The Police Mystique: An Insider’s Look at Cops, Crime, and the Criminal Justice System

302 Pages·1990·5.578 MB·English

by  Chief Anthony V. Bouza Ret. (auth.)

THE POLICE
MYSTIQUE
An Insider's Look at
Cops, Crime, and the
Criminal Justice System
THE POLICE
MYSTIQUE
An Insider's Look at
Cops, Crime, and the
Criminal Justice System
Chief Anthony V. Bouza (Ret.)
SPRINGER SCIENCE+B USINESS MEDIA, llC
Library of Congress Cataloglng-In-Publlcatlon Data
Bouza, Anthony V,
The police mystique: an Insider's leok at cops, crl~e, and the
criminal justice system I Anthony V. Bouza,
p. cm.
Includes bIbliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-306-43464-8 ISBN 978-1-4899-6000-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4899-6000-9
1. Pol1ce--Unlted States. I. Title.
HV8138.B595 1990
383.2'0973--dc20 89-29450
CIP
© 1990 Anthony V. Bouza
Originally published by Plenum Publishing Corporation, New York in 1990
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1990
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher
For
Mari and Louise
Foreword
Tony Bouza is as well known to the senior police establishment as any cop
in America-which is not to say that his peers regard him with universal
affection. One reason for this is that he is of independent and ranging
mind, far from content with conventional practice and procedures-and
worse, he says so in public and says why. And he compounds this sin by
his willingness to subject his ideas to the test of critical research, and to
take the results seriously and to act on them.
That is not to imply that Chief Bouza is universally rejected by the
police establishment. Over the past ten or fifteen years there has gradually
been emerging, in administrative positions in the city police forces of this
country, a group of younger though experienced police leaders, impatient
with traditional ways, willing to take seriously the important roles that
police should play in social welfare, and willing to resist vigorously the
long tradition of improper political meddling in their work. To them,
Bouza is somewhat of a hero.
In this professional autobiography, Bouza captures the challenge and
essence of policing in a vigorous and moving style. If the work of the
police interests you, this is an essential book. You will not agree with its
every proposition-if you did it would hardly have been worth writing
but you will both enjoy the book and be forced into further serious reflec
tion. It is an engaging blend of an anecdotal autobiography of thirty-six
years of energetic life in the police, at every level, and a spirited analysis
of a series of major crime and police problems.
It is that rare book about the police: not a research monograph; not
the usual sensational exaggeration of the dramas and dangers of police
work; but rather a probing and sprightly account of police work and the
joys and pains of police leadership.
vii
viii Foreword
Chief Bouza also moves out of the common mold of police chiefs in
that he is vehemently and openly concerned with the miseries imposed on
our citizens in the many destroyed inner-city areas-a man who recog
nizes that our increasingly locked-in underclass is a serious threat to social
stability, who is passionately moved both by concern for those we thus
maltreat and by their pervasive and maleficent influence on our lives.
Consider his near-concluding sentence: "Oh for a muse of fire that would
touch the public conscience . . . and awaken the nation to the danger of
neglecting the fateful problems of its cities." Tony Bouza is not that muse,
but the muse had better read this book.
I am tempted to relate story after story from this book: of Bouza's
arresting the flag-burner and then appearing himself on television to de
fend the Supreme Court's 5-to-4 decision acquitting the flag-burner; of his
creative experiments in relation to the policeman's duty at the scene of
spousal violence, when the injured spouse does not wish to have the
matter prosecuted; and many more. Instead, read the book; you will then
know more about police work than all but a few.
NORV AL MORRIS
Professor of Law and Criminology
University of Chicago
Chicago, lllinois
Preface
I was born in Spain and came to America, at nine, as part of the great
immigrant wave from Europe. The experience shaped my view of a coun
try great enough to embrace the "tempest tossed" and "wretched refuse"
of distant shores and raise them to prosperity and power.
I grew up in the New York City Police Department, entering it at
twenty-four, on January 1, 1953, and leaving it, reluctantly, twenty-four
years later, as commander of all the Bronx forces.
The intervening years were spent learning, serving, and climbing. I
was lucky enough to hold almost every imaginable police job and rank,
including investigations, patrol, planning, communications, intelligence,
internal affairs, and everything in between. I held nine different ranks and
had fourteen totally different jobs in the NYPD alone.
This lucky apprenticeship was followed by three years as deputy
chief of the NYC Transit Police, who cover the subway system. I was
responsible for the daily operations of the department, which I found to
have a totally different culture from that of the NYPD. .
Next came a nine-year stint as chief of police in Minneapolis, which
gave me the chance to "run my own shop," in the parlance of the profes
sion. I left that post when I became convinced that the agency needed
fresh blood and new ideas at the top.
Those thirty-six years in policing gave me a love for the profession
that has never dimmed. Just as a whaling ship proved to be Herman
Melville's Harvard or Yale, the police world was mine.
As I plied its waters, though, I was struck by the reticence of my
colleagues to inform the public of the horrors that were becoming a part of
their daily fare and that, I felt, would never be solved until the people
ix
x Preface
awakened to the dangers and acted. I broke ranks with my associates' love
of silence and decided to report what I was sure we all knew to be true
that the larger society had better understand what is afoot and move
speedily to shore up its inner defenses, if the nation is to survive. It was
this simple if presumptuous notion that compelled me to write this book.
As I struggled with the complex issues I was immensely aided by the
good counsel and unfailing support of my wife, Erica. Three selfless
souls-Louise Wolfgram, Constance Caplan, and Larry Sherman-gave
unstintingly of their wisdom, encouragement, and expertise. My editor,
Linda Regan, acting like the sort of tough teacher we all remember, would
never allow me to do anything but my best and forced me to work to the
top of my ability. It will be only too obvious that the flaws are entirely my
responsibility.
ANTHONY V. BOUZA
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Contents
1. The Police World ................................... 1
2. The Police Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3. Life within the Police Agency ....................... 33
4. The Police Organization's Internal Climate .......... 47
s.
Cops ............................................... 65
6. The Slippery Slope of Crime, Arrests, and Statistics. 85
7. Street Criminals and How They Got That Way ...... 99
8. Service and Traffic ................................. 109
9. Management Problems, Concerns,
and Opportunities .................................. 121
10. Controversies within the Police Agency ............. 139
11. Cops and the Constitution .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... 159
12. Controlling the Criminal ............................ 179
13. Responding to Woman Battering. . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . .. 199
xi