In this issue: Around The Nation: A coast-to-coast roundup of police news. Hot-pink alert: Unwelcome public notice for unregistered ex-cons. People & Places: Changing sides; Gruber’s latest challenge; the breath of life; Henry Lee returns to high-profile crime-solving. Keeping tabs: An outside monitor looks over Hartford PD’s shoulder. State of the states: A new survey finds state gun-control laws lacking. Thinking bigger: Cleveland PD wants to expand on high-tech successes. No place like home: Help with mortgages for Anchorage officers. Dueling data: Customs moves to refute GAO report on airline strip-searches. They said what? Police groups baffled by Court’s ruling on anonymous tips. Keeping ‘em at home: Adult curfew law raises a few eyebrows. The Big Apple of their eyes: Police agencies search for a smarter, more diverse recruit pool. Street fighting: Philadelphia mayor unveils anti-gun anti-crime strategy. Too much of a good thing? Civilianization raises concerns in Illinois. Forum: When it comes to survival training for female officers, think FAST. Criminal Justice Library: New books on critical issues & assessment. The paper chase: U.S. marshals seize Denver PD files Breaking up the old gang: Chicago scatters its anti-gang squad. --top--

Criminal Justice Library Worthwhile additions to the bookshelf: Probing answers to complex, pressing issues Police and Policing: Contemporary Issues (2nd ed.) Dennis Jay Kenney and Robert P. McNamara, eds. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, 1999. 320 pp., $69.50 (hb). Controversial Issues in Policing. James D. Sewell, ed. Needham Heights, Mass.: Allyn & Bacon, 1999. 247 pp., $26.00 (pb).       In an effort to keep pace with societal changes, police agencies are modifying the way they deliver services. In an era of community policing, with its accompanying need to be more responsive to the community, police departments have struggled with organizing themselves, evaluating recruit and officer personnel, and critically examining the effects of their current police programs on the communities they serve.       Two new books examine these issues that face police departments and offer some possible solutions. “Controversial Issues In Policing,” by James D. Sewell, and “Police and Policing: Contemporary Issues,” by Dennis Jay Kenney and Robert McNamara, both make for interesting reading. As their titles assert, both address some of the most controversial and challenging issues in policing today, although the two works employ different approaches to present these issues... --top-- How do you measure up? An inside look at assessment-center success The Assessment Center Handbook for Police and Fire Personnel. By Charles D. Hale. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C Thomas Publisher Ltd., 1999. 158 pp., $25.95 (pb).       As public safety agencies continue to use assessment centers as an adjunct to promotional exams, Charles D. Hale’s latest book, “The Assessment Center Handbook For Police and Fire Personnel” is a must read for promotional candidates and for agencies that employ this process.       Hale does an exceptional job with his explanation of an assessment center, which, while used primarily as a tool for evaluating candidates for promotion or appointment, may also be used to pinpoint problems with organizational coordination, policy, and procedure development. The assessment center process differs from traditional examinations in that it is a test of skill and ability rather than knowledge... --top--