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142 pages

English

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A Straightforward Guide to The Crime Writer's Casebook is an essential research companion for all writers of crime fiction and non-fiction. The Crime Writer's Casebook is unique in that it presents first-hand explanations by Stuart Gibbon, a seasoned London Metropolitan Police detective with over 30 years' experience on the force, with additional commentary from Stephen Wade, a crime historian who has published more than 60 books. The authors work as consultants for crime writers and writing groups.

Informations

Publié par	Straightforward Publishing
Date de parution	14 décembre 2017
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781847167965
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0300€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

THE CRIME WRITER S CASEBOOK
A Reference Guide to Police Investigation Past and Present.
Stuart Gibbon and Stephen Wade
Straightforward Publishing www.straightforwardco.co.uk
Straightforward Guides
Copyright Stuart Gibbon and Stephen Wade 2017
Stuart Gibbon and Stephen Wade have asserted the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electronic or mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holders.
ISBN 978-1-84716-750-7
ISBN 978-1-84716-796-5 (eBook)
ISBN 978-1-84716-797-2 (Kindle)
Printed by 4edge www.4edge.co.uk Marketing by Sarah Wray at Astra Editorial astraeditorial.com
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained within this book is correct at the time of going to press, the author and publisher can take no responsibility for any errors or omissions contained within.
THE CRIME WRITER'S CASEBOOK
A Reference Guide to Police Investigation Past and Present.
CONTENTS
Introductions: The authors and the scope of the book
Chapter. 1 The Murder Victim and Crime Scene
Chapter. 2 The Investigation Process
Chapter. 3 The Murder Investigation
Chapter. 4 Murder or Manslaughter
Chapter. 5 Forensic Pathology
Chapter. 6 DNA
Chapter. 7 Custody Procedure
Chapter. 8 The Experts
Chapter. 9 Police and Criminal Evidence Act (1984)
Chapter. 10 The Criminal Courts
Chapter. 11 Missing Persons
Chapter. 12 Teenage Killers
Chapter. 13 The Coroner
Chapter. 14 A Victorian Policeman s Lot
REFERENCE GUIDE
Special Topics on Modern Policing
The Phonetic Alphabet
The Police Caution
Murder Investigation Team Structure
Useful Acronyms
Levels of Assault
A Brief History of Crime in Britain
The Law Courts in History
An A-Z of Legal terms for historical fiction reference
Bibliography
Index
Note: This book contains details of true crime cases which some people may find upsetting. These details are included for clarity and explanation.
Introductions: The Authors and the Scope of the Book
Stuart Gibbon
Stuart Gibbon joined the Metropolitan Police as a Constable in 1982 and served for nearly 20 years, a large part of this period as a Detective. He was responsible for the investigation of many crimes including rape, serious assault and robbery. He was also involved in the investigation of Murder cases. In 2000 Stuart transferred to Lincolnshire Police where his career continued to develop. He served as a Detective at every rank from Constable to Chief Inspector, during which time he qualified to become a Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) leading Murder cases. As a DCI he was seconded to the newly-formed East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) and was then one of a small number of SIO s responsible for the investigation of Murder throughout the five East Midlands police forces.
Stuart retired from the police service in 2012 and is now a writing consultant, advising authors on police actions and procedures to ensure accuracy. He also talks at writing conferences on the subject of Murder Investigation and the challenges facing a Senior Detective in such cases.
BECOMING A MURDER DETECTIVE
As long as I can remember, all I ever wanted to do was become a Detective. In 1980 that journey began when I was invited to London to take part in the Metropolitan Police selection process. As a na ve 16 year old from a working class part of north-east England I was completely out of my comfort zone. After a tough but enjoyable 18 months spent learning law, marching and enjoying the delights of central London, I successfully passed out (not literally, although some poor individual did) from the Hendon Training school and was posted to Wembley as Police Constable 727. I looked about 12 and my police helmet felt (and looked) massive.
Those early years were, at times, just like being an extra on the set of Life on Mars except it was real. I dreaded going upstairs to the CID office as, more often than not, the welcome wasn t particularly friendly. Those Detectives not already on the phone or busy with something would make sure they were by the time I reached their desk. I swore that if I ever managed to get into CID, I d adopt a more positive approach with my uniformed colleagues. Little did I know then, that I would eventually end up as a Senior Detective leading Murder cases and in charge of a large team of CID staff. True to my word, I never forgot those early experiences and made sure, where possible, that CID went out of their way to help their uniformed colleagues.
