Thanks!
Shasta
As far as what book this is, it is a novel I'm working on that does not actually revolve around police procedure; but the main character's father is a police officer, and I need to know enough about the police to portray him convincingly-- and also to know what he can and can't do.
Shasta
If you just want to know what the rules are for police in a particular area, then there is a good deal of information available online, rather too much, actually. The thing is that the body of case law that restricts police in what they may or may not do is extremely complex (and sometimes seems to have very little to do with the putative principles of law referanced).
As a practical matter, police do pretty much whatever they can get away with (much like intelligent criminals). If it turns out that a judge doesn't like what they did, then a criminal gets off and the cops don't try that particular trick again.
General information about the sorts of things police can and cannot do is readily available on the websites of many lawyers (particularly criminal defense lawyers). If you want to review the "Constitutional" issues, then law school sites have plenty of information about the theories on which laywers base their arguments.
Then, a patrolman will not resemble a SWAT-team member will not resemble the FBI's hostage rescue team, so on and so forth.
The autobiography COLD ZERO by Whitcomb is interesting because it covers many different aspects: from his time as a junior FBI agent in No-wheres-ville, Middle America, to being one of the HRT snipers at Ruby Ridge and Waco.
It's a case study, not a text, mind you. But it's good!
1) It is set in the present day.
2) The character in question is going to be either a patrolman or a homicide detective; I haven't decided yet.
3) I need to know about the procedures used by both of the above, chains of command, and various mundane details.
4) The book is set in Santa Rosa, California; for those who don't know, it's a smallish city between San Francisco and Sacramento that has two gangs that are more likely to carry knives than guns.
Oh, by the way, I grew up there but I live 2,000 miles away now.
Shasta
TTFN & lol
Cosmi
Just one big question to start with, actually, and I'll get on to others later.
Can you describe the general titles/positions/duties/divisions of policemen and their departments?
This one thing will help immensely.
Shasta
Shasta
TTFN & lol
Cosmi
my dad sent this to me. if you want more specific detail about a particular area, let me know.
http://www.geocities.com/lightbulb137/policechart.html
TTFN & lol
Cosmi