I know this has been discussed previously in general terms and thanks to those postings, I have bought copies of "The Crime Writer's Guide to Police Practice and Procedure" by Michael O'Byrne and "The Weekend Novelist Writes a Mystery" by Robert J Ray and Jack Remick. Both of these have lots of useful information. However, I am stuck on a particular point.

In my novel, my heroine has acquired a stalker who tracks her down and enters her house. The silly woman has gone upstairs to read, leaving her back door open! In the ensuing confrontation, he flees and falls down the stairs, breaking his neck. She sends for the police and the first to arrive are two uniformed officers. Presumably, once the suspicious death has been confirmed, the forensics (SOCO)team and pathologist are sent for, together with a detective from CID. I need to know what would happen in these circumstances - whether she would be taken into custody or just questioned at home and asked to go to the station later to confirm her statement, if her clothes would be needed for forensic examination, etc. etc.

I used to work as an IT trainer with Sussex Police many years ago, and even had a tour of Brighton Nick, but I have lost contact with the people I knew there. I tried asking at my local police station but the receptionist said there was no one I could talk to and told me my best approach would be to write to the Chief Constable at Surrey Police Headquarters. I have sent an email, but that was three weeks ago. I noticed in previous postings that people had managed to find friendly policemen and I agree that most people are only too willing to offer information and insight. It's possible that the guy at the front desk was being over-protective. He said there were detectives about (just who I needed) but he wouldn't ring and ask if someone was free for a quick chat.

So can anyone advise me on who to approach - or does anyone have an author-friendly UK detective I could talk to? I only need a short conversation and maybe a follow up or two once I've written the relevant chapters. At the moment, I'm completely stuck on how to continue the story. I really don't want to just make it up - I'd like to be as faithful to real policing as possible.

Thanks and regards,
Deja

Wanting to be faithful to real policing is all well and good, but I think the main problem is there is a variation between what would be 'by the book' policing, and what each Force actually does, which is dependent upon manpower and the assessment of the officers who are first on the scene.
It also depends on how you are writing the scene. If it is from the victim's view point, then she may be led into a seperate room by a woman officer and gently questioned, or taken to the hospital if there was suspicion of a sexual attack, or taken to the station for questioning, or advised to stay with a relative - rather than remain alone in the house, (presumably the police will be anxious to get her away from the crime scene unless it is deemed an open and shut case and the police don't anticipate it going to court), so if she is away from the scene, then she is unlikely to see/know who the people are mingling around the crime scene, so you won't need to put in much detail. If you are telling it from the view point of one of the detectives or the pathologist then you might want more detail, but a detective might be with the victim, and getting reports secondhand from other police officers...In which case it might be easiest to write it on a need to know basis - if the victim doesn't need to know then don't put in the detail. Equally, if the choreography of the relevant characters is such that you need it to happen in x,y,z, order, then go with that.
Sorry, not really answering your question, but I recall an interview with Colin Dexter who said that he was never interested in police proceedures and so always fudged it in the Morse novels.


- NaomiM

<Added>

...another scenario is the attending police officers call for an ambulance and the dead stalker is taken straight to hospital and pronounced dead there, before the body is assessed by the coroner.

Thanks Naomi.

I thought about the not definitely dead approach - in fact originally, I wasn't going to have him killed off but it got so complicated with all the other threads that the poor chap had to go! The circumstances leading up to his fall down the stairs are pretty fantastic - he's actually scared off by the inexplicable appearance of a crusader knight brandishing his sword. My heroine has to deal with him as well as the dead body in her hallway so of course by the time the police show up, she's got to come up with a plausible story. The detective is cynical and convinced she's got something to hide - which she has.

I reckon with a dead body, she'd have to vacate the scene until all the forensics had been collected and the police are or are not happy with her story.

I'd still like to run it by someone with police experience though.

Deja