?CRC Press; crcpress.com; 112 pages; $49.95.

This focused, comprehensive guide offers essential information to assist those considering a career in private security after serving in law enforcement or the military. The book outlines the differences between the public and private sectors and offers tools to help the reader highlight skills and potential that specifically relate to a new career as a security professional. From Police to Security Professional cites several personal examples from author Michael D�Angelo, CPP, who served in law enforcement for 20 years before transitioning to the security industry.

Two crucial sections of the book focus on r�sum� writing and culture shock. The author presents specific strategies on how to present an eye-catching r�sum� specifically tailored for the private sector. He explains how to describe law enforcement skills in civilian terminology and prepare for job interviews. For many candidates, culture shock can also be a roadblock. D�Angelo urges readers to translate duties they practiced in law enforcement and military assignments to functions that are essential to private security.�

The policies and structure of a private company can be daunting at first, and the author works to take the mystery out of them. Return on investment and contributions to the bottom line, for example, may be new concepts for the applicant. The book discusses various sectors within the security industry, to dispel the idea that the entirety of the industry is merely guarding or armored cars or investigations�that particular chapter is very well done.

The book outlines opportunities for security education and mentions various associations that may assist the person transitioning, but a key bit of advice would have been to become involved with those security-related associations well in advance of any change out of uniform. This is a key element to success for transitional police officers�they must know that the learning does not end with the police career, but only begins within the security industry. The author could have offered more specific advice on how to prepare for the corporate world by suggesting business courses that are relevant and current.

D�Angelo encourages readers to do research and carefully plan the career transition. The advice can be applied in the United States or internationally, and it has positive implications well beyond the initial transition. While the book is valuable to persons thinking of transitioning into the security world, for a person who has actually made the successful switch from law enforcement to security professional, it is a great reminder of how that path can meander.

Reviewers: Dan Popowich, CPP, and James E. Sellers, CPP, are members of the ASIS Security Services Council. Popowich was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) before entering the security industry as a founder of a security guard business in Western Canada. He is CEO of the Commissionaires BC, a not-for-profit security manpower company with a mandate to hire veterans of the Canadian armed forces, RCMP, and others who serve and have served. Sellers is president and CEO of Accion Security Consulting, LLC, a provider of C-level executive protection, investigations, and global security consultation for international corporations. Before transitioning to the private sector, Sellers retired as a major on the executive staff of the Atlanta, Georgia Police Department, where he served for 23 years.