POLICE BOOKS - Albert Joseph

About the Rochester Police Department

The roots of the Rochester Police Department can be traced back to March 21, 1817, when a growing mill town carved out of the western New York forests became the village of Rochesterville. The charter of this new village allowed for a constable. The first night watch was decided upon on December 28, 1819, thus making the birth of the Rochester Police Department.

Stimulated by the Erie Canal and the railroad, Rochesterville continued to grow. In 1834, it was incorporated as the City of Rochester. The year 1853 marked the hiring of the first Police Chief, Addy Van Slyck, whose salary was $900 per year. Rochester became a leader in law enforcement and technology. By the end of the Civil War in 1865, the night watchmen and constables were reorganized into the "Metropolitan Police". Chief Joseph Cleary introduced telegrahic "call boxes" in the 1880's, which were later replaced with telephones. Mounted and bicycle patrols were added in the next decade; the Betrillon System of identification was adopted in 1903; and formal recruiting began in 1904.

Police cars and motorcycles were introduced in the 1920's, along with traffic signals and traffic tickets. Mobile police radios were acquired in 1931, traffic radar in 1952, and the Police Academy opened its doors in 1953. Police officers were hired through political appointment until New York State enacted the Civil Service Law in 1900. After that point, the professionalism of the service increased, as officers were selected and promoted through competitive examination and received increased job security and retirement benefits. The first female officer, Nellie McElroy, was hired in 1913, becoming only the ninth policewoman in the nation.

Today, the Rochester Police Department serves a community of approximately 230,000 people and an area of over 35 square miles. Chief Robert J. Duffy leads an agency of over 850 sworn and non-sworn employees, who are dedicated to fair and impartial enforcement of the law and improving the quality of life for the citizens of Rochester.

Source:

ci.rochester.ny.us/PublicSafety

/Police/index.cfm?id=347

Lieutenant Albert Joseph, Rochester Police Department (retired), has over 32 years of law enforcement experience. During his career he worked a variety of assignments including the tactical unit, narcotics unit, detective bureau and homicide unit. Lieutenant Albert Joseph is a certified instructor in several states and has taught interview and interrogation for over 30 years. He is the author of We Get Confessions.

According to the book description, We Get Confessions uses “actual cases to explain these proven techniques, Lt. Joseph shares his vast experience and insight on the following: Legal issues - Including a full chapter on the Miranda Decision. There are many crooks walking the streets that should be in jail because the Miranda Decision is misunderstood by many people in the Criminal Justice System; Preparing for Court - How to conduct lengthy interrogations and be prepared to answer any and all questions during Court proceedings; and, Truth and Deception - How to detect if a person is lying to you during any type interview.

According to one reader, “I am a police officer in northern Ohio. I was always frustrated doing interviews, I knew I had the right guy, but just didn't know how to get them to tell me they did it. Till I read this book. This book helped me ten-fold with my interviews. This book will not make you an expert interviewer over night. Only time and experience doing interviews will do that. But this book steered me in the right direction. After reading this book my interview technique got a lot better and I started getting a lot more confessions. The author tells it in plain English and it's easy to understand. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to be a better interviewer.”