This collection of essays focuses on law and society research examining how police manage the job put to them and the extent to which the law figures in what they do. In step with law and society scholarship, many of the articles are empirical explorations of the ways in which law enforcement workson the ground in a variety of policing contexts ranging from patrol to police interrogation. The collection also includes an introduction outlining the broad scope of police research across the socio-legal tradition as well as a selection of essays evaluating police discretion in the areas of race and gender.