Thomas Nolan has been an Associate Professor in Criminal Justice at Boston University, the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, and Merrimack College. He was a Senior Policy Advisor at the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C., and a 27-year veteran (and former lieutenant) with the Boston Police Department. His doctoral work focused on moral probity among police officers, and his recent publications deal with such topics as civil rights and civil liberties in policing and constitutional issues of surveillance.
A solid academic book tackling some of policing's most important issues - written by a police practitioner/scholar. The topics are timely, and there couldn't be a better time in our field for a policing book of this nature than now. Peter Kraska Professor, School of Justice Studies Eastern Kentucky University, USA Tom Nolan has produced this scholarly scrutiny that supplements his thirty-plus years of policing experience. It's an important book that should be widely read. Use it in your courses. The narrative of US law enforcement's too often violent interaction with the public it serves has rightly given way to a national conversation in the marketplace of ideas. Wm. Peters Coordinator for Legal Studies and Associate Professor of Criminal Justice State University of New York College at Plattsburgh The human race faces immense challenges: climate collapse, economic inequality, racism and nativism, mass migration, and crises in democratic governance. Cutting across all of these issues are the problems of police and policing. This timely book examines policing's role in upholding the status quo, and the failures of ostensibly free societies to rise to the challenge of adequately policing the police. Kade Crockford Director, Technology for Liberty Program American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts Perilous Policing is provocative and well-written. It gives fresh insights into the service practices and patterns of policing. Tom Nolan utilizes his insider perspective to illuminate the modern issues that face police departments today. Unlike many other books on policing, Perilous Policing could be used in an upper-level undergraduate course, a graduate-level seminar, or by practitioners in the field. Alexa D. Sardina PhD Assistant Professor California State University Sacramento Division of Criminal Justice This book is very timely with its focus on immigration, militarization and black lives matter. While the book is based on American policing, these issues resonate globally and policing has become increasingly contested and perilous (for citizens and for the police themselves). Monique Marks Research Professor Urban Futures Centre, Durban University of Technology, South Africa