Here is an incomplete list of selected police-related readings. Many of these are
classics and must-reads that you should know. Others are lesser-known books
that I feel have particular worth.
Banton, Michael. 1964. The Policeman in the
Community. New York: Basic Books.
 One of the early books that began the movement of Community Policing.
Bittner, Egon, 1967. “The Police on Skid Row.”
American Sociological Review. Vol. 32(5): 699-715.
 A great piece describing (and not condemning) police discretion.
Bittner, Egon. 1970. The Functions of the Police in
Modern Society (National Institute of Mental Health,
Crime and Delinquency Issues Series). Rockville,
MD: Center for Studies of Crime and Delinquency.
 A classic text. Describes how the capacity to use force is the core of the police
role.
The Bill of Rights. 1791.
 The first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution. Policing and the
criminal justice system are based on the 4th, 5th,  6th, 7th, 8th, and 10th
amendments. When is the last time you right your rights? My favorite
amendment is the 4th. Doesn't everybody have a favorite amendment?
Gladwell, Malcolm. 1996. "The Tipping Point: Why is the city suddenly so much safer -- could it be that crime really is an epidemic?" The New Yorker. June 3.
 Gladwell is one smart cookie. And he makes a lot of sense.
Goldstein, Herman. 1990. Problem-Oriented
Policing. New York: McGraw-Hill.
 Very influential book building on Banton and Jane Jacobs. This sets the groundwork for putting Broken Windows into action and the idea that police can actually do something to prevent crime.
Jacobs, Bruce A. 1999. Dealing Crack: the Social
World of Streetcorner Selling. Boston: Northeastern
University Press.
 A good 'how-to' book. Actually much more than that.
Jacobs, Jane. 1961. The Death and Life of Great
American Cities. New York: Random House.
Chapter 2
 Maybe the best book of all time. A classic. Jacobs describes how cities
function. There is a good chapter on public safety. Inspiring.
Kappeler, Victor R. (ed.) 2006. The Police and
Society, 3rd edition. Long Grove, IL: Waveland
Press.
 The amazing selection of great police articles. The best compilation you could
buy. And saves hours tracking down articles in the library... if anybody goes to
those any more.
Karmen, Andrew. 2000. New York Murder Mystery: The True Story Behind the Crime Crash of the 1990s. New York: New York University Press.
Excerpt
 An excellent book focusing on the crime drop in New York City. Just how did
murders drop 75%? John Jay Professor Karmen explains the mystery.
Kelling, George L. and Catherine M. Coles. 1996.
Fixing Broken Windows. New York: The Free Press.
 Effectively put the police back in the job of reducing disorder and preventing
crime. Builds on Wilson and Kelling's 1980 "Broken Windows" Atlantic Monthly
article. Very influential in the policing in New York in the 1990s. Yet disparaged
by many academics who subscribe to a Root Causes theory of crime. See
Wilson and Kelling (1982) below.
Kelling, George L. and Mark H. Moore. 1988. "The Evolving Strategy of Policing." National Institute of Justice.
 The political, reform, and problem-solving eras of policing. A great short
introduction to the history of American policing.
King, Martin Luther Jr. 1963. "Letter from a
Birmingham Jail."
 When is it OK to break the law? "Just following orders"? Read this classic of
the civil-rights movement. Just because it's legal doesn't make it right.
Klinger, David A. 2004. Into the Kill Zone.
Except
 Ever killed a man? Professor Klinger has. Read about police-involved
shootings from the police officers' perseptive.
Lane, Roger. 1980. “Urban Police and Crime in
Nineteenth-Century America.” In N. Morris and M. Tonry (eds.), Crime and Justice. Chicago, IL:
University of Chicago Press.
 A good introduction to police history.
Levitt, Steven D. 2004. "Understanding Why Crime Fell in the 1990s: Four Factors that Explain the Decline and Sic that Do Not." Journal of Economic Perspectives. Vol. 18 (1). Winter.
 The abortion part is questionable and somewhat debunked, but it's still an
important piece.
MacCoun, Robert and P. Reuter. 2001. Drug War
Heresies: Learning From Other Vices, Times, and
Places. New York: Cambridge University Press.
 Good book on the war on drugs.
Manning, Peter K. 1997. Police Work: the Social
Organization of Policing (2nd edition). Prospect
Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc.
