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Police Craft: What Cops Know About Crime, Community and Violence
A veteran police officer gives his thoughtful, balanced views on police shootings, racial profiling, community relations, and every other aspect of policing―and he’ll change what you think about the police. From the author of the acclaimed 400 Things Cops Know, Police Craft is a thought-provoking and revelatory examination of policing in America, as seen by a working police officer. Adam Plantinga, a 17-year veteran sergeant with the San Francisco Police Department, gives an inside view of the police officer’s job, from handling evidence and conducting interrogations to coping with danger, violence, and death. Not hesitating to confront controversial issues, Plantinga presents the police officer’s views on police shootings, racial profiling, and relationships between police and the community―and offers reasoned proposals on what the police and the public can do better.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2018
25 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 28, 2019
As a lefty brown person, most of the time I come upon cop related reading, it's news that warns me to avoid and distrust the police. They kill us for no reason and get off scot free! This book was a great peek at the other side, into the every day lives of the police. Plantinga lays out his tale in a fun and informative style that really made me appreciate the difficulty and danger and responsibility of cop life, while also giving me some good chuckles and inspiring me to be a better person to those around me. I have a great newfound appreciation for the police, and SFPD specifically, for all they do out here in the hood to make life safer for us all. You go, bro.
July 28, 2025
If you want to read a book about a cop who is very clearly full of himself then this is the book for you! If you want to learn how to actually police in the modern day and correctly police, then go read any other book. This is just an old cop sharing his cool stories. There’s no actual information that should be taken away from this book. How this book even got published is beyond me. This is the most worthless use of paper ever.
January 23, 2021
I've recently become interested in understanding poverty in North America (Canada/USA) and as part of that I'm looking to read books that are written by people with 'on the ground experience' and those from with diverse backgrounds (not just journalists and academics). Going in my opinion of the police
My fear going into this was this would be an overtly political police apologetic, so I'm happy to confirm it is not. He's quite upfront about police shortcomings from serious issues like racism and police brutality to more minor ones like police stealing stuff from other police. In fact the author expresses a dislike of how politicized policing has become. Elements of the left have become hostile to the very existence of the police while elements of right now view even the most good faith critiques of police practices or incidents as a call for anarchy. Plantinga is also upfront at recognizing the issues facing policing regarding racism, including a recent 2017 incident in his on San Francisco police department where anti-Black messages and jokes were exchanged by officers.
Plantinga's book offers an expansive view of policing as a career that helps provide context in an era where the focus is often on specific incidents and ideological stances are baked into the discussion. Though he discusses everything from the police academy to work-life balance to race relations I was most interested in his observations on the policing in low-income urban neighborhoods.
It is here the he explains the harsh and unfortunate reality of just how pervasive crime, drugs, poverty, unemployment etc. are in these neighborhoods. In many cases even good policing is futile because every killed put away is replaced by a new one. He is theoretically in favor of socio-economic interventions but cynical about most existing ones because they don't exist. He is in favour of community outreach but also admits in reality it can be almost impossible in neighborhoods where people hold support rallies for child-rapists because they killed police officers in a shoot out. The officer himself once moved into a low-income neighborhood in a desire to live where he worked but found the area so chaotic that he left in less than a year.
Some of this is discussed in more detail in a book by an African-American academic called 'Code of the Street'. In it the author discusses the culture of the worst inner cities and the reality that led to it. Another book I connect this with is 'The WEIRDest People in the World' by an evolutionary biologist who explains that the human mind is designed to be modulated by culture. So the psychology of a Papuan tribesman and an American college student can be vastly different for totally non-genetic reasons. This has implications because many fields like psychology, economics, development studies are based on the idea that everyone thinks like a middle class educated Western male which is simply untrue. How does this relate to the ghetto? Well consider that children who grow up in impoverished situations develop a more impulsive psychology that continues even if the impoverishment ends. Or that men in honor based cultures show a stronger hormonal response to insults then men who don't. Okay now I'm rambling.
My fear going into this was this would be an overtly political police apologetic, so I'm happy to confirm it is not. He's quite upfront about police shortcomings from serious issues like racism and police brutality to more minor ones like police stealing stuff from other police. In fact the author expresses a dislike of how politicized policing has become. Elements of the left have become hostile to the very existence of the police while elements of right now view even the most good faith critiques of police practices or incidents as a call for anarchy. Plantinga is also upfront at recognizing the issues facing policing regarding racism, including a recent 2017 incident in his on San Francisco police department where anti-Black messages and jokes were exchanged by officers.
Plantinga's book offers an expansive view of policing as a career that helps provide context in an era where the focus is often on specific incidents and ideological stances are baked into the discussion. Though he discusses everything from the police academy to work-life balance to race relations I was most interested in his observations on the policing in low-income urban neighborhoods.
