This book is part of the plan to build out the successful Essentials series (Lab's Criminal Justice: The Essentials is now in a 6th edition and has core following in that segment of the market) and is envisioned as a brief treatise on policing in a similar fashion to Criminal Justice: The Essentials. It responds to a need for a more concise presentation of policing without the in-depth review of policing with all the pictures, tables and figures found in most books. This book will include the essential materials for understanding the history, development and current operations of policing in an understandable, non-complex discussion of the topics.