Good cops do go bad.
The question is why do young men and women who start with high ideals
of community service succumb to temptation and turn into bad cops.
The author, Soctt Silverii, spent most of his career in SWAT Teams,
special operations groups or SOGs. Other special operations group
involve undercover work for drug trafficking and other high risk
areas. Silverii brings an insiders knowledge to the study of why good
cops go bad.
Silverii's thesis is
that the idealistic young cop is assigned to a SOG often because he
or she is such a good cop. Then through a series of transitions the
cop transfers his allegiance from the general police force to the
SOG. Because of the nature of work in the SOG the cop is exposed to
temptations and often encouraged to participate in activities he or
she knows is wrong, but helps to bond with his group. The group
effectively becomes the standard.
Silverii bases his
analysis on interviews with cops from across the country. It's
fascinating to read what they think about being in a SOG means and
how it changes you. He believes that they talked to him, rather than
other investigators, because of his background in the SOG.
He also give an
extensive overview of police history in the United State. I found it
fascinating, and it helped to explain how the police have evolved
over time.
If you're interested
in the psychology of closed groups, or police specifically, I
recommend this book. The writing is scholarly. I believe it is based
on his doctoral dissertation, and it reads that way. However, anyone
familiar with social science research will not find that a problem.
I reviewed this book
for the Amazon Vine Program.
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