Product Review

Paco Domingo is a street cop, a gang cop, a composite figure derived from criminologist Malcolm Klein's real observations, actual incidents, and verbatim court testimony in over 40 years of police and gang research. Klein, well-known criminologist and police consultant, tells the story of Domingo, who is deeply engaged in battling his street gang opponents. The author points to the dangers in police elite units when a 'tough cop' begins to rationalize the use of police violence and corruption. For all of those concerned with dealing in practical ways with street gangs, the greatest impediment has been ignorance about their nature. Klein highlights the importance of the training of gang cops, often the first point of contact with gang members in the community. He points out the discrepancies between some of their views and assumptions of fact in law enforcement on the one hand, and what criminological research has discovered on the other. The author assesses the knowledge and skills of the gang cop, and current gaps in our knowledge of street gangs. This book will be valuable to law enforcement personnel, lawyers, criminologists, and community and governmental agencies concerned with the proliferation of gangs in America's towns.