For the officers of the downtown foot patrol in El Paso, Texas, and my fellow COPS volunteers, who walk the beats with them. Unlike fictional Los Santos, the El Paso COPS program has never lost a volunteer.

Acknowledgments:

Special thanks to the El Paso, Texas, Police Department, and particularly to Sergeant Robert Pratt, coordinator of the Citizens on Patrol Program, and to Officers Guadalupe Diaz, John Lanahan, Robert Torres, Steve Crank, Ana Soto, and Joe Lucero, with whom I patrolled the downtown streets and from whom I learned so many fascinating lessons on community policing. Ms. Niki Leach, special projects administrator at the district attorney's office, provided invaluable information on charges that could result from a drive--by shooting, and I also wish to thank dear friends Joan Coleman and Jean Miculka whose input on all my writings is much appreciated.