About book Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Exposé Of The Dark Side Of American Policing (2005)
Meh... Stamper and I agree on many things. The drug war is a colossal waste of time, money and lives. "Chickenshit police discipline" causes a culture of fear and insularity. Prostitution will never be stopped, so making it as safe as possible is the only humane choice. Capital punishment is too much responsibility for the state. There are too many guns in our country. Cops are often racist, sexist, fat, lazy. All of what he says is true in my experience. However, as someone who spent most of his career in management, his blanket attacks on police unions is -- while expected -- still a bit galling. Are there police unions with too much power? Sure. Are there dirty cops? Absolutely. Should we throw the baby out with the bathwater in both situations? Of course not. Most police unions are laughably weak, especially in the midwest, south and on the east coast. (Stamper spent his career on the west coast: Seattle an San Diego.) Who protects cops from, in Stamper's words, "chickenshit discipline"? Police unions. Who fights a city government that wants to cut back on training and protective gear in order to beautify city parks? Police unions.Libs will find a big ally in Stamper on most issues. He has loads of experience that color his opinions. As a member of the brass, his experience clearly slanted him against the unions. If you can get over that last part, it's a pretty good book.
This book is enlightening. Stamper provides a thoughtful critique of policing, complete with plenty of interesting first-hand experiences that illustrate how much personal discretion is necessary. His breadth of experience, from beat cop to chief, establish his authority, but what makes this book truly credible is his openness in admitting his own mistakes and changes in outlook. Such dynamic thought appears to be rare in a profession so rooted to tradition and clear-cut operating principles. He covers a lot of philosophical ground in 400 pages: domestic violence, victimless crime, drug policy, racism, legal issues, undercover work, corruption, and terrorism. One of the most interesting sections described a set of nine real events that demonstrate ambiguity and the need for careful human judgment. He made me rethink capital punishment, on principle alone, and for the practical reason that wrong convictions might be more common than we realize. He didn't sway me toward gun control. Though sad, the imbalance of statistics he chose was probably driven by a lifetime of exposure similarly weighted in appreciation for the downside.
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Norm Stamper had a few bumps in the road his first few years with the police force, but quickly became the kind of cop i wish they all aspired to be.Throughout his career he pushed for what he believed in with integrity, smarts and savvy.His book is intelligent and well written. Some portions dragged a bit, but needed to be said as they seemed to be targeted to a career cop audience. For the most part though, the book is liberally peppered with anecdote and the true police drama that shaped Stamper's views.Entertaining, educational, and affirming (there are some good ones!)
—Heather
I'll be honest, I have only read half of this book, it is too long for me but I know I'll have to finish it one day when I am on a vacation and have the time. I kept putting it down to digest a chapter and spending so much time thinking about the topic he just covered I didn't have space to take on more. It's a rare gem of a book. I heard Stamper interviewed on the radio and he is such a smart, open minded, honest person. He's not perfect and he never pretends to be for a second but he's one righteous dude as far as I'm concerned. Personally I have a love/hate relationship with the police and his story fosters a greater understanding of why I have those feelings, why some of them are right and some of them wrong.
—Susan
Some interesting info, but Norm likes to rattle on a bit and he really works the tough cop I've seen it all and then some writing style. Imagine yourself sitting in his office and he starts telling you a story. Three stories later, you wonder if you are ever going to be able to leave or if you are trapped for life. So, I recommend it, but read chapters that most interest you and cruise through or skip the rest. As far as policing goes, I think he gives a fairly accurate picture and it was nice to read his support of gender equality.
—Mary
