World's Toughest Cops: On the Front Line of the War against Crime. Vinnie Jones

Чтение книги онлайн.

       INTRODUCTION

      Welcome to the World’s Toughest Cops. This is a no-holds-barred look at the people who risk their lives to serve and protect, in the front line of a war against drugs, gangs, gun crime, violence and smuggling. Over the following pages you’re going to see just what it takes to police 10 of the world’s most dangerous beats…and meet the men and women fighting a desperate battle to keep law and order.

      A couple of years ago I was asked by a TV production company to help them out with a show they were making. They were flying to meet cops in some of the most lawless places on the planet – and they were going to ride with them as they took down wanted men, busted gangs and smashed criminal organisations.

      Did I fancy coming along?

      Dead right I did…I wanted to get in there for myself, on the front line. I wanted to live and breathe the danger and the adrenaline of policing some of the worst neighbourhoods the world has to offer. I wanted to make it personal.

      Me and a bunch of guys flew out to see just what the score was. And we met some amazing people, had some amazing experiences. I’ve always believed in living every day to the full, pushing yourself to the extreme, giving whatever you do everything you have…but these guys taught me a lesson or two about commitment. They’re risking their lives, every day, because they believe in trying to protect the public, in trying to make their little part of the world a safer place.

      I was in awe of them. And as for the action…I loved it. The buzz was like nothing else I’ve ever known.

      But there’s only so much you can show in a TV programme. The cops we met were so dedicated, so extraordinary – and so much of what happened couldn’t make it on to the screen, that we decided to go one further. When I was asked to write a book to take in both series – from raiding terrorist camps with the Special Ops Commando Unit in Colombia to patrolling the back alleys and no-go zones of New Orleans, from chasing cop killers in Jamaica and Papua New Guinea to busting gangsters in South Central LA-I jumped at the chance.

      These are great stories; but they’re also true stories. We were there.

      All I’m doing in this book is showing what goes on – what these guys have to deal with day in, day out. And we weren’t hiding behind minders or security men: we were right in amongst it, out with the cops in some incredibly dangerous situations, usually kitted up in bullet-proof vests. This isn’t a Hollywood movie or a celebrity jaunt, this isn’t us pretending to be cops for a few days…this is real. This is us embedded with 10 groups of police officers around the planet as they put their lives on the line in the name of law and order.

      They are the world’s toughest cops. And this is how they roll.