Tag Archive for: MurderCon

Looking for a Roommate for WPA MurderCon?

We’ve had requests from folks who’re hoping to share hotel rooms at the 2019 Writers’ Police Academy’s exciting new event, MurderCon. If you are interested in doing so, please post your roommate preference (male or female)in the comment section below.

By the way, slots are available to attend MurderCon. We’ve made extra room and, we’ve increased the room block at our event hotel.

Sign up today to attend this rare, one-of-a-kind, hands-on training event taking place at the headquarters of Sirchie, the global leader in crime scene products and technology. This year our sole focus is homicide investigations.

MurderCon

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MurderCon: Interrogating LAPD Detective Paul Bishop

Novelist, screenwriter, and television personality, Paul Bishop is a nationally recognized behaviorist and expert in deception detection. He spent 35 years with the Los Angeles Police Department where his high-profile Special Assault Units regularly produced the highest number of detective initiated arrests and highest crime clearance rates in the city. Twice selected as LAPD’s Detective of the Year, he currently conducts law enforcement related seminars for city, state, and private agencies. Paul has written numerous scripts for episodic television and is the author of fifteen novels, including the award-winning Lie Catchers and five books in his LAPD Homicide Detective Fey Croaker series.

 

Q. What’s the most common mistake made in books, movies or TV regarding interview & interrogation techniques?

A. Where to start … They do so much wrong. How about the most egregious and most common misconception- good cop, bad cop. You’ve seen it enacted over and over on every TV cop show ad infinitum. One detective is the out of control violent bad cop while his partner is the sympathetic good cop who is trying to help the suspect. However, the good cop can only control the rabid bad cop if the suspect confesses or gives up whatever information he’s hiding.

This is a straight-up violation of an individual’s 5th Amendment right against compelled self-incrimination. Not only would any evidence or admissions obtained through this method be thrown out of court, the cops who participated would themselves be arrested, prosecuted, and sent to jail for civil rights violations.

 

Q. What is your favorite method of interrogation? What works best for you?

A. Interrogation is a very intimate art, so when you see fictional TV cops, or even real cops on shows like 48 Hours, sitting on the opposite side of the interrogation room table from the suspect, you have to ask how the interaction between the suspect and the detective be construed as intimate.

I’m different, very low key. I rarely raise my voice in an interrogation, but I do vary the tone and intonation of my voice depending on what I’m trying to achieve.

I also rarely conduct interrogations in the classic interrogation room, as the room itself carries so much negative baggage. I’ll chose where to interrogate a suspect (house, work, a park, Starbucks) based on what I’m trying to achieve. If I do use the interrogation room, I have the table removed and I sit directly across from the suspect, operating in the zero to twelve-inch personal zone we reserve for those people we are most intimate with. I have a relatively short period of time to get a suspect to tell me their deepest darkest secrets, things that can get them sent to jail for a very long time. You are not going to tell those things to somebody you aren’t in an intimate relationship with, so I have to establish a believable false intimacy in order to coax out the truth.

 

Q. Are interrogation methods, such as the Reid Technique, susceptible to eliciting false confessions?

A. While the Reid Technique is an accusatory, confrontational process it isn’t any more prone to eliciting false confessions than any other legal technique. The biggest factor in false confessions is fatigue. In over 90% of cases where false confessions have been obtained, the interrogations have lasted over 10 hours-fatigue sets in on both the interrogator and the subject and mistakes get made. There are however, numerous ways to avoid false confessions and bulletproof your interrogation.

 

Q. Why is it important that writers learn proper interrogation methods?

A. Because being able to capture the essence of a real interrogation can be a hugely dramatic process that can deepen character, motivation, and story exponentially. Interrogation strips down the facades, and a writer who understands the process and how it works can make the scenes riveting.

 

Q. Can anyone be trained to be an effective interrogator or are certain inherent personality traits and talents essential for success?

A. I can teach anyone who is interested to be a skilled interrogator. Good interrogators take those skills and apply their own inherent personality in how they use them. Great interrogators, however, have to make a choice, because greatness involves empathy and that is a dark and dangerous path to tread, especially when it leads to the truth.

 

Q. Are any of the characters in your novels created in your own image?

A. Almost all my main characters have some part of me in them. It’s what I use to bring them alive. In my latest book, Lie Catchers, there is a great deal of me in both interrogators, Ray Pagan and Jane Randall, but there are also those things the characters channel through the creative process.

 

Q. Given your background, what is the hardest part of authoring a work of fiction?

A. The same as any other writer-putting my butt in the chair every day and coaxing words out of a cold, unfriendly keyboard.

 

Q. Are there any commonalities between the challenges an interrogator faces and those an author faces?

A. To be successful both involve getting to the truth. The truth is a movable point. It is always about perspective. As an interrogator, I will never get The Truth, but I must try to get as objectively close as I can even if I don’t like it. As a writer, I strive for a different type of truth-I want the truth in a correct sequence of words, I want truth of character and motivations, I want to expose the truth of our world and in our lives through the window of fictional truth. I write fiction. My job is to entertain, but my goal is to make readers think. If a reader can find the truth of themselves and their real-world challenges in my world of fictional truths, hopefully they will come away being both entertained and, perhaps, understanding themselves better.

* Interview conducted by author Linda Lovely, Writers’ Police Academy/MurderCon coordinator. LindaLovely.com

 

‘Truth or Lies: The Art of Interrogation’ to be presented by master interrogator Paul Bishop at …

Do you know the truth when you hear it or see it? Join nationally recognized behaviorist, interrogation expert, and experience LAPD detective Paul Bishop as he guides you into the intimate world of interrogation—where success or failure is determined before the first question is asked.

Understand the psychology of deception; what constitutes a successful interrogation; how an interrogator controls and uses a suspect’s vocal cues and physical gestures to determine truth from lies; how false confessions are avoided; how to build rapport; how interrogators deal with multiple suspects, gang members, and other hardcore suspects. Discover how these techniques can be applied in your everyday life when dealing with salesmen, difficult co-workers, or even family members. Know the ‘truth’ when you hear it and see it—and what to do once you know it.

Sign up today to reserve your spot!

