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!

You Won’t Believe These Crime Scene Tools!

  You know all about laser lights, luminol, DNA, fingerprints, and bullet trajectory, right? Well, how about taking a peek at the unusual crime-scene tools we've dug up for today's post. It's a piece of cake to solve a murder with these…
FBI, ATF, DEA, US Marshalls

Spy Toys

  The world of cops and robbers has a side that's not always seen by the public. In fact, many cops don't have the opportunity to see some of what their undercover counterparts are up to. The intelligence gathering devices used by police…
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

Officer Patrick McDonald, 30 Philadelphia Police Department Officer McDonald was killed on September, 23, 2008 when he attempted to apprehend a fleeing suspect. The officer caught the suspect, a parole violator who was wanted for assaulting…
Homicide investigations

Saliva, Semen, and Stinky Dead Bodies: Locating The Evidence

  The job of locating evidence can be quite difficult. It's a tedious job that's sometimes performed while crawling around on your hand and knees among garbage and other filth, including human waste and tissue. In order to prove their…
Handcuffs: What's in your case?

A Captive Audience: Special Restraints For Unruly Prisoners

  Police and corrections officials often encounter really bad guys who require additional security measures. To accommodate those special people - fighters, biters, runners, kickers, and spitters - law enforcement officers often resort…

Smile, You’re On Covert Camera!

  You've all heard about that secretive "big brother" who covertly watches our every move, right? Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you should also be on the lookout for Brother's entire family and their arsenal of spying…
2008

Police Equipment: What Does That Thing Do?

  Today we continue our look at the somewhat odd equipment used by police officers.   Special bumper attachments, called push bumpers, allow officers to push disabled cars off the highway without damaging the patrol vehicle.   The…

Weekend Road Trip: Pikes Peak Writers Conference

  The 2008 Pikes Peak Writers Conference was held in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This is a fabulous conference with wonderful workshops. As an added bonus, the setting is spectacular. The program for mystery writers was excellent. My…
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Remembering the Fallen

Officer Spree Desha, 35 Los Angels California Police Department Officer Desha was killed on September 12, 2008, in the recent collision of a passenger train and commuter train in Los Angeles, California. She was in uniform at the…

Evidence Collection and Field Testing Kits

Blood Spatter Kit Fluid Specimen Collection Kit   10 - Sterile Plastic Stick Swabs 10 - Swab Boxes 20 - Swab Box Integrity Seals 3 - 3 ml Sterile Water Ampoules 1 - Large Evidence Label 1 - Large Evidence Seal 1 - Biohazard…
Police Vehicles: Things You Don't See...

Police Vehicles: Things You Don’t See…

  You've all seen a police car, right? And they're all the same, right? Flashing lights, reflective department logos, ugly tires and wheels, sirens, radar units, and spotlights. But what about the things you don't see... A protective…
Police Driving Simulator: Writers' Police Academy 2011

Police Driver Training

  Police officers are taught emergency driving skills while attending the basic police academy. Each driving course is designed to simulate various real-life scenarios. Car tires are over-inflated to prevent the rubber from separating…
John Fedack

John Fedack: My Days As A DeKalb County Police Officer

  John Fedack John is a native of Atlanta, GA. His interest in police work began at a very early age. His father was a physician in Clayton County near Atlanta. Dr. Fedack was the county physician so if a county deputy or even county…
Yosemite, CA

Weekend Road Trip: Yosemite, California

  Yosemite National Park is located in east central California. The park covers a land area of 750,000 acres, roughly the size of Rhode Island. The park's elevation varies from 2,000 feet to above 13,000 feet. Yosemite has…
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

  Officer Kenneth Santucci, 33 Belleville New Jersey Police Department   Officer Santucci was killed on September 6, 2008 when his patrol car was hit by another vehicle that had run a stop sign. He leaves behind a wife…
Life in prison:

PERT: Prison Emergency Response Team

  Emergency Response Teams, or ERTs, have the duty of responding to, and quelling, dangerous situations, such as riots and incidents involving disruptive and/or violent inmates, within prison and jail facilities. These highly…
Swat Training

SWAT Training

  SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) units are teams of specially trained police officers who respond to extremely dangerous situations, such as hostage situations and high-risk entries. SWAT team training is intensive. Officers assigned…
Dr. Katherine Ramsland: Inside the Archives of Rome's Crime History

Dr. Katherine Ramsland – Behind C.S.I.: True Stories

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 thirty-one…