
Vice
One Cop's Story of Patrolling America's Most Dangerous City
Saint Martin's Griffin,U.S. (Publisher)
Published on 24. April 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
432 pages
978-1-250-00207-5 (ISBN)
Description
Compton: the most violent and crime-ridden city in America. What had been a semi-rural suburb of Los Angeles in the 1950s became a battleground for the Black Panthers and Malcolm X Foundation, the home of the Crips and Bloods and the first Hispanic gangs, and the cradle of gangster rap. At the centre of it, trying to maintain order was the Compton Police Department, never more than 130-strong, and facing an army of criminals that numbered over 10,000. At any given time, fully one-tenth of Compton's population was in prison, yet this tidal wave of crime was held back by the thinnest line of the law - the Compton Police. John R. Baker was raised in Compton, eventually becoming the city's most decorated officer involved in some of its most notorious, horrifying and scandalous criminal cases. Baker's account of Compton from 1950 to 2001 is one of the most powerful and compelling cop memoirs ever written - an intensely human account of sacrifice and public service, and the price the men and women of the Compton Police Department paid to preserve their city.
Reviews / Votes
"A thrilling, ultraviolent story about the endless struggle that the Compton PD faced in attempting to prevent the city from 'dissolving into chaos.' In-your-face violence and resilient heroism that leaps off the page." (Kirkus Reviews)"More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
St Martin's Press
Illustrations
16 page b&w photo insert
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
631 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-250-00207-5 (9781250002075)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
SGT. JOHN R. BAKER is an eighteen-year veteran of the Compton Police Department and the author of Vice: One Cop's Story of Patrolling America's Most Dangerous City. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.