 Second edition of Manning's influential 1977 Police Work. Great for its theory.
Newman, Oscar. 1973. Defensible Space: Crime Prevention Through urban Design. New York: Macmillan. Books are often described as "groundbreaking," but this one really is. Perhaps best read in as a series starting with Jane Jacobs's Death and Life and moving on to Goldstein's Problem-Solving Policing and finally Kelling and Coles Fixing Broken Windows.
Patterson, Orlando. 2006. "A Poverty of the Mind."
New York Times op-ed. March 26.
 Why culture matters. Specifically with regards to the "tragic disconnection of
millions of black youths from the American mainstream." Professor Patterson
was my PhD dissertation advisor at Harvard.
Peel, Robert. 1829. "Peel's Principles of Policing."
 This was part of the training manual given to the first police officers. It's
timeless.
Poss, M. Joseph and Henry R. Schlesinger. 1994.
Brooklyn Bounce: The True-Life Adventures of a
Good Cop in a Bad Precinct. New York: Avon.
Excerpt
 Pulp non-fiction. A great read. Great description of the “ghetto cop.” Good and
realistic stories. Tells it like it is.
Punch, Maurice. 1979. Policing the Inner City: A
Study of Amsterdam’s Warmoesstraat. London:
Macmillan.
 Describes policing in Amsterdam. Based on his 1974 field work. Very well
written. Now a good description of a different era of policing the city. Inspired
me into the whole field.
Reith, Charles. 1948. A Short History of the British
Police. London: Oxford University Press.
 Not really short. But an excellent history. The earliest and best source I can find
for Peel's (1829) original "Principles of Policing."
Reuss-Ianni, Elizabeth. 1983. Two Cultures of
Policing. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.
Excerpt.
 Describes the difference between management and street cops. Includes the
excellent "Cops' Code."
Rubinstein, Jonathan. 1973. City Police. New York:
Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
 Classic 1st-hand account of policing in Philadelphia. Nobody knows whatever
happened to Mr. Rubinstein.
Schlosser, Eric. 1998. “The Prison-Industrial
Complex.” The Atlantic Monthly. December.
 Like the military industrial complex. But this time with prisons. An excellent
article describing the growth of the prison industry in the US.
Skogan, Wesley G. 1990. Disorder and Decline:
Crime and Spiral of Decay in America. New York:
The Free Press.
 Good book related to Broken Windows and Community Policing.
Tonry, Michael. 1995. Malign Neglect. New York:
Oxford University Press.
 A passionate attack on the War on Drugs.
Van Maanen, John. 1978. "The Asshole." Chapter
18 in Policing: A View from the Street. Peter K.
Manning and John Van Maanen (eds), pp. 221-238.
Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear Publishing.
 Police Typifications. Or how to get on the bad side of police in one easy lesson.
M.I.T. Professor Van Maanen was on my PhD dissertation committee. His research in the Seattle Police Academy inspired me on my career.
Vollmer, August. 1936. The Police and Modern
Society: Plain Talk Based on Practical Experience.
Berkley, California: University of California Press.
 Little-read classic by the father of American Policing. Worth reading if you can
get your hands on it.
Wilson, James Q. 1968. Varieties of Police
Behavior. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
 Articulates the oft-quoted distinction between ‘watchman’, ‘legalistic’, and
‘service’ styles of policing.  Written when legalistic, centralized movements
were all the rage.
Wilson, James Q. and George L. Kelling. 1982.
"Broken Windows." The New Yorker. March.
 The article that revolutionized policing? Former New York City and current L.A.
Police Chief William Bratton says it's the only piece written by an academic that
matters. Period. Many academics beg to differ.
Wilson, Orlando W. and R. McLaren. 1972. Police
Administration. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
 Not what I would call a good read, but it's still an important book. O.W. Wilson was chief of police in Chicago. He wrote the book on implementing "professional" policing. His ideas are an example of good intentions gone wrong. This is useful for its details and as a historical document. Many of its ideas are still practiced today.
Young, Malcolm. 1991. An Inside Job: Policing and
Police Culture in Britain. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
 Great book written about police culture in Britain. Particularly good chapter on
the ease at which statistics can be manipulated. Surprisingly little known on
this side of the pond.