during my research, most what is believed about crime and about criminal justice is false or irrelevant” (p. ix). In maintaining this tone throughout the book the author is immovably consistent. He treads heavily on the most cherished positions of liberals and conservatives, reformers and status-quo adherents, rehabilitationists and retributionists, and so on. Mr. Silberman makes it quite clear that he is into the serious business of debunking. He refuses to be categorized in any of the traditioal camps. The book will surely be well received by members of various campsbut only parts of it. To this reader, the impassioned search for some idea or conception to debunk is the actual object of the book, rather than the objective reporting of research findings and the suggestion of program or policy alternatives on the basis of those findings. In fact, one is curious as to what kind of orientation, theory, ideology, or principle guided the research effort itself. However, this missing “thread” by no means condemns the individual pieces of which the book is constructed. These pieces are, for the most part, well done and well researched. The text is divided into two major sectionsAriminal violence and criminal justice. Mr. Silberman begins his work on criminal violence with the proposition that the general public’s fear of violence has reached epidemic proportion and threatens the existing social order. The author includes American business activities, Watergate, and the traditional street crimes under the umbrella of “violence.” However, the predominant violence of which he speaks is violent street crime such as murder, aggravated assault, robbery, and