The Graveyard Shift Blog

Since 2008, Lee Lofland has written over 2000 articles on his blog, The Graveyard Shift. Topics such as police procedure, forensics, criminal behavior, and what it’s like to be a cop has helped countless numbers of popular and aspiring writers.

His life’s mission – to remind writers that cordite is dead and gone. Just say no to cordite in your books!

Domestic Violence: Staying Safe

  Domestic violence calls are dangerous for responding police officers. The situation has already exploded before they arrive. Tempers and emotions are at their peaks. Children and other family are often in the home when the violence…
Castle: Head Case

Serial Killing: Was Richard Castle Right?

  In last night's episode of Castle, Richard Castle, the TV show's amateur sleuth/novelist defined a serial killer as a murderer without motive. Therefore, he (Castle) felt the murderer in the show couldn't be a serial killer since there…
Andrew McAleer: The Professor and the Bank Robber

Andrew McAleer: The Professor and the Bank Robber

Photo by Stephen D. Rogers ANDREW MCALEER is the author of The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists and the co-author of the number 1 best-selling, Mystery Writing in a Nutshell. Mr. McAleer is also the author of three novels including…
Economic Downturn

Weekend Road Trip: Economic Downturn

 
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

  Lieutenant David Charles Gann, 48 Sequatchie County Tennessee Sheriffs Office   Lieutenant David Gann was killed in an on-duty automobile accident on February 17, 2009. He leaves behind a wife and two children. *Thanks…
Cara Black

Cara Black: French Flics and Flipflops at the Paris Firing Range

  Cara Black writes the award nominated Aimée Leduc Investigations set in Paris. MURDER IN THE LATIN QUARTER, the ninth in the series, is an Indie Next Pick for April and received a starred review in KIrkus. Her website is www.carablack.com. French…
please release me let me go

"Please Release Me, Let Me Go"

Please release me, let me go For I don't love you anymore To waste our lives would be a sin Release me and let me love again Engelbert Humperdinck, 1967 Prisons are filling rapidly. In fact, they're already as full as a corporate CEO's…
Fingerprinting

Fingerprinting: Before Live Scan and AFIS

  Fingerprinting the old-fashioned way. Officers grasp a suspects finger, apply ink from a pad, and then roll the finger (one at a time) from side-to-side on pre-printed fingerprint cards. Fingerprinting station - ink pad, cardholder,…
Dr. Katherine Ramsland: Inside the Archives of Rome's Crime History

Dr. Katherine Ramsland: Being Jeffrey Dahmer

  Dr. Katherine Ramsland has a master's degree in forensic psychology from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a master's degree in clinical psychology from Duquesne University, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Rutgers. She has published…
Hanging On

Weekend Road Trip: Hanging On

 
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

  Officer Glen Ciano, 45 Suffolk County New York Police Department   Officer Glen Ciano was killed on February, 22, 2009, when his patrol car was struck by a drunk driver. The collision forced Officer Ciano's car off the…
Andrew McAleer: The Professor and the Bank Robber

Andrew McAleer: The K-9 Connection

  Photo by Stephen D. Rogers ANDREW MCALEER is the author of The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists and the co-author of the number 1 best-selling, Mystery Writing in a Nutshell. Mr. McAleer is also the author of three novels…

From the Office of the Medical Examiner

Medical examiners sometimes get a bum rap. Their life is not always about plucking the innards from every Tom, Dick, and Harry they meet. M.E.s and coroners play a huge role in solving homicides, and many times they alone do the crime-solving.…

DLWI & T: Driving a Lawnmower While Under the Influence…and a Taser

  Facts about Tasers 1. Tasers do not intefere with pacemakers 2. Tasers work in all seasons. There's no truth about weather interfering with Taser performance. 3. Approximately 200 people have died after being shot with police…
A solid foundation

Weekend Road Trip: Alone…Again

 
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

  Officer John Pawlowski, 25 Philadelphia Police Department   On February 13, 2009, Officer Pawlowski was shot and killed by an armed suspect. The officer had been attempting to quell a dispute between a cab driver and…

Bullet ID: Comparing Apples to Apples

  Matching a bullet to a particular firearm used to be a painstaking process. Well, that's no longer true with software such as Forensic Technology's IBIS BrassTrax. Now analysts have the capability to examine bullets using both 2D and…

Local Law Enforcement v. FBI: They’re Not the Same

  There's a question that always comes up during my workshops and seminars. I get the question in emails. I see it in online discussion groups. Well, it reared its head again this week in another online loop. The question is - "When…