John E. Eck
One can only be amazed by Hans Toch's ability to identify and give insight to an overlooked, but nevertheless critical, aspect of policing: watching of the watchers. In a book of considerable historical sweep, Toch asks important questions about how we watch the police and what this does to the police. Anyone who thinks deeply about the role of police will benefit from this book. As social protests once again become important in the United States, police too would gain from Toch's analysis of the interactions of the public and the police.
Todd R. Clear
Nobody but Hans Toch could have written this book. His scholarship has been defined by compelling insight and a sure voice, making the everyday work-world of justice come alive. There is a lesson on almost every page, something profound about police and we citizens; something to think about. This book did not claim to be about social justice, but in the way it tells us about the complexities of policing in a society that strives to be just, it is necessary reading for all who claim to love social justice.
Wesley G. Skogan
Hans Toch examines the fraught nature of police–citizen encounters, which take place within multiple nested contexts: the predilections that police and citizens bring to the scene, the blinders imposed on them by race and culture, the crowds and neighborhoods within which these events are situated, the calculated rhetoric of the officers' bosses, and a rancorous political and media context which demands both order and reform. If this sounds like a recipe for stalemate, it is. Having observed this scene for decades, Toch has seen it all, and he is far from optimistic that the facts on the ground have changed much.
Candace McCoy
This is an incredibly timely inquiry into the effects of 'the Greek chorus' that observes police activity, assesses it, and holds it accountable to community norms. Toch contrasts community relations efforts of the 1960s with the contemporary situation: a critical public armed with cell phone cameras, social media, daily blogs, and online commentary. He shows that today's police can use and learn from public feedback in ways unavailable to their predecessors — a surprisingly upbeat finding from this tough-minded skeptical scholar!
Craig Haney
Toch astounds. Long regarded as the nation's most distinguished expert on the psychology of imprisonment, he now brings the same level of insight and erudition to the study of the police. This book further buttresses Toch's already legendary reputation for producing innovative theory that is grounded in rich empirical data. Written in his characteristically engaging style, it represents a major advance in the way we think about police–community relations in the modern technological age.
Gary T. Marx
Hans Toch's latest book is a wise, judicious, and compassionate meditation on the enduring issues of police violence and community conflict informed by this master craftsman's half-century of inquiry.
John Van Maanen
Another in a long series of trenchant and wonderfully observed musings on the problems of urban policing and the changes (and lack thereof) in the ways our street cops go about their work. This time around he focuses largely on the drama of policing as witnessed by the larger public who both cheer and boo police actions. Part historical, part contemporary, always synthetic and relevant, Professor Toch shows again why plus ca change, plus c'est pareil and just why. Cop Watch is a timely refresher course and extension of Hans Toch's impressive, long running concern with policing in America. This round he focuses on the wider audience of police dramas — the 'clamorous chorus' — and shows in impressive detail just how police actions are responsive (or not) to such attention. As always, scholarship of a lively and relevant sort that carries a reader along to a logical if disturbing conclusion.
