BIG CITY DETECTIVE

Readers considering a law-enforcement career will Fred this a dull but detailed introduction to the skills and qualities required. In the formal, distant tone of a police report, Dautrich draws on his 25 years' experience with the Philadelphia Police Department to describe the training and opportunities a prospective applicant will have. As examples, he summarizes 12 investigations (four involving sex crimes), all of which speedily led to arrests due to the detectives' sharp powers of observation or canny questioning of suspects; attempts to dramatize the cases' unusual features sound awkward. The authors glance briefly at forensic science, the judicial system and rules of evidence, and at a few college-level courses and programs. Because this focuses on detectives, it might make a useful supplement to Reuter's Careers in a Police Department (Raintree, 1977). Lengthy glossary. Illustrations not seen.