SOME DISCLAIMERS It is somewhat unusual to begin a book by declaring
what it is not, but the topic of police behavior is so complex that it
requires the writer to state as early as possible the limits of what he
has written here to describe and explain a police officer's experience.
In order for the reader to get a clear idea of what areas of police
behavior are to be described, it is nec- essary to delineate those
aspects of police behavior that are beyond the scope of this book. First
of all, this book is about the psychological effects of police work on
policemen: male police officers. Nearly all of the police officers with
whom I have worked have been men, so my impressions and opinions are
based on the experiences of male police officers. Consequently,
descriptions and expla- nations of the motivations, anxieties,
psychological defenses, and resultant behavior of police officers must
be limited to policemen. I believe that there are significant
differences in the psychological effects of police work on men and
women, but this book does not address this issue.