3 BCGF

Editor's Note: Two of the authors are prior military.

April 6, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. The website added three big city gunfighters to the growing list of state and local police officers who have written books.

Arthur Niederhoffer was born in New York City, graduated from Erasmus High School and Brooklyn College, received his LL.B from Brooklyn Law School in 1939 and was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1940. From 1940 through 1961 he was a member of the New York Police Department. He began by "pounding a beat" and retired with the rank of Lieutenant. In 1963 he received his PH.D. in sociology from New York University. He has taught at Hofstra University and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York. He is the author of five academic books on policing, the most famous of which is likely Behind the Shield: The Police in Urban Society.

Louis Gervasio was a New York State Police Trooper from 1953 to 1956. He then joined the New York Police Department in 1956. He retired in 1978 at the rank of Lieutenant. Additionally, he served in the United States Army from 1951 through 1953. According to the book description of Louis Gervasio’s book, Not In My Memo Book, “is a compilation of over 50 humorous short stories about the New York Police Department from 1956 through 1978. It includes a few about the NY State Police prior to 1956. The title evolves from the memo books the New York Police Department were mandated to carry to enter their assignments and any incidents. Many police actions involved "unorthodox methods" used by police officers when dealing with the public, boredom, the elements or merely because of their sense of humor.”

John E. McLaughlin, author of Just a Cop, became a police officer by accident. A former US Marine, John wondered what life held in store for him when he realized that the military no longer needed his services. He was invited to join the Fairmount Park Guard, a private police force then guarding Philadelphia's largest public park. His time in the Guard marked the start of a 25 year career in the city, and when the Guard was finally merged with the Philadelphia Police Department, John was merged with them.

According to the book description, “this book tells, in hilarious fashion, the way the ordinary cop worked his beat, dealt with troublesome Senior officers, and handled criminal - everything, in fact, from thieves to killers to rioters. Told in a simple, down to earth way, this book will delight anyone keen on police memoirs, and will undoubtedly bring a demand for more.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 449 police officers (representing 191 police departments) and their 944 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.