MurderCon

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Writers’ Police Academy Anthology Contest – Foreword by Lee Child

The curtain rises on this collection of twisted tales, revealing the words of thriller author Lee Child. Child sets the stage for a series of mysterious and strange goings-on that occur between the hours of midnight and dawn … the graveyard shift.

After Midnighteditor Phoef Sutton guides readers through a riveting collection of stories written by bestselling mystery and crime authors, top television writers, a Nashville music legend, true crime experts and more.

Contributing authors in this first anthology produced by the Writers’ Police Academyinclude bestselling mystery and crime authors, top television writers, true crime experts, and more.

Included Stories:

Lucky Cop by RJ Beam
The Brass Ringby Michael A. Black
Sunshine Berkmanby Joseph S Bonsall
Ride Alongby Allison Brennan
The Bookends Murderby Robin Burcell
Gentrified Homicideby Marco Conelli
Prime Rib from Brahmaby Les Edgerton
Justifiable Homicideby Lisa Klink
Rookiesby Howard Lewis
LeishMANIAby Denene Lofland
The Trapper of Macabre Countyby Lee Lofland
Code Murderby Linda Lovely
Baddest Outlawsby Rick McMahan
Shared Secretsby Carrie Stuart Parks
The Case of the Staring Manby Katherine Ramsland
Panther Baitby Mike Roche
Disco Fries and Homicideby Shawn Reilly Simmons
3:45 in the Peacock Room of the Channel Grill on 6th Street 
by Phoef Sutton
Hostage (A Love Story)by Cheryl Yeko
With a Foreword by Lee Child

The Contest

A 3500 to 5000 word short story contest that lands two lucky winners in this traditionally published book. Yes, your story could soon appear alongside those of the popular authors listed above, and with a foreword by #1 internationally bestselling author Lee Child. How’s that for exciting! Contest begins now and deadline to submit stories is midnight EST on April 1, 2019.

This could be your one chance in a lifetime to have your writing appear in a traditionally published book with Lee’s Child’s name on its cover. Let that sink in for a minute … and then get busy writing your winning story!

About the Editor

Phoef Sutton is a New York Times Bestselling author and winner of two Emmy Awards for his work on the classic television comedy CHEERS. Phoef also won a Peabody Award for the popular legal drama BOSTON LEGAL starring James Spader, William Shatner, and Candice Bergen. Lately, he’s been writing television movies for the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel.

Submit your stories online.

The Launch Party

Join the publisher of After Midnight, Level Best Books, and the Writers’ Police Academyto help celebrate the launch of this thrilling new book. Party takes place at the Friday reception at MurderConand books will be available for purchase at the event and by preorder, and later at all the usual book outlets, including Amazon.com.

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Top 100 Cities for Police Officers, by Sam Carson of Safety.com

Police officers put themselves in harm’s way, repeatedly, over the entire length of their careers. It’s the nature of the job. A typical day can include serving and protecting the public, dealing with civil unrest, and even having to face man-made and natural disasters. Most police officers prefer to live in a city that minimizes their personal risk of injury in the line of duty, that pays a good wage, and where the typical officer’s workload is reasonable.

Analysts at Safety.com have studied nearly 300 cities and regions across the nation to find the top 20 cities for police officers in 2019.

Key Takeaways

The coast of the United States accounts for less than 10 percent of the country’s land mass, yet it is home to nearly 40 percent of the population, some 55.8 million people. [28] With a few exceptions, coastal or near-coastal regions offer police the best career opportunities. For those not interested in living near the coast, three regions offer favorable alternatives …

To continue reading Sam Carson’s full article, please visit him at …

2019’s Top Cities for Police Officers

Sam Carson handles community relations and content creation for Safety.com. Sam previously worked in the telecommunications industry and has over two years of experience. He’s now bringing his home services expertise to the home security industry with a goal of helping families secure what matters most.

“Safety.com is a trusted hub of information about your home and family’s safety that provides a good customer experience through in-depth research, reviews and recommendations from industry experts to educate consumers on home safety products and give customers the power of choice when securing what matters most.”

Tickets are selling fast!

Please do hurry to reserve your place at this exciting one-of-a-kind opportunity for writers, readers, and fans. It’s never been done before and most likely will not occur again.

This is your chance to attend the actual hands-on classes taught to some of the best homicide investigators in the world, with all sessions taught by renowned instructors and experts.

This is not a citizens academy nor is it a collection the typically run-of-the-mill classes offered at so many writer events. In fact, even the Writers’ Police Academy, the premier law enforcement training event for writers, has not presented this extremely high level of intense and detailed instruction. Yes, MurderCon is that good.

This is as close as it gets to investigating an actual murder

This year we’ve gone over the top by carefully and painstakingly designing and offering a never-before-available opportunity for writers, readers, and fans. It’s the ultimate homicide investigation training event.

To sweeten the pot, immensely, we’ve arranged to host this event at the very source of much of the equipment, tools, and techniques utilized by homicide detectives …

SIRCHIE

You all know the importance of setting in your books, right?

For example, when your protagonists use Supergluing tactics to develop latent prints …

MurderCon attendees will work and train in the very setting where the fuming chambers were developed, brought to life, and then manufactured. Fingerprinting powders and brushes? Designed and made there too. Fingerprinting powders of all types, and there are many. Check. DNA testing? Check. Alternate light sources and RUVIS technology? Check. Evidence collection tools and kits and methods. Check. Buried body investigations. Check. Bloodstain patterns? Check, and some of the best investigators in the business teach those classes at the remote Sirchie compound just outside of Raleigh, N.C.

This seemingly endless list of top investigation education goes on and on and on. And you, non-law enforcement outsiders, have the rarest of rare opportunities to train there, at Sirchie, the global leader in crime scene investigation and forensic science solutions.

Imagine your senses being activated in ways they’ve not been in the past. That’s what’s going to happen at MurderCon, you know.

After MurderCon you’ll have the added knowledge of the very real odors associated with buried body and arson scenes.

Your eyes, ears, fingers and hands and noses and emotions will finally be able to join in with the writing of your next murder scene, because you’ll have had first-hand experience instead of relying on something you’ve read or heard someone say.

What you can expect upon graduating from MurderCon

A Fantastic Value!!!!

