BREAKING NEWS!!

The 2016 Writers’ Police Academy is extremely pleased and thrilled to announce that Lee Goldberg has signed on as our special guest speaker!

So, if you’ve wondered how to best turn WPA research into fiction – books, TV, and/or film, well, here’s your opportunity to learn from one of the best in the business.

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Lee Goldberg is an ex-Navy SEAL, freelance Sexual Surrogate and a professional Pierce Brosnan impersonator.

Okay, that’s not true. But he wants this biography to be really exciting, so pay attention. If things bog down, I’ve been instructed to add a car chase or some explicit sex.

Here’s the real story. Lee Goldberg writes books and television shows.

His mother wanted him to be a doctor, and his grandfather wanted him to go into the family furniture business. Instead, he put himself through UCLA as a freelance journalist, writing for such publications as American FilmStarlogNewsweekThe Los Angeles Times SyndicateThe Washington Post and The San Francisco Chronicle (he also wrote erotic letters to the editor for Playgirl at $25-a-letter, but he doesn’t tell people about that, he just likes to boast about those “tiffany” credits).

He published his first book .357 Vigilante (as “Ian Ludlow,” so he’d be on the shelf next to Robert Ludlum) while he was still a UCLA student. The West Coast Review of Books called his debut “as stunning as the report of a .357 Magnum, a dynamic premiere effort,” singling the book out as “The Best New Paperback Series” of the year. Naturally, the publisher promptly went bankrupt and he never saw a dime in royalties.

Welcome to publishing, Lee.

His many subsequent books include the non-fiction Successful Television Writingand Unsold Television Pilots as well as the novels My Gun Has BulletsThe WalkKing CityMcGraveDead Space, and Watch Me Die, which was nominated for a Shamus Award for Best Novel from the “Private Eye Writers of America”. He’s also the writer/co-creator of The Dead Man, the monthly series of original novels published by Amazon’s 47North imprint.

“Take me now,” she moaned, “you hot writer stud.”

She tore off her clothes and tackled him onto the floor, unable to control her raging lust. Nothing excited her more than being around a writer with a big list of books.

Got your attention again? Good. I don’t know about you, but I was starting to nod off. Where was I? Oh yes…

Goldberg broke into television with a freelance script sale to Spenser: For Hire. Since then, his TV writing & producing credits have covered a wide variety of genres, including sci-fi (seaQuest), cop shows (Hunter, The Glades), martial arts (Martial Law), whodunits (Diagnosis Murder, Nero Wolfe), the occult (She-Wolf of London), kid’s shows (R.L. Stine’s The Nightmare Room), T&A (BaywatchShe Spies), comedy (Monk) clip shows (The Best TV Shows That Never Were) and total crap (The HighwaymanThe New Adventures of Flipper).

He’s written and produced TV shows in Canada (CobraMissing), England (Stick With Me Kid) and Germany (Fast Track: No Limits). His mystery writing for television has earned him two Edgar Award nominations from the Mystery Writers of America.

His two careers, novelist and TV writer, merged when he wrote the eight books in the Diagnosis Murder series of original novels, based on the hit CBS TV mystery that he also wrote and produced. He followed that up by writing fifteen bestselling novels based on Monk, another TV show that he worked on. His Monk novels have been translated and published in Germany, Poland, Thailand, Japan, Turkey, and many other countries.

In addition to his writing, he’s worked as an international TV development expert and consulting producer for production companies and major networks in Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

But perhaps he’s best known for his pioneering work mapping the human genome and negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Goldberg lives in Los Angeles with his wife and his daughter and still sleeps in Man From U.N.C.L.E. pajamas.

~

Firearms Training

Writers’ Police Academy registration opens Sunday February 21, 2016 at noon EST.

Slots for this thrilling and rightly-renowned event fill quickly, sometimes within ONE hour! So please be ready to sign up the moment the link goes live. You don’t want to miss this one. It is THE event of the year!

Remember, one low registration fee includes ALL workshops, lunches at the academy, breakfasts at the hotel (during the WPA), the Friday night reception, transportation to the academy and back to the hotel, and more.

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*Sisters in Crime, a longtime major sponsor of the WPA, is offering a whopping $150 discount for their members attending the WPA for the first time! Not a member? No problem. Join SinC prior to WPA registration to receive the discount. It’s that easy!

Sisters in Crime

 

 

We are pleased to present the 2016 Writers’ Police Academy

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS

 

10 COMMON MISTAKES WRITERS MAKE ABOUT THE LAW

INSTRUCTOR: LESLIE BUDEWITZ

 

ARSON INVESTIGATION

Yes, there will be fire and smoke, and firefighters!

 

ASIAN AND NATIVE GANGS

INSTRUCTOR: MATT NINHAM & CHEE VANG

Gang culture, signs, symbols, and language.

 

BALLISTICS

INSTRUCTOR: JOHANN BODEN

Internal, external, and terminal ballistics. Live fire.

 

BLOODSTAIN PATTERNS AND SPATTER

The science behind bloodstain patterns and spatter.

 

BUILDING/ROOM CLEARING

In this heart-pounding session you and your partner respond to an alarm where you, as a team, must enter and clear the building. Be prepared for gunfire at any moment.

 

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

Learn and experience how rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court are carried out by law enforcement.

 

COURTROOM TESTIMONY

Experience what’s it’s like to testify in court as a police officer. Actual courtroom setting.

