Review by Choice Review
The Beckers developed this descriptive encyclopedia of national police organizations as a first step for researchers planning evaluative studies. This information is not currently available in common reference sources such as The Europa Year Book. Coverage of the field is comprehensive, both as to the number of countries included and the variety of data presented. In addition to such data as descriptions of force size, administrative organization, and weapons employed, brief demographic, historical and political sketches of the countries are provided so that the police organizations can be viewed in appropriate perspective. This particular feature increases the encyclopedia's value for undergraduate research. Nevertheless, there is a critical omission: There are no bibliographic references, or even less formal discussions of sources used. Although the authors readily admit that for some nations current information was not available, they do not indicate which entries are out of date. Certainly, serious scholars would not wish to base evaluative research on data of an unknown source. For undergraduate collections.-T.L. Wesley, Northern Kentucky University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Handbook of the World's Police provides information on the police systems of approximately 175 countries arranged under seven broad geographical areas: Africa, the Caribbean (including Mexico), Europe, the Far East (including Australia), the Middle East, North America, and South America. The section for each area begins with a brief (usually a page or less) summary of the region's history and geography, accompanied by a black-and-white outline map on which each country in the region is identified. The entry for each country has a poorly drawn map and begins with background information on the demography, history, and government of the country. Several errors were found here, e.g., the number of provinces in Turkey and the number of counties in Ireland are given incorrectly. Better information can be found in an almanac. In many instances, the background material is irrelevant to the subject and is more detailed than the information given about the country's police system. The paucity of information provided in such instances is only partially explained by the compilers' statement, ``Some countries are all too eager to share information about their police while others attempt to prohibit all information about their police or its internal security function.'' No sources are cited for the information about the police systems assembled by the compilers, a professor of criminal justice and his research assistant wife, over a period of many years. The more complete entries include types of police, the numbers and functions of each type, the organization and administration of the police system, whether or not the police are armed and the types of arms that they bear, police training, the criminal code, and jails and prisons. However, even the entries for some European countries, e.g., Ireland, do not contain this much information. Because of its brief entries and inaccuracies, Handbook of the World's Police is not a worthwhile purchase for libraries. World Police and Paramilitary Forces is a British book and its compiler has had a career in military intelligence. While it has fewer pages than the Handbook, its larger format enables it to contain more information. Also, space is not wasted on general facts on the countries that can be found in other sources. The introduction gives an overview of the subject, including a discussion of international organizations such as Interpol, and is followed by a selected bibliography. Then come articles on 177 countries arranged alphabetically. The final section is devoted to equipment and lists manufacturers of grenades, pistols, etc. The book has lengthy entries for the countries of Europe and North America. For each, a history of the police is outlined, and the names of the forces are given both in English and the indigenous language. There is coverage of most of the same topics included in the Handbook, but in greater detail. In some entries, there are statistics on crime and an address for the national police headquarters. Entries close with a list of private security firms. For the nations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the entries are much briefer, probably for the same reason quoted above from the Handbook. However, even the shorter entries here are usually more complete than those in the Handbook. World Police and Paramilitary Forces is much more expensive than the Handbook of the World's Police but is worth the extra money. It will be useful in libraries supporting programs in criminal justice or international affairs.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
