Product Description

Becoming a Police Officer: An Insider’s Guide to a Career in Law Enforcement is a serious examination of police work that is directed toward young people who are contemplating a career as a police officer. Author Barry Baker draws on over thirty-two years of experience from some of the most violent streets of any city in the United States to show you the unembellished truths of law enforcement.

Baker describes the self-satisfaction that can be found in police work while identifying its pitfalls and how to avoid them. Before ending his career as a detective lieutenant, Baker spent his first twenty years on the force as a patrol officer, making him uniquely qualified to speak from a breadth and depth of experience.

Becoming a Police Officer: An Insider’s Guide to a Career in Law Enforcement covers topics a newly trained police officer must appreciate—and master—to ensure success and safety, including the following:

• Self-evaluation for a police career
• Recognizing and ignoring bad advice
• Rapid advancement toward self-sufficiency
• The immeasurable importance of integrity
• Matters of life and death

Becoming a Police Officer: An Insider’s Guide to a Career in Law Enforcement is a valuable insight for those seeking a career in the honorable and important profession of law enforcement.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #79814 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 112 pages

About the Author
Detective Lieutenant Barry Baker retired from the Baltimore Police Department in 2004. During his thirty-two year career, Baker served as a patrol officer, sergeant, and lieutenant, as well as a special operations lieutenant and detective lieutenant.

Customer Reviews

Full of good advice
I found the book to be packed with invaluable advice. I've only been a cop for about 6 months now, but I wish I had read the book before I became a cop.

The book offers great advice on choosing a department. It also has inspired me to write more reports and write them better.

One of the main points I took from the book was to never sacrafice your integrity.

I didn't like how the auther put a little introductory phrase before almost every single paragraph in the book. If he didn't do that, the book would probably only be 60 pages long.

a must read for thoughtful young people entering police work
Barry Baker was a street cop for 20 years in a very tough town before taking promotion. He accurately reflects the central role of patrol - street work - and does not sugar-coat or avoid difficult issues. The conciseness of the book is a strength. His advice to young people is genuine and not idealistic or poorly informed. A nice job.