 

DEATH SCENE INVESTIGATIONS

Walk through the scene to determine the type and manner of death and where the investigation goes from there.

 

DOMESTIC CRIMES

Learn the statutory elements, dynamics, impact, responses, and the unique investigative strategies of domestic crime.

 

DRONES

INSTRUCTOR: BILL BONGLE

How drones are used in law enforcement. Legal and privacy issues. Features actual drone flights.

 

EMERGENCY DRIVING

INSTRUCTOR: COLLEEN BELONGEA

Experience the difficulty of multitasking while driving, observing, and communicating, and all while utilizing lights and siren. You will drive the patrol vehicle under extreme conditions!

 

EMS/HEALTH SIMULATOR

INSTRUCTOR: HOLLIE BAUER

Interactive patient’s life depends on YOU! Actual medical training. Intense ER session and setting!

 

EXPERT WITNESSES AND THEIR TESTIMONY

Who are expert witnesses and how do they become experts in the eyes of the court? Session also delves into Grand Juries.

 

EXPLOSIVES/IED’S

Explore the dynamics of making an explosion.

 

FINGERPRINTING

Dusting, fuming, and difficult to print surfaces are just a few of the fingerprinting techniques you’ll learn in this detailed hands-on session.

 

FIRE 101

Examine fire basics, Fire Triangle, and specific components of a fire.

 

SHOOT/DON’T SHOOT SCENARIO TRAINING

A heart-pounding, eye-opening, and extremely realistic session where you must decide, within a fraction of a second, whether or not to use deadly force. Heart-pounding action!

 

FORENSIC ART AND THE COGNITIVE INTERVIEW

INSTRUCTOR: ROBIN BURCELL

Interviewing techniques used by sketch artists. Demonstrations of craft and more!

 

GETTING STRAPPED: HOW THUGS GET THEIR GUNS – ARMED IN AMERICA

The TV myth of “The gun was registered to the suspect.”

 

HANDGUN: LIVE-FIRE

Learn the fundamentals of a Glock pistol. Become familiar with sight picture, sight alignment, stance, grip, and trigger control. Fire live ammunition on the academy pistol range.

 

HOW TO THINK LIKE A BAD GUY

INSTRUCTOR: DET. MARCO CONELLI

A journey into the minds of dangerous criminals to learn what it is that enables them to kill, rape, and rob with ease and without remorse.

 

POLICE K-9’S – TRAFFIC STOPS

Legal requirements for K-9 searches of vehicles. Alerts, kinds of drugs recognized, training, and more. Participate in actual traffic stops.

 

LONG GUN: LIVE-FIRE

INSTRUCTOR: NWTC STAFF/RANGE INSTRUCTORS

Learn the basics of the .223 patrol rifle, nomenclature, field stripping, fundamentals, and live fire on the rifle range.

 

MARTIAL ARTS FOR WRITERS

INSTRUCTOR: ESOMA KUNG FU MASTER INSTRUCTOR HOWARD LEWIS

What is it that writers do that drives martial artists nuts? Training time on the mat.

 

MASHED POTATOES OF DEATH: ARE YOU GOING TO EAT THAT?

INSTRUCTOR: DR. DENENE LOFLAND

Toxins of biological origin – weapons made from natural sources that could easily be placed in food and drink.

 

MEDICAL EXAMINER V. CORONER

A medical examiner’s perspective of their daily tasks, roles, and responsibilities, and whether or not you’re accurately describing those details.

 

ONEIDA TRIBAL

INSTRUCTOR: ONEIDA NATION POLICE CHIEF RICH VAN BOXTEL

Experience the unique culture of the Oneida Tribe as well as the history of the Oneida Tribal Police and American Policing—not always cooperative.

 

PRISON TOUR

Tour one of the oldest maximum security prisons in the state of Wisconsin, the Green Bay Correctional Institute. You will enter the section housing some of the worst inmates in the state. Be prepared for…

 

PRIVATE INVESTIGATION, OR HOW TO BE A DICK FOR FUN & PROFIT

INSTRUCTOR: DAVID CORBETT

In this one-hour workshop former private investigator David Corbett—who worked on such headline cases as the first Michael Jackson molestation prosecution, the Cotton Club Murder Case, a major Teamster organized crime litigation, and more—will march you through the various aspects of the life of a real PI.

 

PTSD – POST TRAUMATIC STRESS

INSTRUCTOR: SECRET SERVICE SPECIAL AGENT MIKE ROCHE

The effects and consequences on the officer, department, career and family.

 

PURSUIT IMMOBILIZATION TECHNIQUE (PIT)

INSTRUCTOR: COLLEEN BELONGEA

High Speed Pursuit! You will drive the pursuit car, and you will indeed make contact with the fleeing suspect’s vehicle! A “spinning, tire-squealing” good time!

 

REAL COPS FOR REAL WRITERS: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF COPS

INSTRUCTOR: SECRET SERVICE SPECIAL AGENT MIKE ROCHE

How do cops think? Workshop addresses Thin Blue Line, Code of Silence, Fear, Bravado, and the Ferguson effect, and much more.

 

SPECIAL OPS SHOW AND TELL

Hands-on with Special Ops (SWAT, Bomb Squad, etc.) equipment, gear, and vehicles. Mingle with the pros. This is a HOT ONE!

