Hate mail (2.4)

The latest from my conservative friend:

Prof Moskos;

Lets get real. Legalize drugs? Just look at alcohol. 21 years olds buy it give it to younger friends, who give it to even younger friends and now we have many 12 year old alcoholics in this country. Multiply that with narcotic addiction and see what the fabric of this country looks like then. Who will be trainable to fly the F22 raptor? Some coke head like Obama..... And lets be realistic.. What is so bad about drug dealers killing each other..?

As far as I'm concerned that is a win-win situation.

Now to your premise about liberals not ruining Police Depts.... In the past Baltimore had one of the best Homicide squads in the Nation. Their clearance rate was over 90%.

Then came the downfall " Affirmative Action" every liberals dream.

Good street smart homicide detectives were unceremoniously removed from homicide and put back in uniform. They were replaced with rookie, black, officers with little or no experience, just to appease the Gods of P.C.

Now the clearance rate is somewhere around 40% and homicides are up.

Please explain how this liberal move has made Baltimore a safer place to live.

Baltimore now has a new nickname which is known all over the East coast: " The City that Bleeds".

When I was a kid in the 40's and 50's you could sleep in Patterson Park on hot nights.

Try it now... if you dare....

Again about education. I have a daughter-in-law with a masters my son had 3 years college, and my family is conservative. Mostly because of family values and the fact that my son and his wife went to a Moderate school. There were no Ward Churchills teaching there. I myself have some credits from a community college. I am not against education, I am against educators brainwashing students to be little socialists.

Kruschev once said "we will destroy you from within". That destruction starts with biased education.
Mark DeRosa Sgt ( ret) Balto P D

Hate mail (2.3)

I'm giving the sergeant a pseudonym, Sgt. Mark DeRosa. That’s not his real name. He is willing to use his real name and print his email. But I’d prefer to give him a pseudonym and not print his email.

I wrote:

Sgt. DeRosa,

I also want you to know that I am and will continue to post our correspondence on www.copinthehood.com. I'm not identifying you in any way, other than retired BCPD sgt.

Yours,
Professor Peter Moskos
Dept. of Law and Police Science
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
899 10th Ave, Room 422
New York, NY 10019

Sgt [DeRosa] writes:

Feel free to post my name and address if you wish [Ed note: I do not wish. But I admire his willingness.] . I am a proud conservative and vote that way every election. I distrust any one who contends that "the police are the problem" in the ghetto. Those animals living there who rob "mostly their own" are the problem. I totally distrust any one who contends that drugs should be legalized. Hell, why not legalize bank robbery & rape, then we could lay all the police off as there would be no crimes to arrest for. Then we would have more money to give to those who chose not to work for a living.

Liberalism has ruined Police Depts all across this country. It has begun to ruin the whole country as well.

As for me I will not sing "Kum-by-ya.", I will keep my powder dry, my guns loaded, and my picture of Charlton Heston dusted. I will never be a victim because some liberal thinks I should be. Further more, I do not have a problem with your PHD, just the way educators use it to impress liberal views on young kids who are paying a fortune to be turned into future liberal activists. It is a statistical fact that 90% of professors are left wingers. Surveys that were taken prove this, as the intelligencia has admitted it. Ward Churchill is a perfect example. Teach if you wish, but teach the truth, not the truth as you wish it to be.
[Mark DeRosa] Sgt (ret) BCPD

My response:

[Sgt DeRosa],

The police are not the problem. I agree. Again, I wish you would read my book. You’ve taken me for some cop-bashing liberal. I’m not (well, I am liberal. But I’m not a cop basher. Believe it or not, those are two different things).

I do think drugs should be legalized. Basically because I don't think drug dealers wouldn't shoot each other as much if drugs were legal. There's more, but I’m not going to type my reasoning again here. It’s in the book.

I think you misunderstand Liberalism. I’m not saying there aren’t any stupid and intolerant liberal. There are. Just like exists among conservatives. I feel I do teach the truth. Sometimes the truth is Liberal. Sometimes the truth is Conservative. You know what liberals and conservatives have in common? When they know that they're always right and think less of those who hold other opinions, they become one and the same thing: fascist.

But no, I don’t think Liberalism has ruined Police Departments. I think Liberalism has made policing and the country better. I also think that police should reflect, to some extent, the people they police. So personally, being liberal and living in a liberal area, I’d prefer to have more liberal cops. I think the streets would be safer.

I appreciate you not hating me for having a college degree. I’m sorry you’re against higher education in general because of the generally liberal bias. But that's why you take many professors, to hear all different perspectives.

Peter

Hate mail (2.2)

This conversation starts a few posts down. Here's the latest:

I have read excerpts from your "book" and frankly sir, "YOU HAVE NOT PAID ENOUGH DUES TO BE CONVERSANT IN POLICE WORK". I think that your PHD impresses only you. It certainly does not impress me. As a Sgt, I had College grads working for me ( I am not one myself) and had to correct their misspelled, mispunctuated, sloppy, reports. It was laughable. One such " Grad" lost a $100 bet to me because he was so convinced that construction 'Site' was spelled "sight".
You sound like the usual liberal Academia, which has been the problem, not the solution to the type of recruits the Dept is getting.
I do not know which years you were on the dept, but I started in 62' when there were no walkie talkies, mace, issued handcuffs, and you had to WALK an arrestee blocks to get to a call box. Not to mention 60 year old .38 cal revolvers with ammo that you could actually see the bullet fly when you fired them.
P.S. I worked in the Eastern District for 4 years as a Sgt and it was a busy district, but not the combat zone you describe. Of course I had Officers working for me that were tough, street smart cops who did not have to resort to sociology to get the job done.
Before one "talks the talk", they should have "walked the walk"
I don't think you should be expecting "Pulitzer" to be calling soon.
[name removed] Sgt ( ret) BCPD..

