Historical Dictionary of Law Enforcement

by Mitchel P. Roth

Overview

Viewing policing from an international perspective, this volume covers the history of law enforcement from early accounts of policing under Caesar Augustus to such present-day events as Rodney King and the LAPD. American policing dominates the book, but it also covers such items as the 1829 London Metropolitan police model and Continental innovations stemming from Napoleonic France. While including such well-known Americans as Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt, the book also covers important policewomen, forgotten but exceptional African American policemen, and Indian Police forces that ranged the Oklahoma Territory. The book will be a useful resource for all those interested in the history of law enforcement.

Unlike existing reference works that try to cover both lawmen and criminals, this book focuses on the police diaspora. In addition to traditional police officers, it also includes nontraditional examples of law enforcement, such as private detectives, vigilante groups, and organizations such as Wells Fargo and the Pinkertons. The book provides an instructive blend of history, criminology, and police science.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313305603
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/30/2000
Pages:	496
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.25(d)

About the Author

MITCHEL P. ROTH is Associate Professor of History and Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University. His earlier books include Historical Dictionary of War Jourbanalism (Greenwood, 1997).

Table of Contents

Preface
The Dictionary
Appendices
Selected Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Recognizing the conventional beginning of modern policing in London in 1829, Roth (history and criminal justice, Sam Houston State U.) also considers organized policing as far back as classical antiquity and innovations on the continent stemming from Napoleonic France. Many other references combine cops and robbers, but he focuses on the discipline of policing. The more than 900 entries include people involved in administration as well as field work and even the odd laboratory researcher; they also include nontraditional examples, such as little-known Western lawmen, detective organizations, and the Texas Rangers and their derivatives. Events and slang are also cited. Though he attempts an international perspective, most of the material is about the US, he says, largely because the decentralized law enforcement has created over 20,000 police forces. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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