 

SURPRISES!!

Each year we incorporate surprise sessions that are designed to excite the senses of WPA attendees. The purpose is to allow you to experience “events” that unfold in real time, just as officers and other first responders experience in the real world.

 

TASERS

Tasers will be deployed. Class participation is encouraged…if you dare.

 

THE CLINICAL INTERVIEW

INSTRUCTOR: DR. KATHERINE RAMSLAND

Learn the tools of the trade and the methods that elicit information. Components of a psychological evaluation.

 

THE STEVEN AVERY CASE: ANALYSIS OF INTERVIEW AND INTERROGATION BY INVESTIGATORS

INSTRUCTOR: WISCONSIN MUNICIPAL JUDGE KEVIN RATHBURN

Experts dissect the Interview and Interrogation of Steven Avery and Brendon Dassey – explore the art/skills/dynamics of interviews and interrogations.

 

THE UNDERCOVER EXPERIENCE

INSTRUCTOR: DET. MARCO CONELLI

The dangerous life of an undercover officer infiltrating major New York City drug gangs and massive Organized Crime figures.

 

TRACE EVIDENCE

Collecting and processing trace evidence.

 

TRAFFIC STOPS

When and how to approach and contact the driver/passengers.

 

WHY THEY WERE BAD

INSTRUCTOR: DR. KATHERINE RAMSLAND

This lecture gets behind the stereotypical motives for mass and serial murder to examine psychological nuances in specific cases.

 

POLICE BASICS 101: THE WAY WE TALK, THE WAY WE WALK

INSTRUCTOR: ROBIN BURCELL

Lingo and action accuracy without boring the reader.

 

“GOTCHA, BADGUY!”—PROACTIVE INVESTIGATIONS

Police detectives conduct two types of investigations – reactive and proactive.

More workshops on the way!!

Registration opens Sunday February 21, 2016 at noon EST.

Remember, slots fill extremely quick so please, please, please be at your computers ready to sign up the moment the registration link goes live!

For all event details please visit writerspoliceacademy.com

 

Readers deserve well-written and nicely-crafted stories from their favorite authors. They want the best. They want to be captivated. They want their senses activated. They want to see, hear, touch, taste, and smell every word.

To deliver top-shelf quality books, writers who weave tales featuring crime, cops, and criminals, face difficult challenges each time they sit in front of their computers. And, without a background in law enforcement, crime scene investigation, firefighting, EMS, death investigation, ER procedures, and, well, you get the idea, those challenge multiply for hardworking authors.

Like readers who expect and deserve the best, writers also demand the best when it comes to research. Enter the Writers’ Police Academy, a hands-on training event that’s meticulously designed to provide the most realistic experience available anywhere in world.

Sure, the WPA takes place at a renowned international training academy located on the campus of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC), and we provide state of the art equipment and technology, and attendees participate in workshops where they drive patrol cars in heart-pounding conditions (spinning, chasing, lights, sirens), they shoot rifles and handguns, suit up at the Tactical House and search for armed bad guys who’ll stop at nothing to further their escape, including firing shots at the officers (you), and we even pamper our attendees by providing resort-like hotel accommodations (including the fabulous Oneida Casino) and delicious food prepared by a stellar chef.

But, we don’t stop there. We know what it is that writers need to make their stories ring true, and that’s because the WPA is designed, directed, and produced by writers with years of law enforcement experience.

The WPA, as described by Sisters in Crime, is rightly renowned, and is sponsored and supported by top writers (you) and writers groups, including Sisters in Crime, a major sponsor of the event for several years.

Best of all, though, is that we provide only the top instructors in their fields. In fact, many of our instructors literally wrote the books on their respective areas of expertise. And, they’ve trained many of the instructors who teach at other events and academies. To add to this group of outstanding instructors, we also feature bestselling authors who bring decades of their own expert law enforcement experience to their WPA classrooms.

We are indeed proud of our 2016 lineup, a schedule that’s four days of non-stop, filled-to-the-brim heart-pounding and thrilling excitement and action. The WPA is huge. It’s helicopters. patrol cars, armored vehicles, guns, K-9’s, explosives, fire, firefighters, ambulances, emergency department training, prison tours, tactical EMS, courtroom testimony, attorneys, SWAT and other special ops, fingerprinting, trace evidence collection, ballistics training, blood spatter investigation, the Steven Avery case, drones, and, well, far more than I could list here.

The WPA doesn’t mix hands-on police, fire, and EMS training with writing craft. That’s just not what we do. There are no writer panels. No agents or editors to impress. We feel you already have a ton of top quality writing conferences to attend, therefore our focus is solely on providing writers with actual hands-on academy training. We even go the extra mile by providing advanced workshops that just aren’t available anywhere else.

And here’s where we really pull ahead of the pack…our instructors, and I’d like to introduce you to a few of them today (more on the way). Starting with…

Randy Clifton

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Randy’s long and distinguished law enforcement career started as a Special Agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). His 13-year career as a decorated agent also included serving as an Instructor at the FBI Academy, in Quantico, VA, as part of the Safety & Survival Unit. He’s the co-author of both Simunition’s and Vista Outdoor’s Force on Force™ reality-based training manuals, and now heads up Vista Outdoor’s high-profile Force on Force™ product line where he manages the overall brand and, more importantly, the new and revolutionary Scenario Instructor Training Course.