One of my first quality crime arrests was more luck than judgement. As a uniformed bobby working a late shift I was keen to finish at the scheduled time of 10pm so decided to take a quiet stroll around the streets opposite the police station, looking to keep my head down (which wasn t easy with the size of my police helmet!). I had an appointment in front of the TV to watch Match of the Day at 10.30pm. As I did so I became aware of the sound of breaking glass and soon realised that I was on the pavement outside a house which was in the process of being burgled. Alerting colleagues via my radio I began to approach the house then saw two rather large men run down the side of the house and out into the street away from me. I gave chase and updated as I did so. I can only assume that these two characters (who were actually hardened criminals from The East End of London) hadn t cased the joint very well because they proceeded to run along the street, turned left at the end and headed straight towards the police station. They were met by a number of my colleagues running out of the police station who safely apprehended them. Two arrests for burglary and I was certainly the flavour of the month, even with CID. I call it dedication to duty, others would probably call it differently. Incidentally, I didn t finish duty until about 3.00am and missed the footie anyway.
Following a tough apprenticeship I became a Metropolitan Police Detective and was posted to Kilburn police station in north-west London as a Detective Constable (DC). Within a matter of days I was to become Acting Detective Sergeant following a surreal conversation with my new boss. He advised me that he was being temporarily promoted to Detective Inspector and wanted me to be in charge of his team of six DC s. Talk about a baptism of fire. The next few years were spent investigating fatal fires, rapes, serious assaults and other crimes in a particularly busy part of the capital.
In 2000 I transferred to the East Midlands and spent another enjoyable period in the rural county of Lincolnshire. Most of that time was spent as a Detective, at various ranks, investigating crimes which proved equally as challenging as those in London. Due to the size and geography of the county, offenders often proved harder to identify as they were travelling criminals originating from other parts of the country and returning there after commission of the crime. When I became a Senior Detective, reaching the dizzy heights of DI, I was chosen to apply to become one of the few Senior Investigating Officer s (SIO) in the Force. SIO s are the lead Detective in charge of Murder and the most serious of cases. I had to attend a particularly rigorous training course, followed by a period of Continuous Professional Development and the requirement to maintain a portfolio evidencing my work. I now began to investigate Murder and unexplained deaths. There is no greater responsibility than investigating the Murder of another person and no greater reward than identifying and bringing those responsible to justice.
The world of the victim s loved ones has been turned upside down but you have the opportunity to provide just a little comfort at such an awful time.
Being on-call is a unique experience with your mobile phone switched on 24 hours a day and the requirement that you need to be in a position to respond at short notice. You could be eating your evening meal one minute then on the way to a Murder scene some considerable distance away the next. Inevitably it s 3.00am or some other unsociable hour when your ringtone sounds, waking up the family and causing you to jump out of bed with that feeling of dread. I would then be inundated with lots of information by the Force Control Room and asked for my instructions. I think they sometimes may have forgotten that, although they had been on duty throughout the night, I had just been woken from a fitful sleep and was sitting on the edge of my bed in my nightwear. The pen and paper at the side of the bed was a necessity on such occasions. I always had my Murder Bag packed and ready to go. This included items such as protective forensic clothing, maps, torch, police radio and an overnight bag just in case. The bag was an important part of the on-call Murder Detective kit.
Throughout my career I ve had some unpleasant experiences, attending Murder scenes and Post Mortems. Some images will stay with me forever. A deceased baby or child is particularly difficult to comprehend. You must develop coping strategies and rely on the support of family and friends to get through these challenges. Whilst carrying out your role in a professional way is important, we re all human and can relate events to our own loved ones.
During my police career I have experienced first-hand a number of changes which have had a major impact on policing during the last few decades. From the introduction of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 to the advances in forensic science, particularly in areas such as DNA, the world of Murder investigation is a very different one now to past times. From the initial crime scene examination to the drama in the courtroom, Stephen and I will discuss and debate Murder cases past and present.
I hope that you enjoy reading 'The Crime wri