# World's Toughest Cops: On the Front Line of the War against Crime

Vinnie Jones

Welcome to the World’s Toughest Cops. This is a no holds barred look at a 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.Vinnie takes the reader into the jungles of Colombia – where Sub-Lieutenant John Orejuela of the Special Ops Commando Unit leads a secret mission to take out a terrorist camp – and goes on patrol in the Californian suburb of Compton, following the cops caught up in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with the gangs of South Central LA. He recounts the struggles of officer Andre Steyn of the Flying Squad against car-jackings and armed robberies in the desperate streets of Durban, South Africa and joins the few good men trying to police the back-alleys and no-go zones of New Orleans, where the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has seen a tidal wave of violent crime flood the city.Vinnie forged a reputation as a tough guy on the football pitch, and in America he now has a successful career in the cut-throat film business. But even he is in awe of the men and women who are trying to police the most dangerous areas on the planet. If on the pitch he followed Orwell's assertion that 'football is war minus the shooting', here he's discovering what life is like for those dealing with a real war – with real shooting.

## World’s Toughest Cops. Vinnie Jones

ON THE FRONT LINE OF THE WAR AGAINST CRIME


## DEDICATION

This book is for cops everywhere who risk their lives in the name of law and order…but especially for those we met, got to know and saw in action for ourselves. Proper, straight-up heroes, every one of them. It was a privilege.

## Table of Contents

Cover Page

Title Page

Dedication

Introduction

Colombia

New Orleans

South Africa

Kosovo

El Salvador

Laredo

Baltimore

Papua New Guinea

Jamaica

Los Angeles

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

Copyright

About the Publisher

## 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.


Vinnie Jones

LA, February 2010