News travels, even to Bangkok. The story in the Sun. And while I’m at it, here’s a story about Commissioner Bealefeld wanting more foot patrol. Maybe he read my piece on foot patrol, “Angels in Blue: The Virtues of Foot Patrol.”
Being a professor is a better job
“Most days I don’t miss being a cop; being a professor is a better job.” And so begins the thrilling story of Cop in the Hood. Providing further evidence in support of this hypothesis, I’ll be on vacation for the next three weeks in Thailand and Bali. Happy New Year! And of all nights to stay safe, tonight is the…
And now you know… the rest of the story!
Fatal stabbing suspect Cyan Brown, 16, was the aggressor in Christmas Eve New York subway fracas, police say. This happened in an area I go through a lot. The original reports said: poor girl “fondled” by group of bad men and stabbed one in self defense. The cop in me knew that wasn’t the whole story (when will reporters ever…
Murders down again in NYC
Illustrating once again that crime and the economy are not inherently linked. The storyin the New York Times.
Taser shock in the courts!
The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals (never known for its pro-police views) to be precise. This perhaps landmark decision has been called, “The clearest and most complete statements yet from an appellate court about the limits of Taser use.” From the story by Hudson Sangree and Kim Minugh in the Sacramento Bee. In the summer of 2005, Carl Bryan, 21,…
Terror Suspect
So what’s the lesson with this guy? Seriously. It’s damn hard to stop people from doing harm if they’re willing to kill themselves… but that’s no real answer. Here’s one of many stories. [poor Nigeria, their rep was bad enough with simply internet scams!] [update:] Maybe it’s this, from David Brooks’ column in the New York Times. At some point,…
Tooting Other People’s Horns
Two of the best police books out there are little read. Too little read. And top-quality and much more action packed than my book. I’ve written about both these books before, but it can’t hurt writing about them again. Beyond Hope? by Michael East is about policing in Saginaw, Michigan. Unless you live in Saginaw, you probably won’t find it…
Calls for Drug Legalization in Mexico
From the Wall Street Journal: Growing numbers of Mexican and U.S. officials say—at least privately—that the biggest step in hurting the business operations of Mexican cartels would be simply to legalize their main product: marijuana. Long the world’s most popular illegal drug, marijuana accounts for more than half the revenues of Mexican cartels. “Economically, there is no argument or solution…
Merry Christmas
Especially to those men and women working.
Ethnography Bashing
I don’t mind a mixed review of my book (Contemporary Sociology), but it does bother me when a reviewer calls my participant-observation research a “major flaw.” It’s like a man who doesn’t like olive oil, fish, and lamb bashing a Greek restaurant for being too “Mediterranean.” If you don’t like the concept, don’t review it. Basically, goes the tired old…