Book Reviews : Problem-Orientated Policing by Herman Goldstein. Temple University Press, 1990. 180 pp. cloth

• DOI: 10.1177/088740349100500108
• Published date: 01 March 1991
• Author: Michael E. Buerger
• Date: 01 March 1991
• Subject Matter: Articles

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According to Simon and Landis, this is not an entirely bad situation. After
all, it does &dquo;provide women with some opportunities to earn money and to
acquire some employable skills&dquo; (p. 101). It also keeps them out of that section
of the labor market where Simon and Landis insist they will have greater
opportunities to commit more larceny and other types of theft. Thus, one could
read Simon and Landis’ work as an endorsement of the status quo and that is
precisely what many prison administrators would like to hear.
Conclusion
The Crimes Women Commit will, most probably, find a more receptive
audience among criminal justice policy makers than among academicians.
Since the book is based on official data and provides relatively unambiguous
conclusions, it has considerable potential to influence policy decisions. How-
ever, given the fact that the authors have clearly exceeded the limits of their
data, this type of influence could be both misleading and dangerous.
Agnes L. Baro
Grand Valley State University
Problem-Orientated Policing by Herman Goldstein. Temple University
Press, 1990. 180 pp. cloth.
In Problem-Oriented Policing, Herman Goldstein makes a long-needed
challenge to the American police establishment. Expanding his original theory,
Goldstein incorporates knowledge gained from a series of field experiments
and POP
programs in police departments. It charts the difficulties and promise
of problem-oriented policing, a strategy which has the potential to change the
fundamental relationship between the police and the public.
In Chapter 1, Goldstein summarizes his original criticisms of the modem
American police: the primacy of the &dquo;crime-fighter&dquo; law enforcement image;
closed-system operations that exclude community input; and a preference for
&dquo;means over ends&dquo; management unconcerned with police effectiveness.
Society calls upon the police to handle a wide variety of &dquo;troublesome situa-
tions,&dquo; only a small number of which are resolved through criminal law
enforcement. Focusing on &dquo;law enforcement&dquo; as the primary police function
ignores much of what the police actually do, and forfeits opportunities to make
the police more effective.
The second chapter briefly reviews twentieth century U.S. policing, par-
ticularly research and innovations of the last three decades. Chapter 3 explores
five major criticisms of modem policing: preoccupation with internal or-
ganizational concerns; the predominately reactive nature of policing; the failure
of the professional model to tap the vast resources of the community; a similar
failure to use the experience and &dquo;savvy&dquo; of rank-and-file officers; and the
piecemeal nature of reform. Resistance from the police subculture, and lack of
a coherent vision of
what policing should be or achieve, undermined past reform
efforts.

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Chapter 4 provides Goldstein’s basic tenets of POP. Current patrol practice
consists of responding to a string of incidents, handling them as &dquo;isolated,
self-contained events.&dquo; Police...