Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Underwhelming.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC and all the best to the author (hopefully he'll do a bit more research - talking to one junior officer or tailing one bad cop does not mean everyone is racist or that there is systemic racism (though there may be in real life, the examples given here are too sporadic and from low-level staff).

COP: A JOURNALIST INFILTRATES THE POLICE 📚

Police officers are obliged to give an account of every incident they are involved in. But what happened today will never be logged. Because that’s what police solidarity means: what happens in the van stays in the van. Well, not always. Not this time. What really happens behind the walls of a police station? To answer this question, investigative journalist Valentin Gendrot put his life on hold for two years and became the first journalist in history to infiltrate the police undetected. Within three months of training to become an officer, he was given a permit to carry a weapon in public. And although he lived in daily fear of being discovered, in his book Gendrot hides nothing. Assigned to work in a tough area of Paris where tensions between the law and locals ran high, Gendrot witnessed police brutality, racism, blunders, and cover-ups. But he also saw the oppressive working conditions that officers endured, and mourned the tragic suicide of a colleague. Asking important questions about who holds institutional power and how we can hold them to account, Cop is a gripping exposé of a world never before seen by outsiders

This book definitely wasn’t as juicy as I expected and it never really excited me. It had interesting points that would have probably been more shocking if the book was based in the UK but for me it never really got going. I’m aware the book caused outrage in France when it was released so was definitely expecting more. That being said it was really easy to read and follow. It just didn’t excite me as much as I’d hoped.

⭐️⭐️

Cop is the story of Investigative Journalist Valentin Gendrot's undercover infiltration of the French police. Wanting to see for himself the inner workings of an institution appearing to be riddled with racism and notorious for thuggish violence with no comeback for those involved Gendrot finds himself arriving at some surprising conclusions.

Gendrot finds joining the ADS, France's equivalent of Britain's PCSO's , scarily easy. A few minutes online with an invented back story and that's pretty much it. The main qualification is that applicant should be under 30 and Gendrot finds himself working alongside a former neo-Nazis and a man with a long list of criminal convictions who after a few weeks training are let loose on the streets with powers of arrest and loaded guns.

While Gendrot witnesses some appalling excesses and behaviour he also learns of the siege mentality of the police in France who feel constantly under threat ,demoralised ,underpaid and ill-equipped. As he finds himself slipping into their mindset and experiencing their frustrations he's in many ways sympathetic.

This is a gritty and shocking read that sadly I doubt did much else than confirm many people's views of the police in France rather than come as any great surprise.

Cop is a quick read which jumps out of the starting gates and never lets up. Rather than inject his ego into the story, Valentin acts as the everyman and records the events unfolding in front of him with a neutral gaze.

He is neither overly sympathetic nor harshly critical of his fellow officers. Rather, he understands that they are people, ordinary people, put in a difficult position. His comments on domestic abuse and the almost complete lack of training that officers receive is a strong point, he quickly realises how difficult it is for officers to jump in and resolve very difficult issues such as domestic violence.

The book offers no great revelation but, where the interests lies, for me at least, is the detail it offers of everydau France in the modern age.

An interesting read and Gendrot deserves praise for embedding himself in his story in this way. His writing and research carries on the tradition of the new journalism style.