1 Published BooksPierce R. Brooks
Pierce Brooks joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1948 and served in vice, narcotics, patrol and homicide divisions. In 1973, he became nationally known when his role as the lead investigator was featured in The Onion Field, Joseph Wambaugh's best-seller about the kidnapping and murder of a Los Angeles police officer near Bakersfield.
Mr. Brooks retired from the Los Angeles Police Department in 1969 as a captain and later was police chief in Springfield, Ore., Lakewood, Colo., and, finally, in Eugene, Ore., where he held the position from 1977 to 1980.
Mr. Brooks was credited in 1985 by then-FBI Director William Webster with helping create the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime and supervising the development of the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP), a modern, computerized method for tracking serial killers by analyzing crime scenes, behavior patterns and personality traits, and putting all the information into a database that can show nationwide patterns of similarity between crimes.
Mr. Brooks spent his retirement years in Vida, Oregon. He was a consultant on the Atlanta child murders and the Green River slayings in Washington, among other high-profile cases.