My response:

Sgt [******],
First of all, I appreciate you writing me with the dignity of a full name and an email. I will talk to any man, man-to-man. I respect that.

But again, you seem to be reading too much into me without knowing me.

I never say police should be college grads (which seems to be your sore point). Just please don't hold it against me for having a PhD. It doesn't make me a worse person. Really. And it does allow me to get a great job teaching in college.

My book stands on my analysis and description of policing, not my degree.

You were real po-lice. Actually, if anything, my point is that we need more police like you. Police should be able to police like you did: no radio, no mace, and walking prisoners back to the District. I'm not making fun of you. I'm totally serious. You knew how to make a good arrest and walk that prisoner back without getting your ass kicked. It's not [that you] coddled bad guys. I'm sure you didn't. But you were able to gain the respect of people you policed because you knew who the bad guys were. That's what policing is all about. That's what may be lacking today. That's my point! But of course you don't know my point. You just think I'm a prick with a college degree. If you still think that after reading my book, that's your business.

You might actually find that we have a lot in common. I don't know what else to say. If you don't read my book, I have nothing else to say. I don't want to waste my time writing what is in my book. I mean, I've already written it. That's my book.

I'm politically liberal and I'm sure you're politically conservative. But we're probably less far off in our beliefs than you want to think.

One other question. I'm not telling, I'm asking... but I don't think the E.D. was a combat zone when you were patrolling it. Probably because you were doing a good job. I think the worst years were in the late 1980s and late 1990s.

Yours,
Professor Peter Moskos
Dept. of Law and Police Science
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
899 10th Ave, Room 422
New York, NY 10019
www.copinthehood.com

Hate mail (2.1)

Here's another. Once again, I can't take criticism too seriously from people who haven't read my book. I haven't yet heard anything bad from anybody who has actually read my book. But I'm sure that will come, too. In the meantime:

While I have not read your book, and don't intend to I have a question for you. How do you become such an expert on Police work and functions. Keeping in mind that you had to work one full year on each shift in your vast 3 year tenure. You only had one years experience on 4X12 shift where most of the action occurs. Day shift is boring and 12X8 shift is usually quiet after 3 AM.
You sure crammed alot in that one year of 4X12 combat.
I spent 25 yrs plus on the BCPD and keep company with police who have experiences in the 30-35 year range, some of them command staff.
They as well as I, do not "consider" ourselves experts, just experienced.
Good luck with the "book" rookie. Keep telling those war stories, someone might buy that bull.
[*** *******] Sgt (ret) BCPD

My reply:

Sgt. [*******],

Why so bitter? Because I only worked 20 months? Or because I wrote a book? I make no apologies for either.

A lot of your questions are answered in the book (I worked midnights, by the way). You really shouldn't be so critical of somebody for writing something you haven't read. It's not a long book.

I never called myself an expert. I don't consider myself an expert in the sense that I know more than anybody else who's worn the uniform. Given my 20-and-out (months, that is), I know less than any retired Baltimore City police officer. I have less experience that 80% of active police officers. I just call 'em like I see 'em.

People are and should be interested in policing. If more experienced police officers could and would write books about the job, there wouldn't be a need for my book. Why don't you write a book? Maybe then police officers would be treated with more respect. What are your ideas about how to improve policing? Now that you're retired, what have you done to make policing better? I've spent the past 7 years writing and working toward this book. I hope my book will improve the working conditions for all police officers, but especially police in the Eastern District.

If you want to judge me, first read my book. Or talk to somebody who has. Or at least talk to somebody who worked with me. They're not hard to track down. Get Cop in the Hood from the library to save that gigantic $1.50 royalty from paying off my meager advance.

Yours,
Professor Peter Moskos
Dept. of Law and Police Science
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
899 10th Ave, Room 422
New York, NY 10019
www.copinthehood.com

Hate mail (1)

I'm amazed that the mere thought of my book would get people so riled up that they would write me. It's hard to take criticism of my book seriously from people who haven't read my book. But here's the first email:

Mr. Moskos, three years. Count them (3) years!! Wow! How in the world did you stand being on that job so long? It is very dangerous. Have you ever gone to court, or shot at, or been shot at by anyone? Have you ever walked in a neighborhood without a walkie talkie, or handcuffs? Have you ever walked at all? It must have been really hard on you trying to study to get a degree and working all those nasty shifts that police officers work, and be very busy answering calls and writing tickets, and all the other stuff cops do. Did you ever get beat up, or get into a fight with anyone? Did you drop your study material during a fight? I'll bet your side partners really miss you, since you were there for so long. I'll bet you were a police "agent" that everybody thinks so highly of? Have you ever met Joseph Wambaugh? He wrote a book also. You should read it. Maybe you could put some of his thoughts into your own words.

My reply:

Dear ******,
Actually, it was less than two years.
But in answer to your questions:
Yes, I've been to court.
Yes, I've been shot at.
Yes, I've walked in many neighborhoods without handcuffs or radio. But no, I would never walk the Eastern Distict where I policed without the tool of my trade.
I wasn't studying when I was a cop. I just took notes when I got home.
I never got beat up.
I was in fights.
My partners say they do miss me, at least many of them do.
I wasn't an "agent." I was a police officer. But yes, I had the academic degree needed to be an agent.
I haven't met Joseph Wambaugh, but I do like his books.
I hope you read my book before passing more judgements.

Yours,
Professor Peter Moskos
Dept. of Law and Police Science
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
899 10th Ave, Room 422
New York, NY 10019
www.copinthehood.com