Allen P. Bristow began his law enforcement career as
a military policeman during the Korean War. After the war, he joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department. He left the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to become a professor of Police Administration
at the California State University, Los Angeles. Later, he was “promoted to professor in the reorganized Department
of Criminal Justice at California State University at Los Angeles. In 1983, he retired as a Professor Emeritus. During his
tenure, he received the Outstanding Professor Award for 1967-68 and was elected to membership in the Honor Society of Phi
Kappa Phi.
Allen P. Bristow received his graduate degree in 1957
from the school of Public Administration, University of Southern California, where he earned the John M. Pfiffner Research
Award. He was the author of over a dozen textbooks, 70 journal or magazine articles, two western detective novels and the
historical biography of Whispering Smith.
In
a post retirement career, he served as a reserve military officer and was a training facilitator at Camp San Luis Obispo.
He was placed on the retired list in 1995 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He lived for many years in Palos Verdes Estates,
Calif. and Atascadero, Calif. before moving to Oregon.” Allen P. Bristow died in October 2008.
During his academic career, Allen P. Bristow authored
a number of books about policing. Following his retirement from education he has authored a number of fictional
books about law enforcement in the “old west.” Allen P. Bristow is the author of the academic
works: The Search for an Effective Police Handgun, Effective Police Manpower Utilization; Patrol Administration;
Police Disaster Operations; Rural Law Enforcement; Field Interrogation; An Introduction to Modern Police Firearms, A Handbook
in Criminal Procedure and the Administration of Justice; You and the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics; Police Film Guide; and,
Decision Making in Police Administration. He was the editor of Police Supervision
Readings. He is the author of the fiction works The Pinkerton Eye
and Playing God. And the author of the biographical look at a Western figure, Whispering
Smith.
According to the book description of Whispering
Smith, “The fictional adventures of the heroic railroad detective called Whispering Smith have entertained
readers, motion picture enthusiasts and television viewers for many years. The colorful name of this character had such appeal
that it has been adopted by musical bands, apparel manufacturers and emblazoned on the nose of World War Two bombers. But
was there a real Whispering Smith? Was he the heroic champion of justice on the western plains as depicted by Hollywood or
was he instead a sinister and tragic recluse? Traces of his confrontations with western outlaws are found throughout Colorado,
Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Yet in his search for justice did he become a centurion that confronted frontier lawlessness
with a hangman's rope? Was the real Whispering Smith actually a cold-blooded killer, frustrated duelist, devious plotter
and pugnacious braggart? These questions can best be answered by an examination of his life in this book.”
Wildwest magazine said of Whispering Smith,
“A book of 173 pages might not sound very long, but it's quite an accomplishment when the subject matter is a man
named Smith who whispered (or didn't say anything) a lot, tended to be secretive and had few friends and no family. Furthermore,
the name Whispering Smith is usually associated with fictional adventures portrayed in books or seen on the big or little
screens. It all began with Frank H. Spearman's best-selling novel of 1906 with the catchy name Whispering Smith. The railroad
detective of that book has appeared (usually more dramatically and heroically) in at least half a dozen motion pictures (including
a 1948 version starring Alan 'Shane' Ladd) and in a 1961 television series. But there was a real Union Pacific Railway
detective who came to be known as Whispering Smith; his true name was James L. Smith. Apparently the real Smith never personally
used the nickname 'Whispering,' and one estimation that he killed 30 men is no doubt way too high (though he was definitely
involved in several killings and probably in at least one lynching). Allen Bristow, who had a career in law enforcement and
has written many articles for Wild West magazine and other publications, deals with the 'Hollywood Versus History'
issue in his first chapter. The author's objective in exploring this subject was in fact to see if the mild-mannered,
honest, moral, courageous Hollywood Smith matched the real-life Smith, who was credited with having been the only peace officer
to ever penetrate the Hole-in-the-Wall (outlaw hangout in Wyoming) and with having once run Bat Masterson out of Denver. In
the end, the real Whispering Smith, in part because of excessive drinking, was not the man he once was. But neither was the
actor Alan Ladd. Bristow closes with some intriguing parallels between the two men.”
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