As an author, I've written three crime fiction novels based on an incident, or a moment, that occurred in real life whilst serving as a police officer in the UK. As an editor, part of my role is fact checking what the author has written. You'd assume that my past career would be an advantage when it comes to checking/editing UK-based crime novels. But how accurate are these portrayals? Are they a reflection of what real police officers have to do? Or is there more than a hint of artistic license?
We've all watched crime dramas on TV or read fast-paced crime novels, but there are quite a few differences between them and what happens in the real world. Yes, accuracy is important when creating a storyline, but to what extent does reality hinder the flow of the story?
Here, I'll explore a few of the many misconceptions, and how they can be incorporated into your writing.
Myth #1 - The ranking structure - For obvious reasons, if you are writing about police officers, you need accuracy in the way their rank is described.
In the image, you can clearly see the rank structure in ascending order (not including detective - CID - ranks which follow a similar pattern).
In books/dramas, the lead character is usually an inspector, or a higher ranking officer. They run around the streets, "nicking criminals," interviewing suspects, and solving crimes. But is this true to life? In my experience, sergeants and above were primarily managers who rarely left the office and were buried beneath a mountain of paperwork. Of course, there are always exceptions. Some sergeants (occasionally an inspector) were very proactive, but they needed to balance policing on the streets with their other "admin" responsibilities. The more senior ranks rarely left the police station, and certainly never made actual arrests or interviewed anyone. And yet, it's these senior ranks who are portrayed as the hero of the story. Why? Someone once said that rank was sexy, and when it comes to creating a hero, it's true. It suggests experience and authority. In reality, the constables (and DCs) do the majority of the investigating, the interviewing, the arresting, and the supposed "exciting" aspects of policing. But, with creative license, it seems that most readers/watchers are happy to accept (expect) the lead character to be of a higher rank (for the purposes of the story).
Myth #2 - Focus - The majority of police fiction has the lead character focusing on ONE crime. They investigate one offence, track down one suspect, focus on one thing at a time. Is this correct? Well, the simple answer is NO. Even as a response officer (responsible for investigating every incident I attended), I considered myself lucky if I had less than 20 live cases on the go at any one time. Time management was essential. I might have 5 witness statements to take, numerous suspects to track down, victims to console, businesses to visit, CCTV to seize and monitor, etc, etc (it went on and on). But at the same time, I'd be patrolling my area by car, single crewed, attending to emergency/urgent incidents for the whole shift (and beyond). So why doesn't fiction reflect the chaotic reality of policing? The simple answer is that the reader takes priority. It is the reader who needs to focus on the storyline (not the hundreds of other jobs that a real officer has to consider). Fiction is simplified to keep the readers' attention.
Myth #3 - Terminology - Policing has its own special language. The police love a good acronym and these terms slip into everyday language, over time. But if you incorporate too much into your story, the reader will get confused and lose interest. Using a few common acronyms is fine (so long as it is explained what they mean), but too many, and dialogue resembles a secret code that nobody would understand. For those in need of a resource for police acronyms, try this from the Met Police.
Some may have heard of the "Police Ten Code" - a series of codes (e.g. "state 0" or "state 3"). It sometimes shows up in books/dramas (but not so much nowadays), however, in reality, although it was mentioned and explained during training, I never encountered its use in real life. It may differ force to force, but in my experience, it was never used. For those interested, a useful resource is Police Codes.
Terminology when talking to senior officers - Many crime/fiction stories insist on calling officers "Chief" or "Boss" or similar. While I'm sure this occasionally happens in reality, it isn't as widespread as it is made out to be. In my experience, any sergeant would be referred to as "Sarge" and anyone higher as "Sir." In a formal situation, their full title would be used, and informally, first name terms would apply.
Myth #4 - Timings - In most crime fiction stories things happen at a rapid rate of knots. Samples are submitted and results arrive within minutes. People look at fingerprints and can spot matches using their eyesight. True or not? Again, this is a myth.
In reality, evidence takes days, weeks (even months) to process. Results are never quick. As with other industries, labs have a backlog of cases to work through. Unless yours is something exceptional, you go to the end of the queue and the results take as long as they take.
Many crimes are solved with the use of computers. All evidence is entered into special programs by hand (time consuming) by experts (HOLMES operators) and it gets cross-referenced with inputs from numerous sources. Links are detected, patterns discovered, and these are what lead to breakthroughs in major crimes. It's slow, boring and nothing that a reader would want to wade through. So, in fiction, these procedures are shortened (or removed) to keep the readers' attention. Likewise, when it comes to undercover operations or planned surveillance, the time-consuming task of chasing up senior officers for written permission is omitted so that the reader does not lose interest (this being just one of many aspects of "red tape" that don't make it into crime fiction stories).
Myth #5 - Accuracy of offences - I've lost track of the number of TV shows I've watched where supposed police officers refer to offences by the wrong name. The most common one is referring to a burglary as a robbery. They are two distinct things. Robbery occurs in public where violence is offered (or threatened) to steal something, whereas burglary occurs inside a property where the offender enters as a trespasser to steal, rape or commit violence. This is just one example, and to most readers it might be overlooked. But to those who know, it stands out like a sore thumb. Every offence has a distinct definition with specific points to prove. Each can be researched, and this is one aspect of fiction where I think accuracy is important (IMO).
Conclusion - As we can see, there are many aspects of real life policing that differ from what is portrayed in fiction. As a writer, how should you approach matters? Should it be as realistic as possible? Or should you allow mistakes, bending the truth, (or differences to actual procedures), in order to maintain interest, pace and flow?
As with most things, the answer seems to be a compromise. Yes, you could stick to actual procedures, real dialogue (although a lot of it would be swearing), correct timelines, etc. But would the story suffer? (You're not writing a police training manual, after all). Alternatively, bending reality a little is allowed so long as it benefits the story and keeps the reader interested. The only downside with this, is that readers could easily begin to believe real life is exactly as read in books (or seen in films). This is already showing to some extent. People complain when court cases are delayed over a year. They point out that on TV, the offenders are arrested, charged and put before a court in weeks. In reality, I've had cases which have dragged on well over a year (and this was 2 decades ago. Nowadays, things are much worse). So, to some extent, it is a responsibility to balance realistic expectations with creative content. It's a balancing act, but wherever possible, accuracy should be employed provided it doesn't hinder the storyline.
For those interested in checking facts, take a look at UK Policing Knowledge Base for more information on all things police.
If you are having problems writing your UK crime fiction novel, or want to check the accuracy of facts or procedures in your writing, I am available to answer any questions via my website Contact | ProofWriteUK
Alternatively, if you require an editor or proofreader for your crime fiction novel (with specialist knowledge of the realities of the content), contact me on the link above to discuss your options and to check availability.
Interested in my crime fiction novels? Click on the image to link to my author website.
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