Cops writing on how to do cop stuff

Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. Four police officers were added to the website who have significantly added to the written body of knowledge on how to perform the law enforcement function.

Craig Steckler is the chief of police of the Freemont Police Department. He holds a B.S. degree from CSU Los Angeles, and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the POST Command College. The Chief Craig Steckler’s law enforcement career spans 31 years, and has included positions in San Clemente and Chief of Police in Piedmont, California. Chief Craig Steckler came to Fremont as Deputy Chief in 1986 and was promoted to Chief in 1992. He was the Year 2000 President of the California Police Chiefs Association.

Chief Craig Steckler is the co-author of two books on law enforcement subjects. According to the book description of Written and Interpersonal Communication: Methods for Law Enforcement, “The purpose of this book is to improve the reader’s communication skills, both oral and written. Particular attention is paid to the reports and forms commonly used in the criminal justice system.” According to the book description of Fundamentals of Police Administration, “This introductory text for police administration provides a balanced perspective between legal, practical, and scholarly information. The book provides in-depth coverage of patrol, administration, and the impact of local financing on the police budget.”

George T. Payton Is a former Patrol Sergeant with the San Jose Police Department. He has a B.A. and M.A. from San Jose State University and an Ed.D. from the University of Southern California. When he left the police department to become Department Chair at a local college, Dr. George Payton transferred to the San Jose Police Department Reserves in order to keep abreast of new developments in the field; he is a lieutenant in that organization. He also organized the first regional Criminal Justice Training Academy in Santa Clara County and established the first Campus Police in San Jose City College.

Dr. George Payton is a veteran of two wars. He served first in the U.S. Navy and was later commissioned in the military police. His is the author or co-author of seven books: Peace Officer's Guide to Criminal Law; One Thousand Police Questions and Answers: Concepts of California Criminal law; Peace Officer's Promotional Manual; California Criminal Law, for the Community College Student; Patrol Procedure and Enforcement Concepts; and, Patrol Operations & Enforcement Tactics.

Derrick Watkins and Richard Ashby are the co-authors of Gang Investigations: A Street Cop’s Guide. According to the book description, the book “provides a step-by-step guide to gang identification, arrest, search and seizure, prosecution, and other programs that have been used successfully by criminal justice agencies nationwide. Anti-gang strategies are discussed along with the results of their implementation. This guide will better prepare every police officer and detective to deal with the modern street gang. With Watkins’ and Ashby’s knowledge, departments and officers can develop better strategies to curb gang violence and the fear of street terrorists.”

Derrick Watkins is a retired gang detective from the Santa Ana Police Department, having worked in Los Angeles County prior to Santa Ana. He has focused his career in the area of gangs as a patrol officer, while in major narcotics and as a gang detective. He spent nine years of his career dedicated to criminal street gangs. He is a court-recognized expert in Hispanic and White Supremacist gangs, having testified in the superior and federal courts of Los Angeles and Orange Counties. He has conducted training for the California Department of Justice, the State Attorney General, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and numerous local, state, and federal agencies across California and in several neighboring states. He currently works as a private law enforcement consultant regarding the methods and attributes of criminal street gangs across the country.

Detective Corporal Richard Ashby is a 20-year veteran of the Santa Ana Police Department. He has focused his career in the area of gangs as a patrol officer, a member of special details, and as a gang detective. He is a court-recognized expert in Hispanic gangs and has spent twelve years as a detective with the Santa Ana Police Department’s Gang Detail. During those twelve years he worked as a gang suppression detective, investigating all gang related assaults and attempt murders within the city of Santa Ana. He was also assigned to the Santa Ana Gang Homicide Detail, investigating gang related homicides. In March of 2004 he was promoted to the rank of Corporal and supervised the Santa Ana Gang Homicide Detail until February of 2006.

Police-Writers.com now hosts 532 police officers (representing 219 police departments) and their 1132 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.