New York Sun
Smart and fearless..... the best investigative journalist in America.... .Her argument is simple and clear.
The Wall Street Journal
Ms. Mac Donald eviscerates the case against the troopers with careful logic.
Commentary
We are lucky to have Heather Mac Donald fighting for the legitimate interests of law enforcement.
AMERICAN RENAISSANCE
...An antidote to anti-police hysteria...
Library Journal
This book is essential reading.
Publishers Weekly
A contributing editor for the City Journal, Mac Donald asserts that in a post-Amadou Diallo and Abner Louima climate, police in New York and New Jersey have been wrongfully attacked by the media as being prejudiced when most are merely doing their jobs. Mac Donald readily admits "racist cops do exist," but sees the police mostly as shackled, less-effective agents of justice who hold back in black and Latino neighborhoods for fear that they'll be called racist. One section usefully highlights police anger-management techniques and communication with citizens and community groups, and notes that both need to be improved to help prevent police brutality. Yet the book often reads like overcompensation for perceived media bias. Mac Donald's interviews focus primarily on citizens who view the police positively, with little data to back up the book's positive-to-negative spin ratio. Practically all officers profiled come across as beleaguered, fair-minded street soldiers struggling beneath a media onslaught. And, quite glaringly, the book doesn't make good on the promise of its subtitle. Anecdotes about black Americans who long for a stronger police presence are passing mentions; Mac Donald spends much more time singling out publications (particularly The New York Times) as well as writers, theorists and politicians who've jumped on the anti-racial profiling bandwagon. An antagonistic tone and jeering asides (the author ridicules a politician for incorporating parts of the play The Vagina Monologues into her swearing-in ceremony) further squander the potential for meaningful dialogue that Mac Donald's ideas afford. (Jan.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
MacDonald (The Burden of Bad Ideas) is one of the few authors who attempts to justify current policing methods, arguing that the truth about policing and issues related to race is not known to the general public. She contends that the police should be receiving accolades for all the good work they do; instead, they are constantly attacked by the media (especially the New York Times), which offer unsubstantiated claims that racial profiling is running amok. MacDonald presents a great deal of evidence to debunk this media-driven myth: law-abiding inner-city citizens want a highly visible police presence, black officers pull over the same percentage of minority motorists as do their white counterparts, officers receive many hours of sensitivity and diversity training, and so on. In particular, she takes great exception to what she sees as the New York Times's biased approach to covering police matters, showing, for instance, that they do not report such incidents as police officers capturing gun-wielding felons without firing a shot, as the NYPD has done 155 times since 1995. This book is essential reading for anyone who assumes that racial profiling is an undisputed fact. Highly recommended for collections in criminal justice and the social sciences.-Tim Delaney, Canisius Coll., Buffalo, NY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
