Police Books from California Police Officers

Editor's Note: One of the authors is a former servicemember.

Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. Police-Writers.com added three police officers from California who have written books.

Dr. Douglas W. Perez is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the State University of New York, Plattsburg. From 1970 to 1975, Douglas Perez was a deputy sheriff for the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office (California). Currently, Dr. Douglas Perez teaches courses in the criminal justice field and has significant experience also in the sociological theory area. His classroom foci include the study of the police, law and society, the drug war, and introductory level courses. Dr. Douglas Perez is the author of The Paradoxes of Police Work and Common Sense about Police Review. His is also the co-author of Police Ethics: A Matter of Character.

According to the book description of Police Ethics: A Matter of Character, “Police officers make thousands of important, life-changing decisions everyday. In order to promote and ensure justice, these decisions must be fair and even-handed. Police officers cannot think or act as if they are free to define what is legal and what is illegal or to decide who is inherently good and who is inherently bad. They must act in an ethical manner. Yet, police officers are given a limited amount of training in police ethics.”

At the age of 14, Jim Wagner began to his life long pursuit of self-defense by beginning his study of the marital arts. Four years later he joined the United States Army. In 1991 Jim Wagner, sponsored by the Costa Mesa Police Department, entered the police academy (Orange County Sheriff’s Department Training Academy Class 104). Like his military training before, Jim Wagner was deeply influenced by the police academy’s realistic conflict scenarios.

During his career with the Costa Mesa Police Department, Jim Wagner earned a place on the SWAT team. It was through this conduit that Jim learned about logistics, command post operations, hostage negotiations, entry team tactics, and sniping. On the job training included courses with LAPD SWAT, the U.S. Army Special Forces, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Tactical Training Center, and from U.S. Marines Division Schools Camp Pendleton (Advanced Sniper Course, Military Operations Urban Terrain, Helicopter Rope Suspension Training, and Range Safety Officer).

While conducting a myriad of courses at Camp Pendleton, both military units and other law enforcement agencies using the base for their own training discovered Jim Wagner’s unique approach to training and his seamless blending of defensive tactics with edged weapons and firearms skills. Before long he was getting offers from the United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group, Department of Defense Police, California Highway Patrol, California Department of Corrections, San Diego Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles Probation Department, U.S. Border Patrol, Immigration & Naturalization Service, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines Provost Marshal Office, Drug Enforcement Administration. By 1996 Jim found himself being invited by foreign unit to train in their own countries: GermanGSG9, Brazilian G.A.T.E., Argentinean G.O.E., Royal Canadian Mounted Police, London Metropolitan Police, Helsinki Police Department, and various units in Spain, Mexico, and Israel.

The demand on Jim Wagner’s time was overwhelming and in 1999 he decided to resign from the Costa Mesa Police Department and started teaching full time. Not wanting to fully give up his law enforcement career Jim applied as a Reserve Deputy at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Jim Wagner is the author of Reality Based Personal Protection.

Designed as a companion book to Jim Wagner’s best-selling instructional DVD series, Reality-Based Personal Protection provides eight detailed chapters. According to the book description, “Reality-Based Personal Protection system covers the complete tactical spectrum of pre-conflict, conflict and post-conflict techniques and training methods for a wide variety of worst-case scenarios. Mastering these tactics will educate you on the dangers of the modern world and how to survive them.”

David A. Hansen was a captain with the Daly City Police Department (California). He is the author of Police Ethics, An Analysis of Police Concepts and Programs, The Police Training Officer, Closed Circuit Television for Police and The Police Leader: A Handbook.

Police-Writers.com now hosts 732 police officers (representing 339 police departments) and their 1568 police books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.