American Detective : Behind the Scenes of Famous Criminal Investigations

From 1920 to 1970, detectives were the dominant force in American urban police departments. In American Detective, Thomas A. Reppetto examines detective bureaus rather than just individual detectives. Each chapter offers a behind-the-scenes look at detective bureaus, embryonic or fully formed, in New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Chicago, Cleveland, San Francisco, and Boston, the FBI and the Texas Rangers. From grisly murders to high-stake heists, political crimes to high-profile kidnappings, Reppetto takes readers on a journey through criminal justice history in the United States and shows how detectives played a major role in each case. Beginning with the invention of the detective in the mid-nineteenth century, Reppetto profiles famous sleuths throughout time, such as private detective chiefs Allan Pinkerton and William Burns, top commanders like Thad Brown of L.A., public safety director Elliott Ness of Cleveland, and America's "top cop" J. Edgar Hoover of the FBI, to name a few. Detectives were the city's watchdog before the entire police department took over in the late 19th century to make the city "safe." A solid case for the reinstatement of detectives' original primary function in police departments, Reppetto's book shatters the present-day policing system we take for granted.