Browse Sirchie’s training schedule and you’ll see many of the sensational classes offered at MurderCon. Then peek at the cost of those sessions and you’ll quickly discover what a fantastic value it is to attend MurderCon.

MurderCon registration—the low fee of just $425—covers all classes, lunches, transportation to and from Sirchie, and more. Sirchie’s fee to attend, for example, just two classes—Clandestine Grave Search and Recovery and Arson Investigation for Law Enforcement—is just under $800. That’s the cost to attend only two of their outstanding classes (an extremely low fee for law enforcement, by the way).

MurderCon attendees have the opportunity to attend FIFTEEN different classes for nearly the same price as it would be to attend two at Sirchie.

What. A. Huge. Deal. For. YOU!

Sign up today at …

MurderCon Registration

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A MurderCon Preview: Patti Phillips, a Tour of the Ultra-Secure Sirchie Compound

During the first two days of Evidence Collection Training, we used a number of chemicals, fingerprint powders, and brushes, and employed several different fingerprint lifting techniques on a variety of tricky surfaces. We discussed the benefits of both cheap and costly Alternate Light Sources.

Our notebooks were filling up and theories of the perfect crime were flying around the class. We kept quizzing Robert Skiff, our instructor, about ways to ‘get away with the murder of the decade.’ But, as we learned, there is no perfect crime. That pesky trace evidence will always be waiting at every scene for the investigator to discover it, photograph it, tag it, bag it, and transport it without losing the integrity of the sample.

It was time to visit the plant – see how the powders, brushes, and other crime scene paraphernalia were made.

Sirchie manufactures most of its products in-house. The specialized vehicles for SWAT, bomb rescue, arson investigation, and surveillance work, etc., are built in New Jersey, but the smaller products are produced right in North Carolina.

Security was carefully controlled throughout our tour. Most of our group writes crime fiction, so we are always looking for a way our fictional criminals can break in (or out of) a wild assortment of locations. As we walked through the stacks and aisles of products, we commented to each other on the smooth organization and many checks Sirchie had in place. Cameras everywhere. Limited access to the assembly floor. Labyrinths a person could easily get turned around in. If we got separated from the group while taking an extra photo or two, we were found and escorted back by an always friendly employee.

Of course, we couldn’t turn into rogue students anyway. Our fingerprints littered the classroom and they knew where we lived.

Security plays a part in the assembly model as well. Each product they create is put together from start to finish by hand. There are no assembly lines because of trade secrets and a dedication to preserving product integrity. Personnel are carefully screened before being hired and qualification for employment includes graduate degrees. No criminal history whatsoever is allowed. Every employee comes through the Evidence Collection Training Class so that they understand what Sirchie does as a whole.

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Templates for the various products are created in-house. The operators of these machines are highly trained experts. Quality control is paramount, so training is constant.

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All the printing is done in-house. The printing area was stacked with cases of items being packaged for shipment. We saw ink strips large enough to process tire treads.

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Field Kits are created for general use by investigators, but can be specifically designed for a special need. The small vials contain enough chemicals to test unknown stains and substances at the scene. Note the dense foam holding the vials and bottles firmly in place. The kits are usually kept in the trunk and probably get tossed around quite a bit. The foam insures against breakage during car chases and while bumping across uneven road surfaces.

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There are fiberglass brushes, feather dusters for the very light powder, regular stiffer brushes, and magnetic powder brush applicators.

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If a handgun is seized for evidence, there needs to be a simple, yet effective way to track chain of possession.

*Bag the gun to preserve the fingerprints and

*drop the gun in the box.

*Then fill in the blanks on the box.

*Easy to stack and store until needed.

Think of all the cases that may be ongoing in a large jurisdiction – the evidence is not sitting at the police station. It’s in a warehouse someplace, and needs to be easily identified when required for court. In addition to several sized boxes for guns and knives, etc. Sirchie also provides an incredible assortment of resealable plastic bags for preserving evidence like clothing, unidentified fibers, etc.

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Magnetic powder was being processed that day and then put into rows and rows of jars and jugs. Before it is sent out to the customers, each lot is tested for moisture content, appropriate ratio of ingredients and other trade secret tests. We joked about taking some back to class for the next round of fingerprint study and were surprised by how heavy the jugs were.

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No, she’s not making bullets. She is assembling the cyanowand cartridges used for fuming with superglue.

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Sirchie makes riot gear.

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This is not a photo of something from a SyFy movie. At the center of the shot is a helmet template. The drills encircling the template are aimed at spots where holes are needed for each helmet, depending on the type of helmet in production. All the holes are drilled at the same time.

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The helmet before anything has been added to it.

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Helmet padding

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Buckles for the helmets

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Padding is inserted after the buckles are attached.

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Helmet components

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Completed Riot Helmet

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The Optical Comparator, as well as the other machines, are built to order by hand.

While in the warehouse, we learned that if a product is discontinued, it is still supported by Sirchie. That means that if a law enforcement officer calls up with a problem a few years after purchasing a machine, he can still get help. Reassuring for jurisdictions with a tight budget that can’t afford to replace expensive equipment every year or two.

Sirchie sends supplies to TV shows, so next time you’re watching a fave detective or examiner lift prints with a hinge lifter, it may have come from Sirchie.

Great tour, great people who work so hard to keep the law enforcement community supplied with the gear needed to catch the bad guys.

To register for the 2019 MurderCon special event at Sirchie, please visit …

https://www.writerspoliceacademy.com

 

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Patti Phillips is a mystery writer/photographer/reviewer whose best investigative days are spent writing, cooking, traveling for research, and playing golf. Her time on the golf course was murderously valuable while creating the perfect alibi for the chief villain in Patti’s novel, “One Sweet Motion.” Did you know that there are spots on the golf course that can’t be accessed by listening devices? Of course, it helps to avoid suspicion if you work on lowering your handicap while plotting the dirty deeds.

Patti Phillips writes the online detective blog, www.kerriansnotebook.com.(Detective Kerrian chats about life as a detective as well as the central case in “One Sweet Motion.”) Patti’s book reviews of mysteries and thrillers can be found on the Facebook, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble sites. Her own review site, ‘Nightstand Book Reviews’ is coming soon.

