An authentic focus on police procedure

This book centres on an unsolved murder in the 1980s. It is a fictionalised account of life and work in the CID section of a London police station.

Alan Jackaman served for more than 25 years as a police officer, including in the Metropolitan Police Murder Investigation Team and Murder Review Group. A significant premise of the book is that the police station in question was a dumping ground for wayward officers who were unlikely to progress far in the service and were more interested in banter and practical jokes. Regular trips to the local pub were a requirement. Women police officers were a rarity. These were the days of ‘proper policing’, which meant legwork, good intelligence and hard graft. The fictionalised story with vivid characters is told well. 

The other side of the story relates to a murdered couple. Their bodies were not discovered for several days. 

This book focuses on police procedure and it is very authentic. I recalled my early duty solicitor days and police station work in the 1980s. Happy days being woken at 3am by a drunken driver. I was once phoned by an inspector who thought the suspect ought to be represented, as he was in a lot of trouble.

David Pickup