Randy Clifton is the foremost authority on reality-based, tactical-scenario training.

~

Robert Willis

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Robert Willis is the original author and master instructor of the “Defensive and Arrest Tactics” (DAAT) program of the State of Wisconsin and he has been responsible for training and updating instructors for Police, Sheriff’s, State Investigators and Department of Natural Resources agencies since 1986. He has instructed for the State of Wisconsin Department of Corrections/Division of Community Corrections, Juvenile Corrections and has trained and certified defensive tactics instructors for the Division of Probation and Parole.

For more than a decade Mr. Willis traveled the United States and Canada with the Calibre Press, Inc. “Street Survival®” Seminar and trained in excess of ten thousand officers per year. He is often consulted and interviewed by the media, especially after critical events. He is sought out as a speaker at conferences and symposiums and recently taught at a Law Enforcement conference in China.

Robert, during his distinguished career in law enforcement, served as a patrol officer/deputy, “SWAT” team member, field training officer, departmental training officer, defensive tactics coordinator, recruit academy and in-service academy instructor, instructor development “master instructor,” professional officer survival instructor, and lecturer and a litigation consultant.

~

Kevin Rathburn

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Kevin Rathburn, a Municipal Judge, is certified by the Department of Justice, Training and Standards Board in the areas of Child Maltreatment, Constitutional Law, Corrections Law, Courts and Jurisdiction, Criminal Law, Introduction to Criminal Justice, Criminology, Domestic Violence, Ethics in Criminal Justice, Interviews and Interrogation, Juvenile Law, Report Writing, Sexual Assault and Sensitive Crimes. Mr. Rathburn recently helped create a Juvenile Law Manual and update to the Criminal Law Manual for the Department of Justice, Training and Standards Bureau.

Mr. Rathburn is a current member of the Department of Justice Legal Context Advisory Committee and has served on the Committee since 2005.  He has also served as a Commissioner on the Governor’s Commission on School Violence from 1994-95 and the Governor’s Juvenile Justice Commission from 1996-2002. He is a past member of the Brown County Youth Aids Committee, Brown County Council on Child Sexual Abuse, Brown County Subcommittee on Underage Drinking, Brown County Consortium on Dysfunctional Families and St. Vincent Hospital’s Child Health Team.

Judge Rathburn frequently provides legal updates for law enforcement and correction agencies. He has also provided in-service training for Unified Tactical instructors, administrators, jail officers, dispatchers and casino security staff. Mr. Rathburn is also a frequent speaker for the State Supreme Court in its training of Municipal Judges and Court Clerks in Wisconsin.

~

Matt Ninham

Matt-Ninham

Matt Ninham has been a Patrol Officer for 15 years and is currently assigned as a Community Resource Officer. He’s a member of the Oneida Tribe and has lived on The Oneida Reservation almost his whole life.

Matt has experienced how Native American Gangs use tribal culture and symbolism to recruit gang members, represent their gangs, sell, and transport illegal drugs. He has an insider’s knowledge of how Native American Gangs affect the Tribal Communities they are established in and is able to give insight on how he combats gangs through relationships with community members and community events.

Matt’s areas of expertise and experience include, Native American Drug & Gang Initiative (Drug & Gang Unit), Green Bay Gang Task force Member, Fox Valley Gang Task Force Member, Department of Corrections Security Threats Group member, Native Gangs Specialist & Instructor, Oneida Gang Task Force, Team Leader for NADGI (Drug & Gang Unit), Street & Prison Gang training, DEA Basic Drug Investigation School, Indoor & Outdoor Marijuana Grows, Special Deputization for the FBI, Thermal Imaging Operator, Division of Criminal Investigations Drug School, Community Resource Officer, Field Training Officer, State of Wisconsin Technical College System Board Certification, Adjunct Instructor for “Native Gangs” at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Instructor for The National Gang Intelligence Center for “Gangs in Indian Country” and assistance in writing its updated curriculum for 2012.

~

I’ll be featuring more of our fabulous instructors in the coming days. In the meantime…

Registration for the 2016 Writers’ Police Academy opens this Sunday, February 21, 2016 at noon EST. Available slots will go quickly so please, please, please be ready to sign up the moment the registration link goes live!

This is THE event of the year!

*Sisters in Crime, a major sponsor of the WPA, is offering a whopping $150 discount to the WPA for their members attending for the first time. Not a member? No problem. Sign up prior to registering for the WPA to receive the generous discount. Go here to join.

 

In just one week, storytellers from all over the world will be at their computers, anxiously awaiting the opening of registration for the most exciting and thrilling hands-on event ever produced exclusively for writers, the 8th annual Writers’ Police Academy.

This year, we’ve assembled a fantastic program just for you, and we’ve filled it to the brim with nearly 50 individual workshops and training sessions, heart-thumping hands-on action, mountains of much-needed and insider information, lots of cool police toys and equipment for you to try out, top instructors with centuries of combined experience and expertise, exquisite hotel accommodations and food, and much, much more, including the Oneida Casino!

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What can you expect to see at the WPA? Well… Drones, police pursuits, shootouts, intake/booking areas, jail and lockup facilities, a maximum security prison, Taser use, fire and firefighters, SWAT teams, firing ranges, ballistics, blood spatter, homicide scenes, K-9’s in action, multimedia live fire simulation training, PIT maneuvers (you’ll be driving the patrol car!), explosives, and more. And more and more and more.

