FROM STREET BEAT TO CITY HALL—
THE REAL STORY OF A BIG-CITY TOP COP.
Julian Fantino is the
highest-profile police officer Canada has ever produced. In a
remarkable career spanning almost forty years, he has led four
police forces and continues to leave a huge imprint on law
enforcement, not only in this country but right around the
world. This candid and hard-hitting memoir of his life—from his
humble beginnings in Italy to his move to Canada and his
eventual rise through the police ranks, from a street cop on the
beat to top
cop in the biggest city in the country—recounts his experiences
as a rookie fresh out of police college and his time in the drug
squad, homicide, and other areas of policing.
He tells about the hard
realities of organized crime, especially the fight against the
Mafia and outlaw motorcycle gangs, and offers insights from
one who is in the trenches into the sexual exploitation of
children, police corruption, terrorism, and the many failings of
the justice system. He touches on issues of concern to all
Canadians and delves into the pressures and politics of being a
big-city chief—at the local, national, and international level —including
battles with special-interest groups and the media.
But as Fantino describes in
this refreshingly candid and hard-hitting as-told-to memoir of
his life, one thing never changed: his steadfast commitment to
the principles of integrity, honesty, and accountability. He
recounts with passion, humour, and honesty the ups and downs—the
joys and sorrows—of a life devoted to public service.
Always upfront and willing to
tell it like it is, Fantino is just as candid about where he
thinks the system has gone wrong . . . and what we might do to
make it right. Duty is an unflinching behind-the-headlines
portrait of what it really means to be a cop.
Read the First Chapter and watch
a
special video interview with
Julian Fantino.
Book Reviews
Globe & Mail: Books in
Brief
Julian Fantino, currently Commissioner
of the Ontario Provincial Police, is probably the
highest-profile law-enforcement official in Canada. In this
hard-hitting memoir, he tells the story of his life, from his
humble beginnings in Italy, his early years as a beat cop in
Toronto, his experiences in the drug squad, homicide and other
areas of policing, to his leadership of four major police
forces. Along the way, he provides insight into the struggles
against organized crime, the exploitation of children, police
corruption, terrorism, and into the justice system.
London Free Press
Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner
Julian Fantino has undertaken to set the record straight in an
illuminating autobiography entitled: Duty: The Life of a Cop,
which he wrote with the editorial and research assistance of
Toronto writer and consultant Jerry Amernic. That Fantino felt
the need for such a book is understandable: In recent years, few
public figures have been more frequently and viciously maligned
than he.
Altogether, Duty: The Life of a Cop is a fascinating and
informative account of the life and thinking of one of Canada's
most accomplished police officers. While Fantino might not
always be right, his well-informed views on key issues of public
safety deserve consideration.
Blue Line Magazine
This book is (also) a
tell-it-like-it-is platform for Fantino’s opinions on a wide
range of law enforcement issues. If you want to get your head
around who Fantino is and what drives him, read this book.
The National Post: FP
Weekend
While not strictly a
business book, the memoirs of former Toronto police chief Julian
Fantino, DUTY: The Life of a Cop, outline the executive
leadership skills and unwavering sense of law and order that
moulded him from humble Italian immigrant into this country’s
most high-profile copper.
Major General (Ret.) Lewis
MacKenzie
A cop’s cop lets us eavesdrop on the
journey of his life from the streets of Italy to a well-earned,
stellar international reputation and the top job in four
different police forces.
Priscilla De Villiers, founder of CAVEAT (Canadians Against
Violence)
Through the years Julian Fantino has
advised, assisted, and supported me as I continue to strive for
a more equitable justice system. This book gives some insight
into the man who is the embodiment of a dutiful cop.
Purchase Duty: The Life of a Cop from Amazon.
Click here.
