Judging by the text throughout this manual and the clubs it discusses, this particular “law enforcement guide to the world of outlaw motorcycle gangs” was published in the early- to mid-1970s. The sad and especially distressing aspect to this “learning instrument,” however, is that the materials accepted as gospel in this workbook aren’t currently seen as archaic and lame (like the Carpenters’ songs and Bread tunes that were probably playing out of a background, light-rock-tuned radio as someone typed all this up). Just as some folks out there are still jamming to “Close to You” and “Baby I’m-a Want You,” a lot of people—especially those with badges and guns—are still looking at similar manuals like this and still thinking, “Yep, we need to see if those handlebars are really a shotgun!” They’re still making citation careers and red-light-stop excuses out of equipment violations. And they’re still doing a fine and relentless job of making “these persons feel that they are not wanted in [their] area” (see rule #10 on the “Field Contacts” page). . . regardless of all the discussion lately about profiling and other non-politically correct actions.

This “manual” is presented in the interest of examining outlaw and one-percenter history, of course. It should be in the same campy, fun class that includes old reruns of Dragnet with the overdramatic and hippie-hating Sergeant Joe Friday—but it’s not. It just can’t be. It still hits too close to home and modern reality in its sentiments and the actions it produces.

Not everyone is still rockin’ out to Karen and Richard, but a fair number of 1970s tunes were well worth some immortality. Like, say, “I Shot the Sheriff.”

Rule #4. Use good interrogation techniques. . .