400 Things Cops Know: Street-Smart Lessons From a Veteran Patrolman

By: Adam Plantinga

Narrated by: Mark Boyett

Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

How does it feel to be in a high-speed car chase? What is it like to shoot someone? What do cops really think about the citizens they serve? Nearly everyone has wondered what it's like to be a police officer, but no civilian really understands what happens on the job.

400 Things Cops Know shows police work on the inside, from the viewpoint of the regular cop on the beat - a profession that can range from rewarding to bizarre to terrifying, all within the course of an eight-hour shift. Written by veteran police sergeant Adam Plantinga, 400 Things Cops Know brings the listener into life the way cops experience it - a life of danger, frustration, occasional triumph, and plenty of grindingly hard routine work. In a laconic, no-nonsense, dryly humorous style, Plantinga tells what he's learned from 13 years as a patrolman, from the everyday to the exotic - how to know at a glance when a suspect is carrying a weapon or is going to attack, how to kick a door down, how to drive in a car chase without recklessly endangering the public, why you should always carry cigarettes, even if you don't smoke (offering a smoke is the best way to lure a suicide to safety), and what to do if you find a severed limb (don't put it on ice - you need to keep it dry.)

400 Things Cops Know deglamorizes police work, showing the gritty, stressful, sometimes disgusting reality of life on patrol, from the possibility of infection - criminals don't always practice good hygiene - to the physical, psychological, and emotional toll of police work. Plantinga shows what cops experience of death, the legal system, violence, prostitution, drug use, the social causes and consequences of crime, alcoholism, and more. Sometimes heartbreaking and often hilarious, 400 Things Cops Know is an eye-opening revelation of what life on the beat is really all about.

©2014 Adam Plantinga (P)2015 Audible Studios

Thank you, Adam Plantinga!

My dad volunteered with the police for around 20 years and did what he could to help the officers and detectives. A lot of this info is practical, some amusing but all of it is offered as a way to help those that the LEOs serve.
The good LEOs are there to protect, defend and comfort because that's who they are. Sometimes people see a uniform and it somehow removes the humanity and individuality of the wearer and makes them a blank canvas for the viewer's ideology. People need to see that human beings wash and put on that uniform so that they can take on more responsibility for the care of their designated areas. There are people who use the uniform for their own gains, but there are always people seeking positions of responsibility in order to gain power over people. We just have to remember that the uniform has power and commands respect because so many who have worn it before (and now) deserve it.
The book:
The narrator missed a couple of words but effectively conveyed the tone and intent of the text. Someone should have caught the errors. They weren't subtle: preSENT arms and conducive not conductive.
This was worth buying outright. It has a lot of valuable insights.
One quick tip I learned from a friend: Vicks Vaporub under the nose helps with strong odors.

A combination of interesting, funny, and tragic

Speaking as a civilian, I found the bite-sized snippets of information to be thoroughly entertaining. The author caused a range of responses alternating between laughter and forlorn and thoughtful silence and everything in between at different points in his writings. Great for a road trip ;-)

Light hearted look at the world officers live in

This is certainly a look at the psychology of police officers, the world they live in and the way they think formed by years of dealing with the bottom 10% of society. Similar to how attorneys think after you deal with people who come to you with broken relationships from dysfunctional systems. You accept after a time people rarely change and if they won't change perhaps you can at least modify areas where they get into trouble with society.
I completely enjoyed the look into the world. It was entertaining but I always wanted a deeper look. Each of the 400 items is a part of the puzzle of their mind. It didn't dive deeply into how they think but after looking at 400 pieces you get it.
I am certain after they interact with the bottom 10% who lie to them 20% of the time or more; officers hope to find someone they can trust. As a result they may or may not initially trust but they always verify.
It was more a peek under the sheets which exposes enough of how they think to give you an idea of their world and why they think the way they do. The psychology is interesting.

RalphyNovotney says: Perfectly written!!!

It's like reading four hundred stories in one!!! I went from wanting to laugh, then wanting to cry in one big swoop. And the narration was ABSOLUTELY flawless. 'Never a dull moment in this book.

Far more entertaining than I expected

I bought this book for background material to give legitiment color to anything I wrote that might have police officers in it. I expected a fairly dull book full of case studies and substantial bragging about his achievements. What I got was an extremely entertaining book that guided me, gently, into the world of police as they see it. I felt like I was eavesdropping on a training class for rookies. I looked forward with anticipation to each section. He doesn't try sidestep the grimmer aspects of police work but neither does he go into such gruesome detail that you can't bring yourself to listen to another word.
When he finally came to the end, I found myself wishing the title had been 800 Things Cops Know.

Great book!

Going through the process to become a police officer and this makes me eager to do it

You would never guess what a cops life cost

After a short way into the story you can not wait for the next topic.
Now I feel I am fairly understanding of a patrolman’s life on the job that is a 24 hour responsibility.

Very interesting read

Interesting read to get into the minds of cops. Narrator full of wit. I enjoyed it.

Totally Enjoyable Listen

What made the experience of listening to 400 Things Cops Know: Street-Smart Lessons From a Veteran Patrolman the most enjoyable?

Dry sense of humor and short chapters, easy to put down and then pick back up.

What was one of the most memorable moments of 400 Things Cops Know: Street-Smart Lessons From a Veteran Patrolman?

His description of Domestic Dispute calls.

What about Mark Boyett’s performance did you like?

Direct story-telling.

If you could give 400 Things Cops Know: Street-Smart Lessons From a Veteran Patrolman a new subtitle, what would it be?

What everyone should know about dealing with the cops

Any additional comments?

This is one of the few audio books I have listened to more than once.

100% accuate!

I am currently a retired deputy sheriff/police office that served 31 years. Everything was spot on in this book. It is funny to look back at my career and realize ever other cop was experiencing the same things I was. I was serving a population of about 50,000 people but it didn't matter because everything in the book covered what I encountered. The vice stuff, not so much! But it was here!