Let’s say you’re not an expert in criminology, but you want either to write a detective novel or to find out more about your legal rights. How can you learn the techniques of police interrogation, the tricks used in questioning to get the truth, the things a police officer can and cannot legally do, the procedure for a polygraph test, or the components of a written report? Spending time with a police department representative might be one way to find out. But what happens if you doubt the objectivity of his information? Must you visit the local police station for many weeks and take copious notes on police routines? That’s another possibility — if you have weeks to spend.
You don’t have to abandon your research, or as a novelist, avoid certain episodes at the expense of realism. You might try textbooks. Check Subject Guide to Books in Print where you’ll find an inventory of police officers’ textbooks.
