The encyclopedia of American law enforcement /

Newton offers an alphabetically organized encyclopedia with more than 600 entries on a wide range of criminal justice topics, including major law enforcement agencies, biographies of key people, police tactics and units, and civil rights and social issues. Among the pertinent topics he addresses are women in law enforcement and the anti-drug program DARE. The juicier side of law enforcement is present in entries covering various scandals, including corruption and murder committed by police officers. The entries range from one paragraph to a few pages; many provide only basic information on a topic. Despite a bibliography listing "major works consulted," this volume gives no indication of the sources for the specific information in the entries. Items lack both citations and listings of additional sources for further information. Cross-referencing is included in some cases. Appendixes list police academies in the US plus US law enforcement Web sites. This volume's ease of use and many illustrations make it a suitable source for basic research or armchair browsing. Newton previously wrote The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers (CH, Sep'00, 38-0006) and The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes (CH, Dec'04, 42-1968). Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and general readers. K. Evans Indiana State University

This first-ever A-Z overview of local, state, and federal police work contains 654 entries on 149 law enforcement agencies (for example, Chicago Police Department, North Carolina Highway Patrol); 363 significant individuals (Earp brothers; Hoover, J. Edgar; King, Rodney); 119  general subjects (Arson, Forensic science, Radar/lidar law enforcement applications); and 20 famous or notorious incidents (Haymarket bombing, Ludlow Massacre). The time period covered is from early America through the present. Author Newton, who has also produced encyclopedias on high-tech crime fighting, serial murders, and kidnappings, notes that the current work does not seek to sugarcoat history or scandalize. In fact, the title could be extended to and Malfeasance because of the many instances in which law enforcement has broken the law at all levels. Information is accurate, when compared with other sources, and generally current although a number of biographical entries are missing birth and death dates. Entries are concise but longer when necessary, such as separate articles on the FBI and COINTELPRO, the bureau's counterintelligence program. Cross references and a number of illustrations add to the book's usefulness. Although there are no source notes at the end of entries, the   bibliography leads users further and is current. Appendixes on police academies in each state and law enforcement agency Web sites (local, state, and federal) are helpful, and the index is accurate. The work is recommended for public libraries of all sizes as well as college libraries. Libraries needing a more scholarly source should consider Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement (Sage, 2005).--Meyers, Arthur Copyright 2007 Booklist

Producing more than 70 popular titles during the last 20 years, Newton, a former teacher and bodyguard, has become a research and publishing industry unto himself. He is attracted, he says, to subjects with "a hint of peculiarity." His Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology was an ALA Outstanding Reference in 2006. His latest on U.S. law enforcement follows his formula: topical subject, catchy title, attractively illustrated format, and 654 short entries of 150-plus words in clear, concise writing. The entries are not scholarly and do not include bibliographies, but they are informative and cover topics as varied as the Newark Police Department and J. Edgar Hoover. There are entries on the 18th and 19th centuries, but the emphasis here is on current material, personal names, and agency names. There are some anomalies, e.g., Coleen Rowley, the Minnesota FBI critic of 9/11, has an entry, but there is no 9/11 entry. Bottom Line Although this encyclopedia will be used and read profitably by both the student and the casual reader, it will not replace the longer articles and more considered views of Sage's Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement (LJ 8/05) or Gale's Encyclopedia of Crime & Justice (LJ 3/15/02). Recommended for public and college libraries.-Janice Dunham, John Jay Coll. of Criminal Justice Lib., NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.