Patti is a transplanted metropolitan New Yorker/north Texan, now living in the piney state of North Carolina.

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Sirchie’s KrimeSite Imager Detects Invisible Evidence

We’re all familiar with law enforcement’s obsession with acronyms, right? Well, RUVIS is one you may not have seen or heard of while watching your favorite cop show.

RUVIS (Reflective Ultraviolet Imaging System), a system of locating latent (invisible) fingerprints) without the use of powders, fumes, or chemicals, was developed by Sirchie Fingerprint Laboratories and the U.S. Army. The system focuses on one specific section of shortwave ultraviolet light, the germicidal spectrum of light, which cannot be seen by the naked eye.

A particularly unique feature of RUVIS technology is that it works in both total darkness and in bright sunshine, a must for use by police investigators.

KrimeSite Imager in use by a police detective.

The Krimesite Imager, manufactured by Sirchie, uses RUVIS technology to detect invisible residues from fingerprints. Those residues reflect UV light projected from the device, which immediately captures the reflections with a 60mm UV lens. A built-in scanner then converts the images to visible light, allowing the investigator to see the fingerprint. All this is done instantly, in real time. And, the detective is able to see images from up to fifteen feet away.

 

KRIMESITE IMAGER Master RUVIS Kit

The Krimesite Imager uses RUVIS technology to detect invisible residues from fingerprints. Those residues reflect UV light projected from the device, which immediately captures the reflections with a 60mm UV lens. A built-in scanner then converts the images to visible light, allowing the investigator to see the fingerprint. Again, this takes place in real time and the detective is able to see images from up to fifteen feet away!

Once the print is located the investigator uses the Imager to photograph it and, with the use of a micro-printer, print a copy of the desired evidence. All this without the messy powders that never seem to wash away. The KS Imager can also be used to greatly enhance prints developed using cyanoacrylate fuming (Super Glue).

Krimesite Imager

  • Detects latent fingerprints without the use of powders or chemicals.
  • Effective on smooth, non-porous surfaces (flooring, walls, countertops, tables) and on multi-colored surfaces like magazine covers.
  • RUVIS uses shortwave UV light.
  • Enhances the ability to see cyanoacrylate fumed prints without using dye- staining, lasers, or alternate light sources.
  • Detects other “invisible” evidence you may not have otherwise seen.

To learn more about the Krimesite Imager, a device that’s an absolute must for the crime scene investigators in your stories, visit Sirchie’s guide to Ruvis and ALS (alternate light sources) Systems.


Those of you attending Writers’ Police Academy’s 2019 special event, MurderCon, will see the KrimeSite Imager at the very location where the devices are manufactured. Yes, during a tour of Sirchie’s absolutely amazing facility you will see this device and much, much more. I cannot stress enough how cool and rare this opportunity is for writers.

Sign up today to attend this rare opportunity for writers. Hurry while there’s still time!

https://www.writerspoliceacademy.com

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MurderCon: Advanced Fingerprinting

It would have been a day sometime way back in the 1970s when I nervously held a fingerprint brush for the time, hoping to solve the big crime of the century, the breaking and entering of private residence where a thief stole a well-used VCR player.

I recall that it was a messy process due to the fact that I’d mopped on the deep black powder much as a rookie house painter would apply a coat of Benjamin Moore primer to the side of an old barn. Even Boss Ross, when using his trusty landscape knife, applied less oil to a canvass than I did fingerprint powder to that broken window pane and surrounding wood trim.

Still, I managed to develop and collect a couple of usable prints. Unfortunately for me, this took place long before the rapid fingerprint matching system that’s now in place. In those days we collected the print, sent it to a fingerprint examiner who used hand and eye to match the print to a known suspect, or not, and would then send us a report that was basically a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Yes, it was a match to someone, or no it was not. Their typical catchall response was, of course, “inconclusive.”

I honestly believe they had an admin temp assigned to open our paperwork, file it in a holding bin for several months, and pull the evidence out to rubber-stamp each submission with that dreaded “INCONCLUSIVE” text seen so often as their response. I’ve actually lifted prints at crime scene and sent them to the FBI and, in the meantime through other methods, arrested a suspect, testified about the case in court, and had the person go to jail and get out again before receiving a response. INCONCLUSIVE, of course.

But things changed over time, as they do. Techniques became better and better. Crime scene technology and equipment became more user-friendly and delivered more accurate and speedier results. Nowadays, fingerprint comparisons are performed almost within the blink of an eye—even quicker than that irritating FBI temp could whip out the stamp and ink pad.

Thanks to modern technology, law enforcement is now able to lift prints from the skin of humans, from wet surfaces, and much more.

The company that leads the way in these advanced fingerprinting techniques is, of course, Sirchie, the host of the Writers’ Police Academy’s 2019 special event, MurderCon.

I’ve mentioned before that MurderCon instructors are some of the best in the business … in the world, even. But what I think I haven’t stressed to you enough is that these highly-skilled men and women are the representatives and trainers of the company that actually invented/invents these tools, equipment, and processes that you, as MurderCon attendees, will see and learn to use with your very own eyes and hands. And what you’ll see and do are the precise actions and materials taught to top law enforcement investigators from around the world.

Yes, the folks teaching the MurderCon workshops are delivering their material straight from the source of its existence. It simply doesn’t get any better, starting with fingerprinting.

Sirchie, the History

Sirchie was founded in in 1927, in Philadelphia, with the purpose of providing fingerprinting materials to law enforcement. Then, approximately thirty years ago, the company decided to provide instruction and hands-on training to the investigators who often called Sirchie to say they didn’t understand why a product wasn’t working the way it should. So, after conducting a bit of research, Sirchie officials discovered the problem wasn’t the products, it was that they were being used incorrectly by the investigators in the field.

This was the start of Sirchie’s renowned training programs. Their initial instructional courses primarily focused on fingerprinting, of course. After all, their company name at the time was Sirchie Fingerprint Laboratories.

As the company began to develop more and more products and technology to aid crime scene investigators, they began to add other classes and courses.

Today, Sirchie offers 18 unique Crime Scene Technology courses at their Youngsville campus, the site of the 2019 MurderCon special event. This high-level of instruction includes all types of evidence collection, analysis, and preservation. They also offer advanced courses in clandestine grave recovery, blood stain analysis, death investigation, reconstruction of a shooting, chemical and DNA testing of blood and semen, testing of substances suspected to be drugs, footwear analysis, and arson investigation to name a few.

Of course, Sirchie wouldn’t be Sirchie without fingerprinting in their lineup. Therefore, also included in their course material is in-depth, advanced instruction related to fingerprinting. The latest fingerprinting techniques allow latent fingerprints and palm prints to be discovered and collected on a variety of challenging surfaces.

As their product line expanded, Sirchie recruited numerous subject experts to join their training staff, such as a leading expert in blood stain analysis. Another is known as a driving force in successful efforts to identify criminals by matching crime scene fingerprints and now palm prints across data bases.

MurderCon attendees will be treated to hands-on sessions taught by a hand-picked group of Sirchie instructors.

Advanced Fingerprinting at MurderCon

During MurderCon’s highly-detailed fingerprinting classes, the same taught to police investigators and other crime scene investigation professionals (I cannot emphasize this enough), attendees will learn and experience the proper use of oxide, metallic, magnetic, and fluorescent powders for discovering latent fingerprints at crime scenes. Attendees will develop latent prints on a variety of surfaces including paper, glass, plastic, and even textured surfaces, and practice lifting developed latent prints using tape, hinge lifters, gel lifters, and Accutrans.

In addition, class participants will develop latent prints on porous surfaces, including paper and cardboard, utilizing iodine fuming, DFO, and ninhydrin. WPA attendees will learn the proper process sequencing for the maximum retrieval of latent prints and review the chemical principles of how they work. The class will be treated to special demonstration of using cyanoacrylate (superglue) on non-porous paper (carbon).

So, as you can see, attending MurderCon to learn crime scene investigation is akin to attending a light bulb conference featuring classes taught by Thomas Edison and British chemists Warren de La Rue and Joseph Swan.

It’s highly advanced law enforcement training offered to writers, readers, and fans, all made possible by the combined efforts of the Writers’ Police Academy and Sirchie.

Fun Sirchie Fact – DNA-free Fingerprinting

Did you know that it’s possible to lift DNA-free fingerprints?

Well, Sirchie has made it so, and this is a super cool detail for a book!

DNA Free Fingerprint Lifting Kit with Fiberglass Brush ~ Sirchie image

Sirchie provides DNALP100 DNA-free latent fingerprint lifting kit with fiberglass brush for use in lifting latent fingerprints from crime scenes.  This fingerprint lifting kit is certified DNA-free through independent testing.

Why are certified DNA-free products important?

  • Advances in collection methods allow for processing of touch DNA
  • Prevention of cross contamination
  • Proper sterilization techniques allow for certification of items to be free of DNA

Sirchie’s DNA-free products can help in the preservation of the integrity of the investigation and aid in the efficient pursuit of justice.

This fingerprint lifting kit is treated using a scientifically proven DNA destroying process, that penetrates and decontaminates throughout, not just the surface.  Each lot is certified through third party testing to ensure each batch processed is DNA free.

All items are packaged to prevent contamination before use, and are meant to be used only once. These DNA free items provide the investigator with the tools to eliminate DNA cross contamination, but still process the scene with the tools that they require.

 

 

Registration to this unique training event opens tomorrow, February 24, 2019 at noon EST. Please be ready to sign up at that time. This wildly popular event often sells out, sometimes within a few hours after registration opens. Believe me, you do not want to miss this extremely rare opportunity!

https://www.writerspoliceacademy.com

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MurderCon: A Journey to Sensational Realism

This year, 2019, the Writers’ Police Academy has gone far outside the box to provide a rare opportunity for writers, fans, readers, and anyone who’s fascinated with the knowledge of how homicide investigators solve even the most complex cases. It’s called MurderCon and its name says it all. The four day event is all about the crime of murder.

MurderCon is not a writers conference where attendees learn plotting and sentence structure and how to land an agent. Not at all. MurderCon, as its name suggests, is designed to help writers bring much-needed life into their “death” scenes, and how their characters should go about reaching a solution to those cases—collecting and preserving evidence, interrogating suspects, examining blood evidence, concealing a murder using fire, and clandestine grave investigations, to name a few.

 

 

In addition to the steps involved when investigating a homicide, MurderCon offers the little things, facts and intricate details that you’d never, not ever, have the opportunity to experience, unless, of course, you’re an actual homicide investigator.

It’s those nitty-gritty details that make readers turn pages and stay up all night hoping to solve the crime before the hero of the tale brings the case to its conclusion. They’re the points that could send your stories soaring to levels you might never have achieved without attending this extraordinary event.

“When writers graduate from MurderCon, they’ll have the knowledge to describe what really happens—and doesn’t happen—in a homicide investigation.” ~ Sirchie’s Vice President of Product Development and Training, Dyer Bennett

During this intense weekend, we’re offering a collection of amazingly detailed and hands-on classes and training sessions that are typically available only to law enforcement. You will indeed participate in actual training at the very source of crime scene and forensic technology, the one and only training and manufacturing facility of Sirchie.

Buried Bodies, a MurderCon session taught by Dr. Bryan W. Brendley, is an outdoor session with demonstrations of various stages of a clandestine grave excavation. Dr. Brendley currently serves as a cold case consultant. In addition, he’s an expert in Clandestine Grave Recovery, Forensic Palynology, Drowning Forensics, Land- and Water-Based Crime Scenes, and Forensic Dental Identification.

Sirchie, the global leader in Crime Scene Investigation and Forensic Science Solutions, is, to put it simple terms, is an industry leader staffed by a team of famed professionals who research a need, develop a product to meet those needs, and then manufactures and distributes those products to law enforcement worldwide. They fabricate and make available thousands of products, from patented fingerprint brushes and powders all the way to high-tech surveillance and evidence collection vehicles, and lots more in between.

In addition to tools and equipment, Sirchie offers world class, high-level training at their elite Youngsville, N.C. compound. It’s a private facility that sits on a sprawling property. Their renowned group of instructors are some of the best in the business.

Sirchie instructors teach classes, courses, and workshops to law enforcement professionals from local and state police forces as well as officers and agents from federal agencies, including state prison systems, airport security, FBI agents focused on counter terrorism, and Treasury and Secret Service agents. International students travel to Sirchie from countries ranging from Italy to Mexico and Argentina to Qatar.

To give you an example of the level of instruction MurderCon attendees will receive … remember the horrific Polly Klaas kidnaping and murder? This was a convoluted investigation that involved multiple law enforcement agencies—local, state, and federal, including the FBI—over 4,000 volunteers who assisted in the search, major television network shows such as America’s Most Wanted and 20/20.

Over 500 search team members from 24 agencies were involved in what was the largest effort of its kind in the state of California.

One of the key investigators involved in the Polly Klaas investigation was David Alford, a Sirchie and MurderCon instructor.

Agent Alford, now retired after 21 years of service, was one of the founding members of the FBI Evidence Response Team (ERT).

Since David and crew founded the extremely vital ERT team, it has grown tremendously and is now composed of supervisory special agents, forensic canine consultants and operations and logistics management specialists, and management and program analysts.

The ERT program supports teams in all 56 FBI field offices to ensure evidence is collected in such a manner that it can be introduced in courts throughout the U.S. and the world.

*ERT information and image source – FBI.gov

David also conducted crimes scene searches on numerous international violent crimes and bombings, as well as being involved the search of the Unabomber’s cabin and the 9/11 Pentagon scene. He’s a Forensic Serologist, Hair and Fibers Examiner, and Bloodstain Pattern Analyst.

David Alford’s session at MurderCon exposes attendees to proper methods to locate, identify, and enhance blood evidence. Also included in this workshop are chemical search methods using luminol and Bluestar. Attendees will also receive an introduction to blood patterns and what they can tell an investigator about a scene, as well as instruction regarding the identification of blood by using chemicals to enhance suspected blood patterns.

And this is only one of the renowned and highly-skilled instructors and the classes offered at the 2019 MurderCon event. When we say MurderCon is the real deal, well, that’s exactly what it is.

Sirchie’s Vice President of Product Development and Training, Dyer Bennett says MurderCon attendees will be trained the same way they train law enforcement. And, writers who’ve attended prior WPA courses can expect the learn-by-doing philosophy to continue. Every course will have a hands-on component.

They’ll see and do what officers see and do.

MurderCon is about knowledge. It’s about exciting and teasing the senses of both you and your readers. It’s about enhancing your credibility as an author. It’s about fun.

“Having first-hand experience will allow writers to portray crime scene details realistically; and it will let them share with their readers how it feels to investigate a homicide.” Dyer Bennett

For details about the Writers’ Police Academy special event, MurderCon, please visit our all new website.

Registration opens at noon on Sunday February 24, 2019 EST. Please keep in mind that past WPA events have sold out on the first day. Sometimes within an hour or so of the opening of registration. That’s how wildly popular and important these events are to writers, readers, and fans. So please be ready at noon on Sunday. Believe me, you do not want to miss this one. It’s amazing!

MurderCon

 

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MurderCon’s Official Website Is LIVE!

It’s NEW. It’s UNIQUE. It’s SPECTACULAR.

And it’s never been done before, anywhere. Not in the U.S. Not anywhere else in the world, and, as far as we know, not in this galaxy.

You, my good friends, have the opportunity to attend an event that’s so special and so very rare that, well, it’s an event that many police homicide investigators would give their eyeteeth to experience—the chance to participate in world-class training at the 130 acre elite Sirchie training facility near Raleigh, N.C.

As a patrol officer and later as a detective, I used Sirchie products to help solve more crimes than I could possibly begin to count, from simple B&E’s to Murder and Murder for Hire

To give you an idea of just how impressive the Sirchie facilities truly are, please join me on my first in-person visit there, back when I was hoping to convince Sirchie officials to help writers “get it right.” It went something like this (from one of my blog posts from several years ago) …

“t was nearly seven years ago to the day when I first made the three-hour drive from our North Carolina home to the Sirchie Fingerprint Laboratories compound. I could barely contain my excitement. After all, the folks at Sirchie are probably the best in the world at what they do and the mere thought of the many superstars of crime-fighting from around the world who’ve been trained at Sirchie is almost overwhelming. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of crimes that have been solved using Sirchie products—products that are made right there on the compound.

After traveling for what seemed like an eternity, while answering emails and phone calls regarding the Writers’ Police Academy, the sprawling Sirchie property appeared on my right. The first thing that caught my attention was the golf-course-like green grass that stretched as far as the eye could see. And it was surrounded by what appeared to be an endless, gleaming, white 3-rail fence. A large gate, complete with a coded-entry system, was the only break in the fence. Very impressive.

I made the right turn off the winding country road I’d been traveling since I left the bustle of interstate traffic around Raleigh and headed through the opening in the metal gates. The long driveway leading to the facility was split by a row shade trees. A nice touch.

Two or three huge white buildings sat at the end of the drive. There was a beautifully-landscaped pond in front (I later learned the pond was even stocked with fish).

There were no signs or identifying markers—nothing—to let anyone know that this was indeed one of, if not THE premier crime-fighting operation in the world. But, I soon saw a personalized license plate on a vehicle that let me know I was in the right place. The lettering referenced crime scene investigation. Bingo.

Anyway, the purpose of my trip was to meet with the folks who run the massive Sirchie operation to discuss their potential involvement with the Writers’ Police Academy. I can’t begin to tell you how lucky the attendees of the WPA are to have the opportunity to learn from Sirchie instructors. They’re the best-of-the-best and they teach the best-of-the-best. Needless to say, this is a rare opportunity and I’m so pleased to be a part of it.”

And here’s where things get even better. We, the Writers’ Police Academy, are taking you inside the Sirchie complex, a place where outsiders are generally not permitted. Sure, over the years, we’ve made it possible for a handful of writers to attend Sirchie’s weeklong Evidence Collection Course (another for-law-enforcement-eyes-only session), but this time we’re going beyond even what I’d hoped to achieve  … MurderCon.

