{"id":4152,"date":"2015-03-16T06:35:41","date_gmt":"2015-03-16T10:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=4152"},"modified":"2015-03-16T06:35:41","modified_gmt":"2015-03-16T10:35:41","slug":"400-things-cops-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=4152","title":{"rendered":"***400 Things Cops Know"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"police,

(photo: en.wikipedia)<\/p><\/div>\n

By Adam Plantinga<\/a> – If you write (or read or watch) crime stories, you’ll be fascinated by the detailed insights from a veteran Milwaukee and San Francisco patrolman (now police sergeant). The Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/a> called the book \u201cthe new Bible for crime writers.\u201d And, if you\u00a0 wonder about how crimes are managed in the community, you\u2019ll definitely gain some insights.<\/p>\n

Plantinga, who is a Phi Beta Kappa magna cum laude graduate of Marquette University, divided his 400 lessons into 19 chapters on \u201cThings Cops Know About . . .\u201d shots fired, juveniles, booze and drugs, domestic violence, and so on. Each chapter is not only a dive into specifics, but as important, together\u2014with candor and humor\u2014they provide an unfiltered view into the thought processes of the cops called out to deal with some of society\u2019s worst and most intractable problems, deaths in circumstances that most of us never have to contemplate, much less confront, and the possibility of violence at every traffic stop. The endemic cynicism he reports arises from constant exposure to people behaving badly, as well as the internal machinations of many police departments.<\/p>\n

In the chapter on shots fired, I was surprised to learn how hard it is to find bullets after they\u2019re fired (unless they\u2019re in somebody), in part because \u201cmost handguns have ranges exceeding a mile.\u201d Of course, before a bullet can go that far, it generally hits a tree or a house or something. And most criminals aren\u2019t very good shots, Plantinga says. But, as a responding officer, you can\u2019t count on that.<\/p>\n

I saw a movie about a hit-and-run accident over the weekend, and thanks to reading this book, I tried to telepathically help the on-screen investigator: \u201cLook for prints on the rearview mirror!\u201d Thanks, Sergeant Plantinga.
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