Police Craft - by Adam Plantinga (Paperback)

About the Book

A veteran police officer gives his thoughtful, balanced views on police shootings, racial profiling, community relations, and every other aspect of policing―and he'll change what you think about the police.

Book Synopsis

A veteran police officer gives his thoughtful, balanced views on police shootings, racial profiling, community relations, and every other aspect of policing--and he'll change what you think about the police.

From the author of the acclaimed 400 Things Cops Know, Police Craft is a thought-provoking and revelatory examination of policing in America, as seen by a working police officer. Adam Plantinga, a 17-year veteran sergeant with the San Francisco Police Department, gives an inside view of the police officer's job, from handling evidence and conducting interrogations to coping with danger, violence, and death. Not hesitating to confront controversial issues, Plantinga presents the police officer's views on police shootings, racial profiling, and relationships between police and the community--and offers reasoned proposals on what the police and the public can do better.

Hard-boiled, humorous, and compassionate, Plantinga wrestles with the complexities and contradictions of a job he loves in which he witnesses so much suffering. Transcending today's strident pro-cop/anti-cop rhetoric, Police Craft will give every reader a greater respect for the police and greater understanding of the job they do.

Review Quotes

"Reading Police Craft should probably be required of those most critical of the current state of law enforcement. Discussions of policing in America should be informed by a better understanding of what the job of a police officer entails."--Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed

"Blends a touch of humor with many insights into the policeman's job and perspective. Anyone interested in police processes and issues will find Police Craft an absorbing, revealing account."--California Bookwatch

"Written in plain terms and thoroughly accessible to readers of all backgrounds ... highly recommended."--Midwest Book Review

"You will often hear cops say, 'I could write a book based on everything I have seen and done while on this job!' There is no need to because Adam has done it for us! I encourage cops to read this book. I found it to be therapeutic and a reminder that the thoughts and feelings I wrestle with due to my profession are shared by others. It's also a great read for anyone in the public because it gives a candid view of law enforcement that many do not see or understand."--Captain Aimee Obregon, Milwaukee Police Department

"A fine choice for crime writers who want to capture authentic action and emotion in their own works as well as laypersons who simply desire a better understanding of law enforcement. Adam Plantinga is a formidable storyteller, and his candid, colorful approach renders this book both compulsively readable and highly informative."--John Valeri, Criminal Element

"Jam-packed with exciting insights threaded into stores of righting wrongs, bringing criminals to justice and fraught with witticisms, Police Craft is an honest book about police, and admiration for a profession that is complex and sometimes terrifying. You won't want to put this book down."--Linda Kane, Sisters in Crime

"Adam Plantinga has done it again. His new book Police Craft is insightful, entertaining and packed with knowledge about how the 'real world' of law enforcement works. A must-read for every civic-minded citizen that wants to be supportive of the men and women that keep themselves and those they love safe."--"Dr. Phil" McGraw, Ph.D.

"Adam Plantinga's Police Craft isn't just a much-needed addition to any writer's reference library, it's a highly readable, fun, and informative book in its own right that any reader could enjoy. If you want to know how cops work -- and think -- this is the book for you."--Dennis Lehane, author of Gone, Baby, Gone, Mystic River, and Shutter Island

"For anyone who wants to understand law enforcement, Adam Plantinga is an essential resource: a cop who tells the truth about what it's like to police our streets. His eye catches everything and his prose rings with authenticity. Police Craft is a terrific read."--Andrew Klavan, bestselling author of Empire of Lies

"Adam Plantinga's second book is a gift to cops, citizens and crime writers. Adam writes with skill, wisdom, humor, and experience. He's both tough and tender. There's lots for everyone to learn from his behind-the-badge perspective."--Ellen Kirschman, PhD, author of I Love a Cop: What Police Families Need to Know and the Dr. Dot Meyerhoff mystery series

"Every cop should read this book and so should anyone who wants an uncensored peek into the real world of street cops. It's wise and witty, fascinating and fun . . . a lot of fun!"--Joseph Wambaugh, bestselling author of The New Centurions, The Blue Knight, the Hollywood Station series on 400 Things Cops Know

"Sgt. Adam Plantinga nailed it with Police Craft, a magnificent inside view of police work from one of San Francisco's finest ... an outstanding analysis of police work coupled with humility, humor and insight."--Paul Chignell, San Francisco Police Department Captain (retired)

"The author pulls no punches nor keeps any secrets . . . an intimate look at what really happens in police work."--John M. Willis, New York Journal of Books on 400 Things Cops Know

"In Police Craft, Adam Plantinga provides an unvarnished and eloquent examination of what it's really like to patrol some of the country's toughest streets. It is riveting and refreshing. A must-read for anyone interested in policing."--Del Quentin Wilber, bestselling author of A Good Month for Murder and Rawhide Down

"Riveting and often humorous . . . an unusually frank insider's view."--The San Francisco Chronicle

"The new Bible for crime writers."--The Wall Street Journal, on 400 Things Cops Know

"Truly excellent, and much more than a list--this reads like a mix of hardboiled autobiography and streetwise poetry. Certain to be one of my books of the year."--Lee Child, bestselling author of the Jack Reacher thrillers