The book I read is called "Becoming a Police Officer", by Barry M. Baker, who is a retired police officer. I really liked this book, because it allows you to get a view from a real police officer and give you advice that will really make a difference in your career. The main purpose of this book is to advise people thinking about becoming a police officer. It is definitely written for 16 years old or older, because it is meant for any one who is interested in a law enforcement career. Before I started reading this book I thought it might be a little boring, and in the perspective of someone that’s not directly related to law enforcement. This book was not even like what I expected; because it had a lot of information and kept it brief enough so you don't get bored. The most interesting part of this book that i found was some of the stories that are spread out throughout. They all deal with real life situations and it gives you a much better perspective of the every day life of an officer. There are many conversations that can be involved with this field of work based on new technology, new laws, or even new systems. I'm sure that the author would include the example of street light cameras if this book would've been written more recently, and he actually does talk a little about how the communities are changing. I knew a little bit about this conversation before i started reading this book, especially about the new technology, because it's the only thing that is really released about the police departments in general unless a huge crime was just committed. The main technology that would be discussed would be the stop light cameras; because they really affect how things are done at police stations and can also affect the availability of jobs. The only thing I really didn’t like about this book was the fact that it was so short, even though I think that the reason the author kept it short was to keep it from being too boring. This book really did have a lot of information; it included basically everything you would want to know if this was the field you’re interested. It gave me a straight forward explanation of what I wanted to know about law enforcement, because it explained how it is a very serious job and you shouldn't mess around especially when you are first getting trained. He even had examples of what could happen if you did mess around, like being thrown off of the police force, and also being shunned by society for your mistake. Sexual harassment is brought up as one of the most important things to watch out for, especially as new officer. Since I want to be a police officer this book is completely meant for advice purposes and if you just want to know the basics this book is really good for you. There is also a part about modern day communities, which relates most to what you will have to do. This part also describes domestic disputes and also could change your mind about law enforcement if you’re not serious about it, because it says if you feel tired or burned out of what you’re doing to resign as soon as you can. I was also kind of hoping that it would’ve included a section about street racing, because that is a major deal with modern day society. There are also more weapons available for civilians to have, and it seems kind of important if he gave a little advice about what to do if you’re in a situation involving guns. There are also a lot of the smaller assignments that weren’t really described, but that’s because the author didn’t find them necessary, even though he could’ve added a couple examples. I’m glad I read this book and it was very interesting, even without all of the details. My whole future is basically based on this field, so overall this book was extremely helpful and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in law enforcement.
