Cop in the Hood

Rezensionen / Stimmen

Remarkable... In Cop in the Hood, Mr. Moskos manages to capture a world that most people know only through the distorting prism of television and film, where police officers are usually portrayed as quixotically heroic or contemptibly corrupt. For all the book's detail, Mr. Moskos reserves his most passionate writing for a call to abandon the war on drugs. He claims that the drug war--with its violent turf battles and revolving-door cycles of arrest--has caused more social devastation the drugs themselves. -- Daniel Horan Wall Street Journal Moskos frankly records his experiences with poverty, violence, drugs and despair in the gritty ghetto. Moskos's overview of policing problems covers everything from arrest quotas, corrupt cops and excess paperwork to the reliance on patrolling in cars, responding to a barrage of 911 calls, rather than patrolling on foot to prevent crimes. Moskos blends narrative and analysis, adding an authoritative tone to this adrenaline-accelerating night ride that reveals the stark realities of law enforcement while illuminating little-known aspects of police procedures. Publishers Weekly [G]enuinely eye-opening...Moskos offers a compelling account of why a uniformed police patrol 'does little but temporarily disrupt public drug-dealing'--and hence why the 'war on drugs' is so helplessly self-defeating. Times Higher Education Truly excellent. This is one of the two or three best conceptual analyses of "cops and robbers" I have read. It is mandatory reading for all fans of The Wire and recommended for everyone else. -- Tyler Cowen Marginal Revolution Riveting ... an unsparing boys-in-blue procedural that succeeds on its own plentiful--and wonderfully sympathetic--merits. Moskos ... intermingles cops-and-robbers verisimilitude and progressive social science, yet keeps his reportage clear-eyed, his conclusions pathos-free. What results is a thoughtful, measured critique--of the failed drug war, its discontents, and the self-defeating criminal-justice system looming just behind. The Atlantic [An] objective, incisive and intelligent account of police work. Moskos's graphic descriptions of the drug culture in Baltimore's Eastern District are the most detailed and analytical to be found anywhere. What distinguishes Moskos's book...is the author's plea for greater flexibility in addressing the rampant drug crisis. -- Arnold Ages Indiana Jewish Post & Opinion About halfway through Cop in the Hood, a new book about policing Baltimore, author Peter Moskos hits upon an important theme: The Police Department ought to do more to prevent crime, instead of simply reacting to it. Unlike the typical academic, Moskos makes these observations with an air of authenticity because of the 14 months he worked as a patrol officer in the Eastern District. -- Annie Linskey Baltimore Sun Highly readable -- Dolan Cummings Culture Wars Moskos takes a long, hard look at the drug war and pronounces it a failure. The most encouraging aspect of this book is its portrait of the police officers themselves. Readers of Cop in the Hood are left with a renewed appreciation for the men in blue. -- Rachel DiCarlo Currie The American