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!

Christina Katz

Christina Katz: Get Known Before The Book Deal

Christina Katz is the author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform (Writer's Digest Books). She started her platform "for fun" seven years ago and ended up on "Good Morning America." Christina…
CA Coast Drive

Weekend Road Trip: A Drive Along The California Coast

Starting in downtown San Jose, we pass by the Science Museum. Downtown San Jose. Oyster Point Marina in South San Francisco. Candlestick Park is to the left, just out of the picture. The old PacBell Park, now called AT&T…
Fingerprint: Difficult surfaces

Finding Invisible Fingerprints

  How to find 'invisible' prints Dr. John Bond, a British inventor has developed a unique and revolutionary new technique for uncovering hidden fingerprints. Dr. Bond's procedure could be the key to many unsolved murders and other…

Crime Scene Investigation: Tools Of The Trade

  Crime scene investigation is more than yellow caution tape and poking and prodding on dead bodies. The scenes must be analyzed and recorded with great care and detail. To accomplish this task, investigators use a variety of tools and…

It’s A Business: The Secret Side Of Prison Life

  Once the key is turned and bars separate the man from the rest of the world, life changes. Prisoners are told when to go to sleep, when to wake up, when to go to work, when to eat, when to study, when to relax, and when they can go…
Lt. Josh Moulin

Lt. Josh Moulin: Online Games and Child Exploitation

Lieutenant Josh Moulin supervises the Central Point Police Department's Technical Services Bureau and is the Commander of the Southern Oregon High-Tech Crimes Task Force. He is one of approximately 470 Certified Forensic Computer Examiner's…
Memory Lane

Weekend Road Trip: Memory Lane

Santa Cruz, Ca. boardwalk Squirrel watching the tide.
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Fridays Heroes: Good News

The Graveyard Shift has been online for nearly one year and this is the first week we're been able to report a safe week for police officers in U.S. There are NO deaths to report. Let's hope for many more safe weeks to come! The Bulletin…
Inmate commissaries

Dining In: Inmate Commissaries

  Prison and jail inmates earn cold, hard cash (a few cents per hour) for the work they perform during their incarceration. They're also allowed to receive money from family and friends. However, prisoners are never allowed to touch…
Alison Janssen

Bleak House Books Editor Alison Janssen: Let Me Be Your Calliope

Alison is the editor of Bleak House Books. She joined the company in 2003, and has worked with each title the company has published since then, including three titles named as finalists in three categories of the 2007 Edgar Awards. Alison…
Paul Beecroft: Extract from an English Notebook

England Coroner’s Officer Paul Beecroft: I See Dead People

I never envisaged being a Cop. It never crossed my mind that one day I would patrol the streets of my home town as an Officer in the Thames Valley Police. I left school a few months after turning 15. My future was already mapped out and five…
Verna Dreisbach

Literary Agent Verna Dreisbach: And The Winner Is…

Verna Dreisbach is a literary agent and an award winning published author who has been featured in books, literary journals, magazines, and newspapers. Currently, she is working on an anthology for Seal Press about women and their horses due…
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Weekend Road Trip: I’ve Been Tagged

Well, it finally happened. I've been tagged. Now I'm supposed to release private information about myself. Do people really care if I was born on another planet, or if I've lived with wolves? Apparently my friend, Linda Richards, does. Thanks…
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

Senior Corporal Norman Smith, 43 Dallas Police Department Corporal Smith was shot and killed when he and other members of the Gang Unit went to a private residence to serve a warrant for assault. Corporal Smith was shot when he knocked…
Sgt. Toni Winters

Sergeant Toni Winters: Training New Officers

* Due to yesterday's technical difficulties we have asked Sergeant Toni Winters to join us again today. She will be available later in the day (she's on the west coast) to answer your questions regarding officer training and hostage negotiations.…
Houses cannot be robbed

Robbery v. Burglary: Do You know the Difference?

  Many people confuse the terms robbery and burglary. I see the misuse of those two terms everywhere, including in books written by some of my favorite authors. I also hear the terms interchanged on TV and radio news. They are not the…
2008

Weekend Road Trip: A Final Journey Into 2008

  Thanks to everyone, contributors and readers, who've helped to make The Graveyard Shift a success. Each day we receive thousands of hits from all over the world. It's overwhelming at times. Please feel free to send me topic ideas.…
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

Officer Mason Samborski, 28 Oak Park Michigan Police Department   Officer Samborski was shot and killed on December 28, 2008, during a post-traffic stop investigation. The car was driven by a juvenile who fought with the officer,…