Police & Policing

John Leonard reviews Ellroy's "White Jazz," the final installment of his tetralogy of crime novels. The story reveals the darkest elements of Los Angeles life in the 1950s.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the sequel to "Prime Suspect," the miniseries on PBS about a woman who becomes a chief inspector, played by Helen Mirren.

Former Police Commissioner of Philadelphia Willie Williams replaced the controversial Los Angeles Police Department chief Daryl Gates. Williams' challenge has been to improve the relationship between the police and the community, and to build-up morale within the force. Williams has also had to prepare the department for possible further disturbances in the community, in light of the April riots over the Rodney King verdict.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Mad Dog & Glory," starring Robert De Niro and Bill Murray.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new crime show on Fox, produced by Robert De Niro.

Book critic John Leonard reviews "A Philosophical Investigation," a new science-fiction book by British writer Philip Kerr

Retired cop, and former head of the Queen's District Attorney's squad, Remo Franceschini spent 35 years keeping track of and busting organized crime in New York City. Franceschini figured out the family structure of the mafia, keeping a "Wall of Fame" family tree of photos and names of mobsters. Early on he predicted the rise of John Gotti, who became known as the "Teflon Don." Franceschini personally wire-tapped Gotti's headquarters, which led to indictments.

A broadcast of a panel held at New York University in April called "Cops and Writers: Crime and Punishment in Literature and Real Life." The panel, sponsored by the PEN American Center and The New York Review of Books, features police officials and writers, including crime writer Walter Mosley and author Joyce Carol Oates. The panel focuses on the fine line between crime fiction and crime reality. The writers talk about the fact that crime novelists generally draw on real criminals and real crimes to create their characters and plot.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews two new murder mysteries: the London-set "Original Sin," by P.D. James and "Cranks and Shadows" by K.C. Constantine, which takes place in post-industrial Pennsylvania.

Chicago police officer Eric Davis, known as "21" in the rap group the Slick Boys. Davis and two other officers founded the group in 1991 to provide positive role models for the inner-city kids they encountered on their jobs every day. The group has received national acclaim for their songs about the importance of getting an education and staying off of drugs and out of gangs. Davis grew up in the Cabrini-Green development of Chicago, where the three officers work.

The stars of the Emmy Award winning TV series Sharon Gless (Christine Cagney) and Tyne Daly (Mary Beth Lacy). The two play New York City Police detectives. The series aired on CBS from 1982 to 1988. This Tuesday, the two will be reunited in the two-hour TV movie "Cagney & Lacey: Together Again." "C&G" was the first TV crime show in which the two central characters were female.

Gerald Early discusses the film "Glass Sheild," and how it doesn't capture the reality of black police in South Philadelphia.

Probation officer for Los Angeles County, Jim Galipeau. He works with gangs in Los Angeles Galipeau has been a probation officer for almost 30 years. He's a Vietnam vet, and when he was a teenager, he was a street fighter and drug addict. Terry also talked with Galipeau in 1993 when he discussed the truce he was working on with the gangs.

Newspaper publisher Cynthia Brown of American Police Beat. The newspaper's motto is to be "The Voice of the Nation's Police Officers." The tabloid-style paper is written for and by cops and caters to their concerns. (The paper's address is P.O. BOX 382702, Cambridge, MA 02238-2702; Tel: 617-491-8878; FAX: 617-354-6515)

Journalist Mark Bowden ("Bow" like "Cow") for The Philadelphia Inquirer. He's just concluded a three part series (September 10-12, 1995) of articles on police corruption in Philadelphia. Most of the corruption was centered at the 39th Police District, and involves potentially thousands of cases in which persons have been falsely arrested and imprisoned.

Editorial writer for the New York Times Brent Staples. He wrote a memoir last year: Parallel Time: Growing Up in Black & White (Pantheon). In 1984, Staples' younger brother, a cocaine dealer, was murdered. Staples began a process of reconsideration of the major questions in his life: his distance from his family by graduate study at the University of Chicago; the demise and racial divisions of his industrial hometown in Pennsylvania.

Journalist Jim Crogan is a freelance writer with the L.A. Weekly and Newsweek. He covered the O.J. Simpson trial for the past 15 months, and the Los Angeles Police Department for several years.

Film critic Lisa Schwarzbaum reviews Hong Kong marshall arts master Jackie Chan's new film, "Supercop."

Journalist Peter Godwin. His new memoir is "Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa," about growing up in Rhodesia in 1964 as the British colony is collapsing. Godwin was formerly a foreign correspondent for the London Sunday Times. He now makes television documentaries for the BBC.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the police drama "EZ Streets" which premieres on CBS Sunday Night. He says it's the best new show on television.