Rifle range

We even have a functional emergency room where it’s up to you to save the life of a wounded patient. Yes, from helicopters to driving a real patrol car during a pursuit to our tactical training house featuring “surprise” interior design features that create hidden realistic dangers for you to experience first-hand, you’ll spend four action-packed days training at a renowned international law enforcement academy. This is the real deal, folks—actual police, fire, EMS, medical, and forensic training. And, Tami Hoag is our guest of honor!

As I mentioned earlier, registration is set to open at noon EST on February 21, 2016. Typically, slots for the WPA fill extremely fast, therefore we highly recommend that you be at your computers and ready to sign up the moment the registration link goes live. We also strongly urge you to reserve your hotel rooms asap. Our room block is filling quickly and once they’re gone we’ll not be able to add more. Currently, with our reserved room block the hotel is sold out.

By the way, we select our workshops and tailor the entire event based on your requests and current writing needs. After all, the WPA is all about YOU!

We started the event back in 2008, and after eight years of experience under our belts we continue to produce and deliver an event that’s described and endorsed by our major sponsor, Sisters in Crime, as “a rightly renowned hands-on interactive experience designed to help writers increase their understanding of all aspects of law enforcement and forensics.”

How important is the Writers’ Police Academy to writers? Why do writers from all over the world attend? Well, here’s what superstar, international bestselling author Lisa Gardner had to say about her experiences at the WPA. “Want to learn how to conduct a presumptive test for human blood? Check. Triage an accident scene? Deliver a high risk warrant? Confront a gunman in a crowded mall? Check, check, and triple check. The Writers Police Academy is where authors go to play… and in my case, where my latest novel was born.” ~ Lisa Gardner – excerpt from an article posted in Signature-reads.com.

Remember, the WPA is not a writers conference. Instead, we are a hands-on training event that’s both exciting and extremely fun. There are no author, agent, or editor panels. No pitch sessions. No classes on writing. No authors promoting their work. No pressure to sell, perform, or to impress fans and readers. Everyone attending the WPA is there for one unified goal…to have a blast and learn a thing or two while doing it.

Below is a list of some of the 2016 WPA workshops. Please do check the website often because we’ll be adding more sessions in the coming days and weeks. While you’re pursuing the site, please take a moment to have a look at the details for the wildly popular Golden Donut Short Story Contest. Winner receives the coveted Golden Donut Award AND a free registration to the 2017 Writers’ Police Academy!

See you soon!

 

2016 WPA Workshops   

 

– 10 COMMON MISTAKES WRITERS MAKE ABOUT THE LAW

– ARSON INVESTIGATION

– ASIAN AND NATIVE GANGS

– BALLISTICS

– BLOODSTAIN PATTERNS AND SPATTER

– BUILDING/ROOM CLEARING

 – CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

 – COURTROOM TESTIMONY

– DEATH SCENE INVESTIGATIONS

– DOMESTIC CRIMES

– DRONES

– EMERGENCY DRIVING

– EMS/HEALTH SIMULATOR

– EXPERT WITNESSES AND THEIR TESTIMONY

 – EXPLOSIVES/IED’S

– FINGERPRINTING

– FIRE 101

 – SHOOT/DON’T SHOOT SCENARIO TRAINING

– FORENSIC ART AND THE COGNITIVE INTERVIEW

– HANDGUN: LIVE-FIRE

– HOW TO THINK LIKE A BAD GUY.

– POLICE K-9’S – TRAFFIC STOPS

– LONG GUN: LIVE-FIRE

– MARTIAL ARTS FOR WRITERS

– MASHED POTATOES OF DEATH: ARE YOU GOING TO EAT THAT?

– MEDICAL EXAMINER V. CORONER

– ONEIDA TRIBAL

– PRISON TOUR

 – PRIVATE INVESTIGATION, OR HOW TO BE A DICK FOR FUN & PROFIT

– PTSD – POST TRAUMATIC STRESS

– PURSUIT IMMOBILIZATION TECHNIQUE (PIT)

– REAL COPS FOR REAL WRITERS: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF COPS

– SURPRISES!! *Each year we incorporate surprise sessions that are designed to excite the senses of WPA attendees. The purpose is to allow you to experience “events” that unfold in real time, just as officers and other first responders experience in the real world.

– TASERS

– THE CLINICAL INTERVIEW

– THE STEVEN AVERY CASE: ANALYSIS OF INTERVIEW AND INTERROGATION BY INVESTIGATORS

– THE UNDERCOVER EXPERIENCE

– TRACE EVIDENCE

– TRAFFIC STOPS

– WHY THEY WERE BAD

– WRITING THE POLICE SCENE 101

And more on the way!

 

(read workshop descriptions here)

 

*Again, registration opens at noon EST on February 21, 2016. That’s only 8 days away!

 

2016 WPA: You deserve to be pampered

 

After a long day of shooting guns, explosions, murder scenes, helicopters landing right in front of you, touring a maximum security prison, driving police cars while in pursuit of bad guys, seeing police K-9’s playing “fetch” with fleeing crooks, kicking in doors to search for armed robbers, collecting crime scene evidence, testifying in court, investigating an arson, and all of the other cool and thrilling events in store for you at the 2016 Writers’ Police Academy, well, we know you’ll want to relax in style. And we, knowing writers as we do, have the perfect place to do just that…our wonderful event hotel, the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center, Green Bay.

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Yes, once the day’s activities wind down you’ll want to have a nice meal and a glass or two of wine, or a drink. Enjoy the company of your friends while sitting around the fireplace or in either of the several lounge areas.

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Perhaps you prefer to sip a few drinks at one of several bars and lounges.

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Or, maybe you’ll want to head down the beautifully decorated hallway to the casino where you can finish the day playing your favorite games or sample the fare at one of the several restaurants and/or bars located there.

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By the way, the Noodle Bar and Lombardi’s Legendary Sports Bar & Grill located inside the Oneida Casino both receive rave reviews.

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Maybe you and your friends and/or family prefer to enjoy the indoor swimming pool and spa.

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Or, you may simply want to head to your well-appointed room for some quiet time watching TV, reading, or writing. Guest rooms, by the way, are located in Towers One and Two, well away from the pool, lounges, restaurants, and casino.

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Of course, when it comes to our popular banquet and reception, well, the food and setting are both superb.

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We negotiated an excellent room rate for the 2016 WPA ($123) per night. Your room reservation also includes free breakfasts each day of the event, free WiFi, and shuttle service to and from the Green Bay airport, which, by the way, is a mere ten minute drive from the hotel.

So, as you see, we believe you should be pampered. And all of this on TOP of a thrilling, heart-pounding four days of action and excitement!

Yes, the is indeed THE event of the year!

 *Update – 2-5-16 at 2:42 EST. 

 I just got off the phone with our happy and excited hotel sales rep and she said our block is already filling fast, and we haven’t opened registration yet! My advice is to reserve your rooms right away before they’re gone! Yes, the WPA is that popular!

WPA Sponsorship drive underway

 

Each year, the Writers’ Police Academy offers and presents a program that’s designed especially for writers. In fact, we build the WPA around you, your needs as a writer, and to answer your questions and help with your works-in-progress.

We don’t use the WPA to promote ourselves or our work. There are no classes about writing or panels of agents and editors. There is no pressure to pitch your books, or to impress agents, editors, or fellow writers. No author panels or…well, you get the idea. The WPA is not a typical writers conference.

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Instead, the Writers’ Police Academy is all about you interacting one-on-one with cops, firefighters, EMS personnel, forensics experts, and shooting guns, driving police cars while chasing bad guys, investigating homicides, helicopters, dogs, arson, ballistics (this is typically a “for law enforcement eyes only” workshop, so it’s super cool that you have an inside track), touring a maximum security prison (you’re going in the section where others do not dare!), an insider session about the Steven Avery case, and much, much more!

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Simply put, the Writers’ Police Academy delivers what other events simply cannot.

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The WPA is now in its 8th year of providing stellar workshops and only the best of the best instructors and experts. The event is thrilling and packed with heart-pounding action, but we also make certain that our attendees are pampered, as you should be. You guys work hard at your craft and the fruits of your labor are extremely obvious by the numbers of great books published each year.

Actually, we’re taking the pampering thing to another level this year. Our event hotel is extremely nice and well-appointed, and it features several restaurants and bars. AND, the fabulous Oneida Casino is inside the hotel!

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By the way, the WPA’s low registration fee of only $395 includes all workshops, the Friday night reception, lunches at the academy, transportation to the academy and back to the hotel each day, and transportation to off-site workshops and session. Your hotel reservation also includes free WiFi, shuttle service to and from the airport, and breakfast each morning during the event. It’s a fantastic deal! And, Sisters in Crime is offering a huge discount to their members attending the WPA for the first time.

And, Tami Hoag is our 2016 Guest of Honor!

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The Agatha nominees were released this week and the Edgar nominees not long before, and each of those lists of stars included the names of numerous WPA alumni. In my heart I know the WPA probably played at least a small role in the development of those stories.

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Actually, Lisa Gardner, yes that Lisa Gardner, just released a story she set at the Writers’ Police Academy.

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Her inspiration for an earlier bestseller came to her while attending a Writers’ Police Academy.

Each time I hear one of these tales of how the WPA helped someone better themselves as a writer, and it is often, believe me, I feel like a proud parent who watched his child receive an award, or graduate from high school or college.

So yes, you are why we continue to push our boundaries to even higher limits, and this year, well, we’ve gone over the moon crazy. The 2016 WPA is the biggest and best we’ve ever produced, and that’s saying a lot.

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We are grateful for your continued support. Without you and our loyal sponsors we couldn’t do what we do. So, it’s that’s time of the year again when I reach out to ask for your help. We rely on the generosity of writers, businesses, and individuals for support. Therefore, we humbly request that you sign on as a WPA sponsor at one of the levels listed below. Once you’ve selected your desired level please visit the Writers’ Police Academy’s Become a Sponsor page to complete the transaction.

We deeply appreciate your support! And, of course, a special thanks to each of you who’ve supported us in the past and continue to do so today.

Click here to Become a Sponsor of the Writers’ Police Academy!

 

Levels of Sponsorship

WPA Hero – $20,000 and above

Contact us for details

Gold Shield – $15,000

Contact us for details

Silver Star – $10,000

Contact us for details

Medal of Valor– $5,000

– Sponsor our guest of honor, Tami Hoag! Sponsor receives one-year WPA website ad that includes a link to your website and your author photo, a six-month book cover ad on The Graveyard Shift blog, an author table at the hotel during registration/check-in, free registration and a guaranteed spot at the WPA that includes a free banquet ticket and WPA t-shirt. Includes a feature article about you and your latest book on the Graveyard Shift blog. Your name will be listed on the WPA website and in the program guide naming you as sponsoring Tami Hoag.

Commissioner – $1,000

– Sponsor a workshop or presenter! Receives one-year WPA website ad, link to your website, and author photo, six-month book cover ad on The Graveyard Shift blog, and a guaranteed spot at the WPA that includes a free banquet ticket. And, your name will be listed in the event program guide beside the name of the instructor or session you elected to sponsor!

Chief of Detectives – $500

– Sponsor a presenter! Receives WPA website ad, link to your website, author photo, and a six-month book cover ad on The Graveyard Shift blog (worldwide audience). And, your name will be listed in the event program guide beside the name of the instructor you elected to sponsor!

Major – $250

Buy the ammo! Funds generated at this level of sponsorship go toward WPA supplies and materials, such as ammunition used on the firing ranges. Sponsors receive WPA website ad, link to your website, author photo, and your name (sponsored by) listed in the event program guide beside one of the live fire courses.

Captain – $100

– Sponsorship receives thumbnail book cover and link on WPA website.

Friends of the WPA – $50 and below

– your name listed on the sponsor page.

Again, we thank you for your support!

 

The all new Writers’ Police Academy website is now live!

We invite you to take a moment to visit and to browse the various pages, including the list of workshops (many more on the way). There’s also a gallery of photos to provide you with a small glimpse of the action. Hey, you just might see someone you know!

We’ve truly outdone ourselves this year, with a lineup that includes tours of a maximum security prison, one of the oldest prisons in Wisconsin, lots of live-action scenarios that take you directly into the heat of the moment, live-fire firearms training with rifles and handguns, heart-pounding shoot/don’t shoot training, an intensive ballistics workshop (live fire), high speed pursuits where you’re the driver (actual police vehicles) who makes contact with the fleeing suspect’s car, causing it to lose traction (just like the chases you see on TV!), emergency driving on a closed course, complete with lights and sirens, helicopters, tribal police, homicide investigations (you’re the detective and you solve the crime!), drones, a special insider session on the Steven Avery case (Making a Murderer), and much, much more!

This is a one of a kind event, featuring real police, fire, and EMS training at a renowned international law enforcement training academy. Top instructors and experts! It is THE event of the year. An experience of a lifetime!

The Writers’ Police Academy is not the typical writers conference. We don’t offer classes on writing, agent and editor panels, etc., so there’s no pressure to pitch your work or to impress the people you’re hoping will buy or represent your latest book. Instead, we focus solely on action-packed hands-on workshops and sessions about police, fire, EMS, and forensics.

The WPA is designed specifically to your needs as a writer of crime, police procedurals, romance, suspense and, well, anything that involves lights, sirens, cops, firefighters, dead bodies, crime scenes, and the tears, fears, joy, and other emotions experienced by the dedicated first responders in your fictional worlds, and so much more.

We’ve gone one step further to enhance your WPA experience…our event hotel, the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center Green Bay.

The Radisson features nicely appointed rooms and suites, a beautiful indoor pool, sauna, and spa, several in-house restaurants and bars, and the fabulous and exciting Oneida Casino is located within the hotel.

So please do plan to stay an extra day or so to take advantage of this unique opportunity—slots, table games, poker, roulette, craps, great food, and live entertainment!

After all, at the end of a long day of playing cops and robbers, shooting guns, driving police cars, and kicking in doors to search for armed bad guys, it’s nice to relax and enjoy quality time with your friends in a resort-like atmosphere.

Sure, the WPA is real academy training, but we do like to pamper our attendees. You deserve it! So grab a drink and sit by the fire to unwind with your friends and fellow WPA recruits. Then head down the hall to the casino.

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*Space for the 2016 Writers’ Police Academy is limited. So please register early. These slots will go quickly.

*By the way, thanks so much for your patience and understanding during the remodel of the WPA website. I wholeheartedly apologize for the odd emails you may have received during the process. There’s a box that should have been checked, a simple step, that would’ve prevented the sending of those messages. Well, guess who didn’t know about “the box.” Therefore, as each new page was completed or updated, the site decided you needed to know we’d finished another section. Again, I apologize and I thank you for not yelling at me too loudly. Although, I did hear quite a bit of cursing as I was trying to figure out how to make it stop (yes, I received the same messages).

 

2016 WPA: You deserve to be pampered

 

As most of you know, I’ve been in Green Bay, Wi. for the past couple of days nailing down the final details for the 2016 Writers’ Police Academy. It was a whirlwind trip that’s ending with a snowstorm, but WOW have we ever designed a program for you that’s second to none, starting with a hotel that will knock your socks off!

The Radisson Hotel and Conference Center not only features top of the line sleeping rooms, it also showcases several in-house restaurants (a group of us sampled the banquet food tonight and it was absolutely delicious), very nice and well-stocked bars, private fireside sitting areas, and one extremely flashy and eye-catching conference perks that you’ll only find at the Writers’ Police Academy—the Oneida Casino. The casino also feature several wonderful restaurants and bars.

