Police & Society

The Third Edition of POLICE & SOCIETY offers a comprehensive introduction to policing in the United States. Author Roy Roberg is joined by prominent policing scholars Kenneth Novak and Gary Cordner. Their thoroughly revised text is both descriptive and analytical in nature--covering the process of policing, police behavior, organization, operations, and historical perspectives.

To adequately explain the complex nature of police operations in a democracy, the authors have integrated the most important theoretical foundations, research findings, and contemporary practices in a comprehensible, yet analytical, manner. Contemporary issues and future prospects of policing are fully addressed. The text features an emphasis on the relationship between the police and the community--as well as how this relationship has evolved over time. The impact of this evolution on current police practices, especially with respect to community policing and policing in the post-9/11 era, is explored.

The new edition has been substantially updated and revised, with four new or significantly revised chapters: "Community Policing," "Legal Issues," "Higher Education," and "Contemporary and Emerging Issues."

Importantly, new "Voices From the Field" boxes have been added to each chapter. Here, nationally known police officials provide their insights into contemporary police practices and problems in a thought-provoking format.

Topics New to the Third Edition:
Police auditor systems
Early warning systems
New forms of police stressors
Officer safety and fatality reduction
Terrorism and post-9/11 policing
Globalization
Policing and the mentally ill
Search and seizure
Legal issues in interrogations
Civil liability
Contemporary performance measures
Racially biased policing/racial profiling

Topics significantly expanded from the last edition include:
The role of the police in history
Broken windows
Community policing today
Police ethics and deviant behavior
Use of force, brutality, and oversight mechanisms
Women in policing
Police suicide
Responses to stress
Officer culture
Officer discretion
Police paramilitary units (PPUs)
Compstat and Quality of Life policing
Chicago and Madison updates
Job satisfaction and community policing
Directed patrols/crackdowns
Higher education, satisfaction, and discipline
Demographic changes in American society
Police technology

POLICE & SOCIETY also offers "Inside Policing" themed boxes which feature important research findings and brief descriptions of exemplary police programs and operations.

The Third Edition also features an expanded glossary, with key terms at the beginning of each chapter.

Ancillaries to enhance instruction include:
An interactive Student Study Guide on CD is included with each copy of the book.
A revised, dedicated Website.
A revised and expanded Instructor's Manual/Testing Program is available (in PDF and Word formats) from Roxbury's website. It is fully password-protected.
All figures and tables in the text are available in PowerPoint on CD.

Roy Roberg is Professor of Justice Studies at San José State University. He is coauthor of Police Management, Third Edition (OUP, 2002).

Kenneth Novak is Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He is coauthor of Police Management, Third Edition (OUP, 2002).

Gary Cordner is Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. He is coauthor of Police Administration, Sixth Edition (2007).