Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement

Editor/Author: Sullivan, Larry E.
Publication Year: 2005
Publisher: Sage Publications

ISBN: 978-0-7619-2649-8
Category: social sciences
Image Count: 176
Book Status: Available

Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement provides a comprehensive, critical, and descriptive examination of all facets of law enforcement on the state and local, federal and national, and international stages. This work is a unique reference source that provides readers with informed discussions on the practice and theory of policing in an historical and contemporary framework. Many of the themes and issues of policing cut across disciplinary borders, however, and several entries provide comparative information that places the subject in context.

This book is found in the following Credo Collections:

See what others are saying:

Sullivan (John Jay College of Criminal Justice) has edited an outstanding set on law enforcement issues. More than 300 academics and practitioners in the field contributed essays on all aspects of law enforcement, ranging from analyses of historical events to future trends. Volume 1 deals with state and local issues (e.g., civilian/police involvement, crime statistics, personnel issues, police corruption, police conduct, domestic terrorism). Volume 2 concentrates on federal law enforcement with essays on agencies such as the Secret Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration; other essays cover such topics as the federal drug seizure system, IAFIS (Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System), and the Freedom of Information Act. Volume 3 is arranged by country, with explanatory essays on each country's law enforcement system. Some countries are omitted because of a dearth of information or nearly total lack of a police force. Essays in all volumes are signed and contain useful short bibliographies. Each volume also contains an extensive master bibliography and index. Volumes 1 and 2 both offer an appendix that summarizes 15 years (1989-2003) of major developments in law enforcement drawn from Law Enforcement News (published 1975- by John Jay College). While a number of encyclopedia sets focus on criminal justice, there is no similar work on law enforcement.
E. B. Ryner
FBI Library
The Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement is an excellent resource for those beginning research in this area. The Encyclopedia discusses a wide variety of subjects that are placed into three separate volumes: State & Local, Federal, and International. Entries in the first two volumes are alphabetically arranged by subject, while entries in the international volume are organized by country. This allows readers to easily identify and access the information needed. Each entry provides a "For Further Reading" section that lists detailed references.The Encyclopedia would be a wise investment for academic libraries that support a law enforcement curriculum as well as medium and large public libraries. One of the best qualities of this resource is the efforts taken by the editors to ensure credibility. Detailed information about each editor is provided, along with the names and professional affiliations of contributors. This allows the reader to investigate their credentials. In addition to providing this information, the Encyclopedia adds to its credibility by providing a wide variety of references in the "For Further Reading" section at the end of each entry. Case law, journal articles, books, and government resources are some of the resources cited, in varied combinations, in each entry. Entries are structured in a logical format and are interesting and easy to read. The Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement is a user-friendly resource that provides a good starting point for law enforcement research.
Stefanie S. Pearlman
Asst. Professor of Law Library and Reference Librarian, Schmid Law Library, Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln