|
Allen P. Bristow began his law
enforcement career as a military policeman during the Korean War. After the war,
he joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He left the Los
Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to become a professor of Police Administration at the California State University,
Los Angeles. During his academic career, Allen P. Bristow authored a number of
books about policing. Following his retirement from education he has authored
a number of fictional books about law enforcement in the “old west.” Allen
P. Bristow is the author of the academic works: The
Search for an Effective Police Handgun, Effective Police Manpower Utilization; Patrol Administration; Police Disaster Operations;
Rural Law Enforcement; Field Interrogation; An Introduction to Modern Police Firearms, A Handbook in Criminal Procedure and
the Administration of Justice; You and the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics; Police Film Guide; and, Decision Making in Police
Administration. He was the editor of Police Supervision Readings.
He is the author of the fiction works The Pinkerton
Eye and Playing God. And the
author of the biographical look at a Western figure, Whispering Smith.
According to the book description
of Whispering Smith, “The fictional
adventures of the heroic railroad detective called Whispering Smith have entertained readers, motion picture enthusiasts and
television viewers for many years. The colorful name of this character had such appeal that it has been adopted by musical
bands, apparel manufacturers and emblazoned on the nose of World War Two bombers. But was there a real Whispering Smith? Was
he the heroic champion of justice on the western plains as depicted by Hollywood or was he instead a sinister and tragic recluse?
Traces of his confrontations with western outlaws are found throughout Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Yet
in his search for justice did he become a centurion that confronted frontier lawlessness with a hangman's rope? Was the real
Whispering Smith actually a cold-blooded killer, frustrated duelist, devious plotter and pugnacious braggart? These questions
can best be answered by an examination of his life in this book.”
About the Los Angeles County
Sheriff’s Department
The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department
is the largest sheriff's department in the world. In addition to specialized services, such as the Sheriff's Youth Foundation,
International Liaison and Employee Support Services, the Department is divided into ten divisions, each headed by a Division
Chief.
There
are three patrol divisions (Field Operations Regions I, II and III), Custody Operations Division, Correctional Services Division,
Detective Division, Court Services Division, Technical Services Division, Office of Homeland Security, Administrative Services
Division, and Leadership and Training Division.
The Sheriff's Department of Los Angeles
County was formed in April, 1850. Elections for the office of Sheriff were held annually until 1882, when the term was increased
to two years; in 1894 the term was increased to four years. The first Sheriff of Los Angeles County was George T. Burrill
and his staff consisted of two Deputies.
Twenty-four men have served Los Angeles
County as Sheriff since 1850: nineteen were elected and six were appointed by the Board of Supervisors to serve the unexpired
term of their predecessors. Two were killed in the line of duty. Of those appointed, four were re-elected to the office. The
youngest man ever elected to the office of Sheriff was William B. Rowland, who was sworn in when he was 25 years old (in 1871),
and was re-elected three times. The record for the longest consecutive service goes to Sheriff Eugene Biscailuz, who completed
51 years in the department, from deputy in 1907, to being appointed Sheriff in 1932 and then retiring in 1958. Our previous
Los Angeles County Sheriff, Sherman Block, entered the department as a Deputy Sheriff in 1956 and continued up through the
ranks until he was appointed by the Board of Supervisors to succeed Sheriff Pitchess in 1982. In June of 1982, Sheriff Block
was elected to a full four year term as Sheriff of Los Angeles County.
Source:
lasd.org/
lasdabout.html
lasd.org/
aboutlasd/history.html
|
