A good book detailing police, international police, police roles in intelligence networks, the value of informal communication (phone call, email, etc) over formal bureaucratic channels, and much more about the role and culture of the badge after 9/11.

excerpt:

>"Those who work in international law enforcement know that informal police relationships are the primary means of facilitating international police business.

>Business is accomplished through phone calls or e-mail and occasionally through a mutually acquainted third party.

>Formal pathways like mutual legal assistance treaties (MLATs), Interpol, Europol, and intergovernmental letters rogatory (formal requests between governments for law

enforcement assistance) are the last resort for those professionals who wish to get their work done expeditiously—especially if they are on a hot case.

>Formal, bureaucratic channels require days or weeks, as requests are written, then cleared by supervisors and attorneys, stamped and approved by other officials,

>transmitted, received, considered, discussed, debated, examined, parsed, approved or disapproved, and if approved, the request carried out."