It is here the he explains the harsh and unfortunate reality of just how pervasive crime, drugs, poverty, unemployment etc. are in these neighborhoods. In many cases even good policing is futile because every killed put away is replaced by a new one. He is theoretically in favor of socio-economic interventions but cynical about most existing ones because they don't exist. He is in favour of community outreach but also admits in reality it can be almost impossible in neighborhoods where people hold support rallies for child-rapists because they killed police officers in a shoot out. The officer himself once moved into a low-income neighborhood in a desire to live where he worked but found the area so chaotic that he left in less than a year.
Some of this is discussed in more detail in a book by an African-American academic called 'Code of the Street'. In it the author discusses the culture of the worst inner cities and the reality that led to it. Another book I connect this with is 'The WEIRDest People in the World' by an evolutionary biologist who explains that the human mind is designed to be modulated by culture. So the psychology of a Papuan tribesman and an American college student can be vastly different for totally non-genetic reasons. This has implications because many fields like psychology, economics, development studies are based on the idea that everyone thinks like a middle class educated Western male which is simply untrue. How does this relate to the ghetto? Well consider that children who grow up in impoverished situations develop a more impulsive psychology that continues even if the impoverishment ends. Or that men in honor based cultures show a stronger hormonal response to insults then men who don't. Okay now I'm rambling.
July 2, 2019
South Bend, Indiana, home of presidential candidate Mayor Pete, has had a fatal police shooting of a man who allegedly threatened him with a knife. Sadly, the officer did not turn on his body camera. This incident has disrupted racial relations in South Bend and has had national repercussions as a part of the political campaign.
Adam Plantinga's book is really worth reading in this context. He is fair but certainly defends his fellow officers--not all, but many. It took me a long time to read this book. One chapter at a time is disturbing enough to read. In fact, I left the chapter on Predators to read later--and then still left it mostly unread.
The chapter on Interrogations was disturbing to me. One of my GED students was tricked into a confession of rape and murder, spent 17 years in prison in Chicago and was later cleared by DNA evidence. I can't see lies of any sort to provoke confessions. That said, I am not a policeman and found Officer Plantinga's perspective really worth reading.
Adam Plantinga's book is really worth reading in this context. He is fair but certainly defends his fellow officers--not all, but many. It took me a long time to read this book. One chapter at a time is disturbing enough to read. In fact, I left the chapter on Predators to read later--and then still left it mostly unread.
The chapter on Interrogations was disturbing to me. One of my GED students was tricked into a confession of rape and murder, spent 17 years in prison in Chicago and was later cleared by DNA evidence. I can't see lies of any sort to provoke confessions. That said, I am not a policeman and found Officer Plantinga's perspective really worth reading.
February 11, 2019
I seldom keep books anymore, but as a crime writer, I'm putting Police Craft on my bookshelf beside Plantinga's first book, 400 Things Cops Know. Both are invaluable reference books. But they are also eminently readable. When I bought Police Craft, I didn't have a chance to start it for two weeks because my husband, who read the first book, snaked it away from me. For two weeks, I listened to him read aloud passages and murmur, "This guy can really write." So obviously, people who don't write crime fiction can enjoy the book as well.
May 15, 2024
Seargent Plantinga delivers a punch-packed primer on the police perspective of criminal law.Y'all need to check this out. Adds considerable knowledge to the field that may have been otherwise reserved for the insiders of the craft. Though certain subjects could have been explored with greater detail, and could of perhaps added an additional perspective, perhaps from a colleague or counterpart, it is a first-class read and gives no quarter to boredom. I highly recommend!
November 6, 2025
I love Adam Plantinga’s work. I read both of his fictional novels, and now this one and I enjoyed all of them. However, the dude is NOT “balanced” as advertised, actually going so far as citing the nefarious Southern Poverty Law Center as a source for supporting some of his opinion. With that said it’s a solid book of police procedure, which is all that I was looking for when I bought it. If one can completely disregard his hard left slant, this is an enjoyable read!
July 18, 2020
I loved this book. It’s a great reminder of all the services that our police perform on a daily basis. As the wife of a retired police chief, I can say without question that the author’s accounts and attitudes are spot on. This should be a must read for any city council member considering the insane idea to defund the police.
August 22, 2020
Loved the book! Really interesting and intricate view into a world most people don’t see. The writing was excellent, entertaining and it was a breezy read.
August 29, 2020
Before anyone goes off to demand police be defunded; please read this book. I’m not saying it will change your mind, but at least you’ll be more informed.
November 12, 2021
A much-needed glimpse into police work.
January 8, 2025
If you don't appreciate cops, you will after reading this
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews