The Graveyard Shift Blog

Since 2008, Lee Lofland has written over 2000 articles on his blog, The Graveyard Shift. Topics such as police procedure, forensics, criminal behavior, and what it’s like to be a cop has helped countless numbers of popular and aspiring writers.

His life’s mission – to remind writers that cordite is dead and gone. Just say no to cordite in your books!

Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Rembering The Fallen

  The Graveyard Shift extends its condolences to the families of these brave officers. Officer Robert A. Lasso, 31 Freemansburg Borough Pennsylvania Police Department August 11, 2011  - Officer Robert Lasso responded to…
Dope Smokers Beware: Your Fingerprints Will Squeal On You!

Dope Smokers Beware: Your Fingerprints Will Squeal On You!

"Hey, Ralph, what's up with all those flashing lights ahead?" "I don't know, Norton. Looks like a construction zone, or something." Ralph leaned forward, straining to see through bloodshot eyes. "Yep, it does. They're never gonna finish…
Sandra Bullock is almost my neighbor

Sandra Bullock Is Almost My New Neighbor

  Well, after one year of house-hunting and then enduring the five-day MOVE FROM FROM HELL we've finally done it. We found our new home in Georgia. And the search was painstaking...no, it was grueling. Wait, that's putting it mildly.…
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

  The Graveyard Shift offers its condolences to the families of these brave officers. Detective Fermin "Sonny" Archer, 48 New York City Police Department July 14, 2011 - Detective Fermin "Sonny" Archer died from injuries…
11 literary friendships

11 Literary Friendships We Can Learn From

A friendship between two great creative minds can sometimes yield a bounty of great work, inspiration and mutual admiration for one other. Of course, it can just as easily spur on jealousy and hurt feelings. Both have been the case in real-life…
Below 100

Below 100

The number of police officer line-of-duty-deaths this year is well over 100, 108 to be exact, a number that some say should have been lower but is what it is due to officer error. Still, whatever the cause, 108 good men and women are dead. Fourteen…
MORIS never, ever forgets a face

MORIS Never, Ever Forgets A Face

I cannot count the number of times I've arrested Jesus Christ...or Bob Smith, John Smith, I Dunno, Ain't Got No Name, or any number of other clowns who offered false names, including the ever-popular, F!#% You. And sometimes criminals refuse…
Exonerated: A crime you didn't commit

Exonerated: A Crime You Didn’t Commit

  Cold concrete. Cold steel. Cold food. Cold hearts. Finding a potato in the garbage. A decent meal, for a change. Heating coffee, using a nail and a small length of bare copper wire. Three shirts. Three pairs of…
A dream within a dream

A Dream Within A Dream

  All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream ~ Edgar Allan Poe Rachael Kramer photos  
Running Away

Running Away

  Well, it's finally here...moving day. Yep, my bags are packed and we're off on another adventure. So...no blog today. But, after the dust settles and Mayberry is in my rear-view mirror, I'll be back at it. Right now, there's lot's…
Bill Lanning: The Shallow Grave Crime Scene

Bill Lanning: The Shallow Grave Crime Scene

Your first call of the day shift is not supposed to be like this. Summers are hot, even in the morning and here you are, responding as CSI to a “suspicious smell” call to 911, before 10 AM. Maybe, it’s just an animal hit by a car. They…
IBIS: Integrated Ballistics Identification System

IBIS: Integrated Ballistics Identification System

  In prehistoric times, when crime-solving technology was basic, almost non-existent, evidence-matching was a daunting task. Remember those days? You know, way back in the early 2000's... Well, bullet-to-firearm matches were especially…
Getting answers for your WIP

How To Approach A Cop: Getting Answers For Your WIP

As many of you know, I field an awful lot of questions from writers---"What kind of gun does a detective carry?" "What are all those little thingy's on a cop's gun belt?" "Do police officers have to take off their gun belts when they use the…
Evidence Collection Course For Writers

Evidence Collection Course For Writers

How would you like to attend one of the most elite evidence collection courses in the world? The week-long, exclusive session at Sirchie Fingerprint Laboratories is normally offered to law enforcement only, but I've made arrangements for 20…
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

Deputy Sheriff Richard "Rick" Jerome Daly, 55 Clayton County Georgia Sheriff's Office July 20, 2011 - Deputies assigned to a sheriff's fugitive squad spotted 17-year-old Jonathan Bun, a suspect wanted for robbery, getting into a car…
Golden Donut: Short Story Contest

Golden Donut Short Story Contest

  The deadline for the Golden Donut Short Story contest is approaching...FAST! Have you sent your entry? The Writers’ Police Academy is pleased to announce the opening of the Golden Donut short story contest. The rules are simple—write…
Goats, Storks, and Squirrels

Goats, Storks, and Squirrels: Fighting Crime

Dusting for latent fingerprints takes a little finesse. And to perform the technique properly and effectively requires practice. Lots of it. Yes, there's an art to developing a nice, clean, usable print. Like all decent artwork, proper…
Restoring serial numbers on firearms

Restoring Serial Numbers On Firearms And Other Objects

Firearms are assigned serial numbers for the purpose of identification. When a gun is purchased, the buyer registers it with the proper authorities who record the owner's name into a database along with the weapon's serial number. If needed,…