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| Police Authors Websites |
Peter C. Moskos is a
professor of Law and Police
Science at John Jay College
of Criminal Justice in New
York City. His research
specializes in police culture,
police patrol and crime
prevention, drug violence,
professor of Law and Police
Science at John Jay College
of Criminal Justice in New
York City. His research
specializes in police culture,
police patrol and crime
prevention, drug violence,
| Professor Peter C. Moskos John Jay College of Criminal Justice |
Peter Moskos was born in Chicago and
graduated from Evanston Township High
School. He earned his bachelor’s degree in
sociology at Princeton University (magna cum
laude 1994) and his masters and Ph.D in
sociology at Harvard University (2004).
He worked as a Baltimore City police officer
from 1999 to 2001, patrolling midnight shift in
Baltimore’s high-crime Eastern District. Peter
left the police force to return to his graduate
studies at Harvard.
graduated from Evanston Township High
School. He earned his bachelor’s degree in
sociology at Princeton University (magna cum
laude 1994) and his masters and Ph.D in
sociology at Harvard University (2004).
He worked as a Baltimore City police officer
from 1999 to 2001, patrolling midnight shift in
Baltimore’s high-crime Eastern District. Peter
left the police force to return to his graduate
studies at Harvard.
above) Baltimore’s Eastern District Sector Two Midnight Shift, May 2001. From left to
right: E. Menzer, M. Vaughn, J. Dolly, J Woollen, Sgt C. Moore, K. Snyder, G. Boyd, P.
Moskos, M. Guizzotti. Not in photo: D. Bauer, G. Clinedist, K. Lane, S. Sistek, W.
Washington.
right: E. Menzer, M. Vaughn, J. Dolly, J Woollen, Sgt C. Moore, K. Snyder, G. Boyd, P.
Moskos, M. Guizzotti. Not in photo: D. Bauer, G. Clinedist, K. Lane, S. Sistek, W.
Washington.
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community policing and terrorism,
police/minority relations, and qualitative
methods.
police/minority relations, and qualitative
methods.
Cop in the Hood (Princeton University Press) is Moskos’s first book and
examines urban crime-prevention and police-specific variables linking drug
laws to high-levels of African-American violence and imprisonment.
examines urban crime-prevention and police-specific variables linking drug
laws to high-levels of African-American violence and imprisonment.
Cop in the Hood is an explosive insider’s story of
what it is really like to be a police officer on the
front lines of the war on drugs. Harvard-trained
sociologist Peter Moskos became a cop in
Baltimore’s roughest neighborhood—the Eastern
District, also the location for the critically
acclaimed HBO drama The Wire—where he
experienced the real-life poverty and violent
crime firsthand. He provides an unforgettable
window into this world that outsiders never see—
the thriving drug corners, the nerve-rattling
patrols, and the heartbreaking failure of 911.
Moskos reveals the truth about the drug war and
why it is engineered to fail—a truth he learned on
what it is really like to be a police officer on the
front lines of the war on drugs. Harvard-trained
sociologist Peter Moskos became a cop in
Baltimore’s roughest neighborhood—the Eastern
District, also the location for the critically
acclaimed HBO drama The Wire—where he
experienced the real-life poverty and violent
crime firsthand. He provides an unforgettable
window into this world that outsiders never see—
the thriving drug corners, the nerve-rattling
patrols, and the heartbreaking failure of 911.
Moskos reveals the truth about the drug war and
why it is engineered to fail—a truth he learned on
the midnight shift in Baltimore. He describes police-academy graduates fully
unprepared for the realities of the street. He tells of a criminal-justice system
that incarcerates poor black men on a mass scale—a self-defeating system
that measures success by arrest quotas and fosters a street code at odds
with the rest of society—and argues for drug legalization as the only realistic
way to end drug violence and let cops once again protect and serve. Moskos
shows how officers in the ghetto are less concerned with those policed than
with self-preservation and maximizing overtime pay—yet how any one of them
would give their life for a fellow officer. Cop in the Hood ventures deep behind
the Thin Blue Line to disclose the inner workings of law enforcement in
America’s inner cities. Those who read it will never view the badge the same
way.
unprepared for the realities of the street. He tells of a criminal-justice system
that incarcerates poor black men on a mass scale—a self-defeating system
that measures success by arrest quotas and fosters a street code at odds
with the rest of society—and argues for drug legalization as the only realistic
way to end drug violence and let cops once again protect and serve. Moskos
shows how officers in the ghetto are less concerned with those policed than
with self-preservation and maximizing overtime pay—yet how any one of them
would give their life for a fellow officer. Cop in the Hood ventures deep behind
the Thin Blue Line to disclose the inner workings of law enforcement in
America’s inner cities. Those who read it will never view the badge the same
way.
Publishers Weekly : Moskos frankly records his experiences with poverty,
violence, drugs and despair in the gritty ghetto. Moskos's overview of policing
problems covers everything from arrest quotas, corrupt cops and excess
paperwork to the reliance on patrolling in cars, responding to a barrage of
911 calls, rather than patrolling on foot to prevent crimes. Moskos blends
narrative and analysis, adding an authoritative tone to this
adrenaline-accelerating night ride that reveals the stark realities of law
enforcement while illuminating little-known aspects of police procedures.
