Readers of Law Officer know that we don’t do very many book reviews—about one a year on average. That’s not for lack of opportunity. We receive titles from authors and publishers—often very good books—every month. But we try to save our space for the best of the best, those that really have the “read it, use it” information. This is the stuff we all need to know.
There’s no doubt in my mind that the latest book from respected trainer Brian Willis, If I Knew Then: Life Lessons from Cops on the Street, will prove to be a valuable resource for every trainer and supervisor out there. This is definitely a different type of cop book. It’s not fiction, and it’s not full of drunken, divorced, down-on-their-luck deadbeat detectives. The title says it all: These are real stories by real cops that provide incredible insight and wisdom about working the street. There are three dozen of these special narratives in the book, one of which I wrote. Some will probably bring tears to your eyes and others will undoubtedly make you laugh.
Willis is one of the world’s best and most committed law enforcement trainers. He told me that he really wanted to help officers who were early in their careers by tapping into the experiences of those who had spent decades on the street. He’s definitely succeeded, and I strongly encourage every field training officer to read this book and make it required reading for trainees. I like this book so much that we’re going to try and bring segments of the book to every officer by serializing it on LawOfficer.com. But don’t wait to see if we pull that off; get the book and share it with others.
Order the book or find out more about it by visiting
