Police Procedural: A Writer's Guide to the Police and How They Work

Howdunit Series

by Russell Bintliff

Offers mystery writers information about police administration, the structure of a detective division, the rules of evidence, the investigation of crimes, arrest procedures, interrogation, and the courts

Genres: Writing, Reference, Nonfiction, Research, Crime, True Crime, Mystery

261 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1993

Reviews

[Weldon Burge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty comprehensive.

[Ehren Phipps · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm writing a crime thriller in my spare time and I wanted a look into being a homicide detective to help with this. This book had a lot of broad stroke information but I did not find it helpful for what I needed.

[Sally Kilpatrick]

In all actuality, I've forgotten when I read this other than fall of 2021.

I was hoping for a bit more day in the life information, but oh well. Also, this book is dated just by virtue of having been published in the early 90s.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is more for America than UK. However I did enjoy it although it took me a long time to read it.

[Jonathan Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is exactly what it says it is. It is informative and very useful, especially if your writings delve into the crime or mystery genres.

[Bryan Whitehead · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m fond of the Writer’s Digest Howdunit series as a whole, but some of the individual works leave a little to be desired. This one, for example, reads like the author is recycling his set of lecture notes for some kind of training series for rookie cops. I guess it provides some insight into how the police think and work, but it still falls way short of some of the books in the series (especially Cause of Death, the one that got me reading them to begin with). On the other hand, it’s a lot better than others (Private Eyes was pretty bad, for example, and Malicious Intent was so stupid that I had to quit reading it ... which is unusual for me, since I’ve developed a pretty high level of tolerance for stupid over the years).

[H.J. Raine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed. Wonderful information about the range of police department types along with the kinds of people that really go into the profession! I loved all the detailing on what has to be done with warrants and how all the departments fit with each other!

[Betsy Ashton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book if you are starting out to learn about how police departments work. The Howdunit series demystifies different aspects of police work. forensics, poisons. Start here and move to other in the series for more in-depth discussions.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a concise guide to various methods used by law enforcement when investigating crime. It is a good guide for crime story writers although the information must be generic in nature due to the large number and scope of law enforcement agencies.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

definately a book to purchase if you are a mystery writer and a book of interest if you have curiosity about how police business works.

[T.M. Carper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great if you plan on using cops in your novel. Not useful if you don't plan on it.

[Morgan Summerfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful insight. I use as a reference.