Lee Lofland, veteran police investigator and author of Police Procedure and Investigation, is also the driving force behind the Writers Police Academy which debuted last year. This conference is not your standard writers' event, and is "designed to offer writers the opportunity to see and handle actual police and fire equipment, smell the odors associated with burning buildings, hear the clang of closing cell doors, ride in police cars and ambulances, handcuff bad guys, gather crime scene evidence, solve a homicide, and much more." Lofland is already planning the 2010 Academy, to be held in Jamestown, N.C., at the Guilford Technical Community College and Public Safety Training Academy which has fully functional police and fire training facilities. Look for details on the above link soon for how to sign up.
In the meantime, check out Lee's blog The Graveyard Shift, which includes a great deal of helpful information for writers (and fun stuff for readers, too), about police procedures and equipment and other law enforcement tips and tales.
In the same vein of real-life resource blogs for writers, you should bookmark Dr. D.P. Lyle's Writer's Forensics, which has a wealth of interesting, helpful, and often gory details to help writers get it right. Lyle is the author Murder and Mayhem: A Doctor Answers Medical and Forensic Questions for Mystery Writers, a compilation of the most interesting questions he has received over the years, and Forensics For Dummies.
For a look into the reality of Private Investigations, check out Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes, a blog by two private eyes who are also authors, where youll find insider tricks of the trade. The PI Now blog also has some good info, but with a more news-oriented focus.
For additional police insights, check out Cop in the Hood and the Johnny Law Chronicles.