MurderCon, presented by the Writers’ Police Academy, in conjunction with Sirchie, is the ultimate training event for writers who desire to bring the realism in their writing to a level most could only dream of attaining.

Yes, you, a MurderCon attendee will walk the same hallways, enter the same classrooms and training areas, and sit in the same seats as some of the top crime-solving experts from around the entire world.

Our group of renowned instructors who’ll present to you material that you’ll likely absorb like dry sponges soak up spilled liquids, are the experts who, for example, developed and founded the FBI’s Evidence Response Team (ERT). They’ve trained top agents from the FBI and US State Department. They’re instructors at the National Fire Academy, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, and at the International Law Enforcement Academy in Bangkok, Thailand.

MurderCon instructors are top, highly-skilled experts in the areas of Cold Cases, Clandestine Grave Recovery, Drowning Forensics, Forensic Anthropology, Forensic Geology (using soil to find killers), Biological and Chemical Weapons (bioterrorism),Toxicology, Pathology, Latent Prints, Bloodstain Interpretation and Analysis, and so much more.

This is hands-down the most exclusive collection of experts ever assembled as a team of instructors for an event for writers. And to top it off, MurderCon offers its attendees the same hands-on training taught to top police homicide investigators.

Dyer Bennett, Sirchie’s Vice President of Product Development and Training, said it best, I think, when he answered the question …

Why Should You Attend the 2019 Writers’ Police Academy – MurderCon?

 

“When writers graduate from MurderCon, they’ll have the knowledge to describe what really happens—and doesn’t happen—in a homicide investigation.” ~ Dyer Bennett, Vice President of Sirchie’s Product Development and Training

The all-new MurderCon website!

After scrapping the WPA’s old dinosaur-esque  website, Shelly Haffly, Creative Director + Owner at Rusti Boot Creative, started building a new site, from the ground up. It was a massive task that took months of planning, tons of long hours, and lots of hard work. But the result was worth it. The website is super nice and the internal workings operate like a finely-crafted engine, or delicate clock. Lots of whirring gears and spinning gadgets, buttons, and knobs. I think she created a masterpiece. From where I sit, it’s a work of art.

Anyway, I am extremely pleased to announce that MurderCon’s Official Website is now LIVE!

We’re excited for you to see the all-new look in preparation for the opening of registration for this super-special, spectacular event. Registration is scheduled to open on February 24, 2019 at noon EST.

wwwe.writerspoliceacademy.com

We’ve tried to accommodate as many attendees as possible but, of course, there is only so much space to go around. Therefore, slots for the event are limited. Extremely limited. As in first-come, first-served. So I encourage you to please, please, please be ready to signup the moment registration opens. After all, we’ve sold out on the first day, sometimes within the first hour, several times in the past. And the event this year, being such a rare opportunity, well, be ready. You will not want to miss the extremely special opportunity!

Also, hotel rooms at the Marriott Crabtree Valley in Raleigh, our event hotel, are already going fast so it’s my advice to you to book your rooms today. Right now, if you haven’t already done so. You may book your room by clicking the link below. Many of the event activities take place at the hotel.

CrabtreeValleyMarriott

*The MurderCon website is brand new so please bear with us if you see a minor error or two. Several sets of eyes have scanned every detail, but you, as writers, know how the editing process goes. Sometimes “it” stares you in the face for months before you see “it.” And, as those of you with websites know, it takes several hours for a new site to fully propagate throughout the web. If you don’t see the new page(s), or if things don’t seem quite right with what you so see, please check back at a later time. It should settle in as the evening and night goes on.

Once you’ve had a chance to explore, please do begin to make plans to attend. It truly is a “killer” event!

 

Do You Quality for a SinC $150 Grant?

Are you a member of Sisters in Crime? If so, you may quality for a new SinC program that offers members a $150 grant that can be used toward registration fees at approved educational events/conferences. The Writers‘ Police Academy‘s MurderCon is one of the approved options.

The SinC program awards grants on a first-come, first-serve basis. So if you quality, you should apply as soon as possible. The funds are paid directly to recipients after they attend the event
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Day Three: Meet Your 2019 MurderCon Instructors!

Next in the lineup of fabulous 2019 MurderCon instructors is a pair of experts whose backgrounds and bios bring to your writing tables a huge and vast wealth of information that you’ve not seen at another writers event anywhere within this universe.

Since MurderCon, a very special hands-on event presented by the Writers’ Police Academy, is all about the factual side of solving homicides, and its purpose is narrowly defined to solving the crime of murder, we’re delving deeply into numerous aspects of how murders are committed and how top law enforcement professionals solve those cases.

MurderCon is an intense program designed specifically to teach writers how to think like homicide investigators, and this is so because MurderCon attendees will receive the exact same instruction that’s offered to, and attended by, top homicide detectives and investigators from around the world. This detailed course of instruction takes place at the elite headquarters and training and manufacturing facility of Sirchie, the “Global Leader in Crime Scene Investigation and Forensic Science Solutions.”

In addition to the murders caused by the guns and knives and poisons that are so commonplace in many of today’s novels, you’ll explore other means used by criminals who kill and sometimes wish to cover their tracks by whatever means necessary. In fact, one of our extremely HOT sessions titled Burn Baby, Burn!!!  Arson Investigation, is a workshop that explores how perpetrators of murder use flames to kill and then to conceal their devious activities.

Taught by a world-renowned ATF arson and explosives expert, Burn Baby, Burn is an outdoor session with demonstrations of “live” burns to highlight the effects of burning various pieces of evidence.  MurderCon attendees will learn the fundamentals of fire science, recognition of fire behavior including burn patterns and aftermath, and how fire is utilized by perpetrators during the commission of violent crimes and murder to attempt to destroy evidence.

So wait no longer. I’m pleased to introduce you to …

Ken Andrews 

Ken Andrews, CFI-IAAI, ATF retired

Ken Andrews has over 30 years of fire investigation experience, including 28 years as an agent with the ATF and as a private consultant. He is an International Association of Arson Investigator’s (IAAI) Certified Fire Investigator and Certified Fire Investigation Instructor.