Times Higher Education : [G]enuinely eye-opening...Moskos offers a
compelling account of why a uniformed police patrol 'does little but temporarily
disrupt public drug-dealing'--and hence why the 'war on drugs' is so helplessly
self-defeating.
Tyler Cowen Marginal Revolution : Truly excellent. This is one of the two
or three best conceptual analyses of "cops and robbers" I have read. It is
mandatory reading for all fans of The Wire and recommended for everyone
else.
Orlando Patterson, Harvard University : A devastating critique of
America's failed war on drugs. Cop in the Hood is a powerful and truly unique
document in the sociology of criminal justice. Using an original blend of
personal experience, adroit cultural interpretation, and hard-edged
sociological analysis, Moskos sympathetically dissects the social context of
the drug users' world, and shows us this tragedy close up from the police
perspective.
George Pelecanos, writer and producer for "The Wire" : Cop in the
Hood is a thoughtful, highly entertaining record of a police officer's year spent
patrolling one of the country's toughest urban districts, delivered by Moskos,
who wore the uniform. For those who are interested in crime and how things
work, and for readers seeking a reasoned look at the war on drugs and its
implications, this is the handbook.
Sudhir Venkatesh, author of Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist
Takes to the Streets" : This riveting tale of policing begins honestly and
continues with great sincerity and pathos. A sensitive and timely account of
the daily trials of police work by someone who knows Baltimore's streets
firsthand, Cop in the Hood challenges journalists, social scientists, and others
who profess knowledge of the inner city to walk those streets before making
bold declarations and righteous claims for policy and redress. A must-read.
Alex Tabarrok, George Mason University, cofounder of
"marginalrevolution.com" : Peter Moskos, a sociologist by training,
somewhat inadvertently became a police officer. Cop in the Hood is the
fortuitous and fascinating result. It gives the reader the real dope from
someone with the training and ability to put the street into the larger context.
Highly recommended.
Jim Leitzel, University of Chicago : Cop in the Hood is an extremely
valuable study centered on patrolling a drug-infested Baltimore police district.
Readers interested in drug policy, criminology, or policing cannot help but to
learn a lot from this book. I know that I did, and I am grateful to the author.
Many of his insights are eye-opening. His voice is unique and essential in
debates concerning drug-policy reforms.
violence, drugs and despair in the gritty ghetto. Moskos's overview of policing
problems covers everything from arrest quotas, corrupt cops and excess
paperwork to the reliance on patrolling in cars, responding to a barrage of
911 calls, rather than patrolling on foot to prevent crimes. Moskos blends
narrative and analysis, adding an authoritative tone to this
adrenaline-accelerating night ride that reveals the stark realities of law
enforcement while illuminating little-known aspects of police procedures.
Times Higher Education : [G]enuinely eye-opening...Moskos offers a
compelling account of why a uniformed police patrol 'does little but temporarily
disrupt public drug-dealing'--and hence why the 'war on drugs' is so helplessly
self-defeating.
Tyler Cowen Marginal Revolution : Truly excellent. This is one of the two
or three best conceptual analyses of "cops and robbers" I have read. It is
mandatory reading for all fans of The Wire and recommended for everyone
else.
Orlando Patterson, Harvard University : A devastating critique of
America's failed war on drugs. Cop in the Hood is a powerful and truly unique
document in the sociology of criminal justice. Using an original blend of
personal experience, adroit cultural interpretation, and hard-edged
sociological analysis, Moskos sympathetically dissects the social context of
the drug users' world, and shows us this tragedy close up from the police
perspective.
George Pelecanos, writer and producer for "The Wire" : Cop in the
Hood is a thoughtful, highly entertaining record of a police officer's year spent
patrolling one of the country's toughest urban districts, delivered by Moskos,
who wore the uniform. For those who are interested in crime and how things
work, and for readers seeking a reasoned look at the war on drugs and its
implications, this is the handbook.
Sudhir Venkatesh, author of Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist
Takes to the Streets" : This riveting tale of policing begins honestly and
continues with great sincerity and pathos. A sensitive and timely account of
the daily trials of police work by someone who knows Baltimore's streets
firsthand, Cop in the Hood challenges journalists, social scientists, and others
who profess knowledge of the inner city to walk those streets before making
bold declarations and righteous claims for policy and redress. A must-read.
Alex Tabarrok, George Mason University, cofounder of
"marginalrevolution.com" : Peter Moskos, a sociologist by training,
somewhat inadvertently became a police officer. Cop in the Hood is the
fortuitous and fascinating result. It gives the reader the real dope from
someone with the training and ability to put the street into the larger context.
Highly recommended.
Jim Leitzel, University of Chicago : Cop in the Hood is an extremely
valuable study centered on patrolling a drug-infested Baltimore police district.
Readers interested in drug policy, criminology, or policing cannot help but to
learn a lot from this book. I know that I did, and I am grateful to the author.
Many of his insights are eye-opening. His voice is unique and essential in
debates concerning drug-policy reforms.