Vice: One Cop's Story of Patrolling America's Most Dangerous City Paperback – April 24, 2012

As an avid reader with a stubborn disinterest to read any books regarding crime, I rushed to purchase "Vice" due to my kindred relationship (first cousin) with the author, Sgt. John Richard Baker. "Vice" gently flows from Mr. Baker's family history, gathering momentum to explain the changes, both ethnically and socio-economically, of the Compton area, and then accelerates at full speed, crashing to explosions of intense human interactions. This reading adventure opened my eyes, thrusting me into awareness of naked facts of a brutal world I never knew existed - a world where all hell consistently erupted between good and evil and the bizarre mixture of each. The policemen and undercover agents at the CPD faced dangers which could swiftly cause their untimely deaths while working both under the surface and in full view with the intent to protect citizens from harm. It is rare when a book draws one so deeply that whirlwinds of emotions emerge and the reader becomes one with the book. While immersed in this book, my body, mind and soul were on edge. I was in a cocoon, oblivious of everything around me, focused on the written page; my social life declined and my fingernails are bit to the quick! I felt I was walking in the shoes of my cousin, could see what he saw, feel what he felt, imagine what he was thinking while ­­he fought the brave fight. I was a willing participant in a story about crime and humanity! If you are searching for a book you can't put down, one you never want to end, one that becomes part of you, I highly recommend "Vice".

I worked at a company in Compton. I knew some of the police officers mentioned in the book. I know the streets, I knew a lot of the stories..however, I did not know how this area became the worst ghetto in America. I did not know a lot about what was written in this book. We can not know what it is like to live and work the streets such as mentioned in this book unless we lived there or was a police officer ourselves. I carefully come in to the city and carefully left at night and kept a blind eye. This book became a real eye opener. I think it says a lot about the police officers that worked there for so long. I don't know how they did it. How do you work a war zone and go home and have a normal life? How do you work such unbelievable nightmares and still be a nice person and want to look out for the welfare of of people living here and causing the trouble. It was so well done and interesting. I think only Sgt Baker could have written this book as it was. Job well done and I certainly commend you and all officers for the work done in Compton. After reading this book I do believe you are all a cut above, and a once in a million type of human. My heart goes out to you.

Vice is a seriously candid book about one man's career as a police officer for the Compton Police Department (CPD). You can't come away from this book and not appreciate the mess that cops go through on a daily basis. Praising cops aint exactly the "it" thing to do these days, but you do have to give them some kind of respect or compassion when you read books like Vice.Author John R. Baker was serious about letting readers know that being a cop aint just about shootouts, arresting criminals, or being involved in high-speed car chases. There is a serious amount of politics that go into being a cop, and Baker put together an exhaustive essay within this book, on how much politics factors into police work. The pages and chapters dedicated to him and other Compton officers having to put up with city and county politicians, will make you think and will piss you off.Pros of this book: Like I said before, Vice is a very blunt book that isn't geared aint for the faint of heart---------there's some stories in this book that I wouldn't recommend you reading before you go to bed. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes true crime books or who wants to consider a career as a police officer.Cons of this book: You could tell the 1970s was Baker's favorite period of his police career, because he spent almost the whole book talking about that decade. It would have been nice if he would have discussed more about how he felt about or how he dealt with the Crack Epidemic era that started in Los Angeles County in 1981. Or I wish he would have discussed in more detail how the CPD dealt with the Blood and Crip gangs from the late 1970s until he left the force in 1986.In conclusion, Vice is a very well written book that will help you see why Compton's reputation (since the late 1960s) is what it is. I get sick and tired of people saying Compton is getting better and it aint like it used to be. That may be true in some respects, but Compton is still ghetto as heck. And Compton is still a very violent city, with a whole bunch of gangs and criminals who aint going to stop their criminal ways in this lifetime or any other lifetime for that matter.

I lived in Compton from 1953 until 1966. My family moved to Costa Mesa, California in 1964 and I lived in the partially vacant house until I left for the army in 1966. The Compton Rick Baker describes is nothing like the Compton I knew. During the period I lived in Compton I experienced a great middle America city, it was a peaceful, friendly, and nurturing place. As I read Vice I could feel the city transforming from what I knew to a place that was totally opposite from what I knew. It was hard to put the book down because there was one event after another that spelled the end of the place that many of us knew as home. Rick Baker describes the reality of police work and there is nothing held back, be prepared for more reality than you usually get from any book. It is hard to comprehend that the only thing between the many criminals and the citizenry was a spartan team of 130 police. Be prepared for a very rough ride through the streets of Compton and learn what it is like to live in an environment that you will thankfully not have to experience. Thanks for the ride, Rick.