The politics of the police /

An extremely important contribution to the understanding of police problems and, in particular, the very difficult issue of police-community relations in a multiracial society. Already well known in the US, the politics of policing is becoming more significant in Britain. A specialist in English policing, Reiner is also thoroughly familiar with the literature on its American form. In brisk and jargon-free prose, he reviews the history of the English police and summarizes the literature on the sociology of the police. In reading Reiner's examination of the British response to its growing police-community relations problem, American scholars will be struck by the parallels with this country. His book will also be of interest to all concerned with the larger problem of achieving law and justice in a multiracial society. College, university, and public libraries.-S. Walker, University of Nebraska at Omaha