The book is comprised of short chapters, each covering a separate subject, that has been narrowed down to fit into a few pages. The chapters are arranged alphabethically by the title of each chapter, rather than by topic they are covering. That is a very strange solution, as it would be much easier to look for a certain piece of information, if the chapters would have been arranged by subject (all chapters handling self defence in one place, and so on).

Albrecht is very experienced police officer, and all he says makes sense. The book is very easy to read, and the short chapters make it even more easy to approach. But on the other hand, because the chapters are so short (the shortest are just two pages, and even the longest ones are less than ten pages), they are very narrow in scope, or don't go very deep into the subject. That is sad, as Albrecht clearly has wealth of visdom to share.

This book is so similar to another book by Steve Albrecht, Surviving street patrol, that it is very hard not to compare the books. Both are good books that offer tiny bits of valuable advise, and both have similar pros and cons. If I would have to choose only one, I might go for this book, as this book is perhaps slightly more advanced than Surviving street patrol.


Short and concise on a variety of topics   October 9, 2001
This is filled with short, magazine column sized topics that cover issues that a peace officer routinely comes across with on the street.

The author obviously knows what he's talking about and shares lots of this information with the reader. Some of the topics include dog attacks, freeway stops, and drugs. The whole thing is infused with LOTS of officer safety concerns and things to consider when working.

Each topic/chapter is like spending a 20 minutes in 7-11 with one of your best officers. It's ideal if you have a short attention span...