Ken was a member of ATF’s elite National Response Team (NRT) and an ATF Certified Explosives Specialist for 18 years. He has conducted investigations related to fire and explosions involving vehicles and residences as well as large industrial and commercial scenes. Ken has also instructed fire and explosion investigators nationally and internationally. During his career with ATF, he was a regular instructor at the National Fire Academy, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and the International Law Enforcement Academy in Bangkok, Thailand.

In a roundabout way …

Many of you have come into contact with this next esteemed presenter, Jim Gocke, and you never had a clue that he’s been involved in your writing research. In fact, he’s probably helped many of you add a bit of realism to your fiction.

Jim’s vast knowledge of the technical and educational side of Sirchie, and how much it means to Sirchie that writers have the opportunity to properly learn about crime-solving tools and equipment, is how you’ve met him, sort of. Jim’s expertise was introduced to you by way of my book on police procedure and investigation. I’ll explain in a moment.

I’ve used Sirchie products throughout my law enforcement career, and beyond. In the trunks of my various police vehicles, I carried fingerprinting kits that contained Sirchie products—powders, tapes, lifters, etc. In addition, as a police detective I used numerous Sirchie tools and equipment, from those same powders and lifters to casting materials and much more.

When it comes to crime-solving pros, there’s Sherlock, Miss Marple, and Hercule Poirot, of course. And then there’s Sirchie. Their products and training for law enforcement professional have served to help solve more crimes than novels written by Patterson, King, and Agatha Christie combined.

Therefore, when the time came for me to write the chapter in my book about fingerprinting, well, it was a no-brainer. I called on Sirchie and it was Jim Gocke who answered that call for assistance. It was he who provided those intricate details and it was he who was responsible for those super-cool photos in Chapter 8 of the book and, of course, throughout the years on this website.

Chapter 8 photo

Jim was more than happy to help out, telling me that he’d love it if writers of all genres were exposed to the facts about police procedure and equipment, and how the tools they developed and manufactured play such a vital role in crime-solving. Additionally, we both agreed that the CSI stuff often portrayed on television is factually incorrect. Anyway, Chapter 8 of my book is how the bond between Sirchie, me, and the Writers’ Police Academy came to be.

Soon, Sirchie instructors began teaching classes and workshops at the Writers’ Police Academy. They sent experts David Pauly and Robert Skiff to the event, along with a boatload of equipment and materials to enhance those presentations. They gave away prizes for the raffles, and they even developed a course especially for writers, a class that many WPA attendees traveled to the Sirchie compound in N.C. to attend.

Now, Jim and I have come full circle and we meet again , this time hat the most unique hands-on training event for writers that’s ever taken place, anywhere … MurderCon.

It is both a pleasure and an honor to introduce you to Jim Gocke, another of the fabulous 2019 MurderCon instructors.

Jim Gocke

Jim Gocke a graduate of West Virginia University and West Virginia College of Law. In addition, he completed a Fellowship in Forensic Medicine at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and earned a Master of Science in Forensic Sciences from The George Washington University.

He was employed by Sirchie Finger Print Laboratories, Inc as Vice President/General Counsel and Director of Education and Training from January 1979 until March 2008. He was then employed by Sirchie Acquisition Company, LLC as Director of Education and Training from March 2008 until his retirement in July 2015. Jim is currently an Independent Contractor to Sirchie, providing his expertise in Education and Training, product development, and evaluation and technical assistance.

MurderCon is a highly-unique event for writers!

The difference from prior WPA events and MurderCon is that this year’s special event features the current science and forensic technology, and analysis used to solve homicide cases. Writers will participate in hands-on training using modern testing and evidence collection tools and equipment, in workshops taught by some of the world’s leading experts. To sweeten the pot, many of MurderCon’s sessions are taught at the facility where the science and technology were developed and then transformed into the actual products used by today’s homicide detectives and other law enforcement professionals.

“When writers graduate from MurderCon, they’ll have the knowledge to describe what really happens—and doesn’t happen—in a homicide investigation.” ~ Dyer Bennett, Vice President of Sirchie’s Product Development and Training

This is a rare opportunity for writers, a unique juncture of fiction and fact at the source of modern crime scene investigation technology. It’s the chance to bring your writing to a level you never thought you could achieve. This type of incredibly detailed and cutting edge instruction has never before been available to writers, anywhere.

Yes, MurderCon is indeed a “Killer Event” and you’re invited to attend!

Registration opens very soon, within the next couple of weeks. Please watch for the announcement and then be ready at your keyboards the moment registration opens. Space at the Sirchie compound and training facility is extremely limited, therefore we expect spots to go quickly. Believe me, you’ll not want to miss this rare opportunity. It may be the only chance in a lifetime to attend such a special event.

LOCATION AND DATES:

August 1-4, 2019

 

Hotel Location / Training Location:

Marriott Crabtree Valley

4500 Marriott Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina 27612

 

SIRCHIE – Training Location:

100 Hunter Place, Youngsville, North Carolina 27615

 

Hotel Information

We’ve already had to increase our room block size twice at the Marriott. Yes, response is fantastic.

Since many activities and workshops will also take place at the hotel, including a special party (details to be announced soon), the Saturday banquet, book signings, and more, we strongly urge you to book your hotel rooms today, without delay!

Here’s the link for room reservations.

Hotel reservations – Marriott

Individuals may make their reservations by phone by calling Hotel‘s toll free Reservation Line, 1- 800-MARRIOT.
To receive the established Group rate, they must identify themselves as members of the Writers’ Police Academy 2019 when making the reservation. All reservations must be received by the group’s Cutoff Date of on or before July 10, 2019. Reservations made after the Cutoff Date will be subject to availability and the most available rate.

 

Registration

 

MurderCon 2019 registration – $435

 

*Breakfast each morning and lunch at the Sirchie Compound are included in your MurderCon registration.

 

Event Schedule

 

Schedule of Events to be announced in the coming days – very soon! BOLO (Be On the Lookout) for a news announcement from the WPA staff!

 

In the meantime, we are pleased to announce that the event begins on Thursday night with a brief orientation followed by a spectacular joint presentation by Dr. Craig Nelson (Medical Examiner / Pathologist) and Justin Brower, PhD. (Toxicologist).

 

Registration/check-in takes place on Thursday afternoon from 4:00 – 5:30.

 

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