After I left the casino I took a walking tour of the hotel and I discovered an extremely unique feature that I’d never seen in all my many travels across the country. You know how in many hotels you find a newspaper outside your door in the mornings? Well, this place took that freebie to an all new level…appliances.

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Yes, guests opened their doors this morning to find, not the U.S. Today, but a brand new mini-fridge. I was, however, a bit disappointed to learn that these goodies were there in preparation of replacing the current in-room refrigerators, but what a great concept, right!

Still, the hotel is loaded with all the bells and whistles, even if they’re not giving away free refrigerators. And, they’re the official hotel of the Green Bay Packers.

So, not only do we provide a great hotel, a place where you eat delicious food, mingle with your fellow writers in bars, restaurants, a casino (how cool is that!), and get plenty of rest in super nice sleeping rooms, we also search long and hard to bring you the best instructors money can bribe buy. In fact, we’ve lined up some really top talent this year.

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Yes, to keep up with the insatiable learning appetites of writers we’ve moved to larger academy this year, and we, your dedicated staff, are bursting-at-the-seams-ready to introduce you to the place and to the real instructors.

Our new academy (above image is from inside the academy) allows us to offer a larger array of exciting hands-on workshops, such as…well, for now let me ask you this…have you watched the Netflix series Making a Murderer? Hmm… I better stop there before I give away too many details, but keep in mind we are in Wisconsin and the Avery case took place in Wisconsin (that’s a clue, by the way).

Anyway, some of you have asked what exactly goes into planning the wildly popular Writers’ Police Academy, so I took a photo during one of our intense meetings just this afternoon. It was rough, and much blood was spilled, but we survived.

 

 

Personal Defense: Handgun shooting tips

 

We, the Writers’ Police Academy staff, are extremely pleased to introduce you to Johann Boden. Johann, a law enforcement Specialist-Technical Lead at Federal Premium/Speer Ammunition, is a renowned expert in the terminal ballistics field. He is also a go-to expert resource for law enforcement agencies needing research/problem resolution in weapon/ammunition interface and function issues.

Johann has joined the already extremely impressive lineup of instructors for the 2016 Writers’ Police Academy. He’ll be presenting workshops on ballistics.

Click on the video below to view a presentation Johann recorded for North American Hunter—Handgun Shooting Tips—Personal Defense.

Born and raised in Germany, Johann Boden entered Bundeswehr (German Army) as student in Militaerakademie (college program comparable with ROTC/Military Academy) and joined air assault unit. He volunteered and was accepted for a newly formed unit under auspices of Grenzschutzgruppe 5 & 9 (GSG9) to address the anarchist and terrorist insurgence in West Germany at that time, mainly consisting of the Baader Meinhof group, Brigade Rosso (Red Brigade) and Palestinian Fatah (Terrorist unit led by Yassir Arafat, widely held responsible for ’72 Munich Olympics terror attacks).

Johann emigrated to the US in 1986 after successful career and threat resolution in Germany. He married, immigrated and then naturalized US Citizen as part of the Taft Act before deploying to Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield with the USMC. He was educated in Germany, holding Collegiate degree commensurate with B.A./B.S. in US.

 *Registration for the 2016 Writers’ Police Academy is scheduled for mid February. Date and time to be announced very soon. 

Tami Hoag named as 2016 WPA guest of honor

 

The Writers’ Police Academy is pleased to present our 2016
Guest of Honor, international bestselling author…
Tami Hoag!

With eighteen consecutive New York Times bestselling thrillers to her credit, Tami Hoag has more than 40 million books in print, published in more than thirty languages worldwide. A favorite of readers and critics alike, richly drawn characters and sharply written dialogue are the hallmarks of her work along with fast-paced plots and accurate police procedure.

Tami does not appear often so this is indeed a rare treat.

~

*The WPA is deeply committed to offering writers the finest and most authentic behind the scenes police, forensics, firefighting, and EMS training available anywhere in the world.

To further our goal of helping writers “get it right” we’ve moved to an international law enforcement training facility in Green Bay, Wi. Besides, we needed a spot to land our helicopter (doesn’t everyone?).

Wait, there’s more!

We’ve “doubled down” and made it possible for you to further enhance your WPA experience by choosing the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center as our event hotel.

The Green Bay Radisson is a modern hotel featuring multiple restaurants and the Oneida Casino where, after a fun day of cops and robbers, high speed pursuits, shootouts, and homicide investigations, you can choose to hang out with your friends at either or all of several bars, enjoy live entertainment, or play a few hands of blackjack. If that’s not enough there are plenty of slot machines to keep you busy!

So come for the ultimate research adventure at the WPA, or turn your trip into a weeklong fun vacation. Either way, the 2016 Writers’ Police Academy is THE experience of a lifetime!

We do hope to see each of you there.

When:

August 11-14, 2016

Where:

Northeast Wisconsin Technical College
International Public Safety Training Academy
Green Bay, Wisconsin

Airport:

Austin Straubel International Airport
Airport Code – GRB
Shuttles are provided between the airport and event hotel.

ONEIDA CASINO – Plan to stay an extra day or so to take advantage of this unique opportunity!

*Registration is scheduled to open in mid February. Remember, the WPA sells out quickly (last year the event sold out within one hour), so please watch for news, updates, and the date and time registration opens.

Please feel free to, and please do, share this announcement with EVERYONE!

As always, we thank each of you for your continued support.