Recent Book: Conduct Unbecoming
| Date | 01 October 1986 |
| Published date | 01 October 1986 |
| Author | D. A. G. Series |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X8605900413 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Book |
RECENT BOOKS
MAURICE
PUNCH:
Conduct
Unbecoming.
London: Tavistock Publications Limited. £7.95.
"The
Police are meant to prevent
and
solve crime
and
preserve
order
...
In
practice, an
array
of evidence indicates
that
the
demands
made on the police are
so diffuse
and
contradictory
that
the police task is unworkable, and this leads to
an atmosphere of 'duplicity and hypocrisy' and of methods bordering on
'trickery and stealth'."
This
quote
from the introduction of Conduct Unbecoming is developed as the
book
examines aspects of the spectrum of
what
can be called "police deviance".
The police, as an organization, is still a rare subject of analysis and an academic
study of
corruption,
even rarer. In his book,
Punch
takes us
through
police
corruption
scandals in New York,
London
and
Amsterdam
and
gives us insights
into their causes.
Whilst the work is analytic, reading it is not difficult. Interest is maintained as a
result of the writer's sociological perspective.
Punch
has
approached
this study
from
that
of the symbolic interactionist and such a stance has resulted in a
book
full of anecdotes
and
personal quotes
from
police officers. As
Punch
declares "This
book
is an
attempt
to investigate
and
make visible the policeman's world view". As
such it involves a fair share of cynicism; with such quotes as:
"You
gotta
learn two
fundamentals on the
job.
First law of survival is to bend.
Fundamental
two of
survival: the best way to pass
your
30 years on this
job
is to do nothing".
The material contained in this
book
tells us something
about
the police force, but
such research method has some inherent dangers. Stories, first or second hand,
usually involve a sufficient element of distortion or contextual imbalance to make
them
dubious evidence in the search for
"truth".
By the end of the book, the readercould be left with the impression
that
there is
aserious wide-scale
problem
amongst
police forces and this impression is re-
enforced by
Punch
when he adds "Finally, having spent several years delving into
the seamy
and
sordid aspects of an institution has made me
approach
the police
with somewhat less of my earlier enthusiasm
and
admiration
and
with more of a
sad sbepticism". However, it is not really such a "gospel of despair", but more a
fascinating
and
useful
document
to be viewed at two levels,
that
of a sociological
study of an occupational culture
and
also as a historical record of particular events
which occurred in a
number
of police forces
around
the world in the 1970's.
D. A. G.
SERIES
JAMES
MORTON:
Handling
Criminal Cases.
London: Waterlow Publishers Limited. £9.95.
This
book
is written in a straightforward and easy to read manner, by a person
who obviously has had a wide experience in criminal proceedings. The
author
details the various steps for a new solicitor to
take
in any criminal case, even to the
extent
of who to speak to at a police station, when trying to ascertain the
whereabouts of a client.
The
book
is a
must
"for
any lawyer
about
to
embark
in criminal law practice".
One criticism to be levelled is
that
the
book
seems to gloss over the Police
and
Criminal Evidence Act, a working knowledge of which is surely a must for all
practitioners.
P.J.
WHENT
October 1986 365
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