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!

A Century of Female Cops

Police News

Naples, Fla. - The Collier County Sheriff's Office settles two TASER cases in Federal court. In the latest case, where officers used their TASERS on a handcuffed man, the department agreed to settle for a sum of $95,000. One day earlier,…
The Pacific

Weekend Road Trip: The Pacific

  Take a drive along the coast of California and you'll see lots of footpaths leading from the roadside into tall weeds and thickets. Do yourself a favor sometime and venture down a few of those trails. We did, and these are photos of…
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

Sergeant Alan J. Haymaker, 56 Chicago Police Department February 22, 2010 - Sergeant Alan J. Haymaker was killed in an automobile accident while responding to a burglary-in-progress call. He leaves behind his wife (pictured above holding…
A Century of Female Cops

It’s A Jungle Out There: Booby Trapped Marijuana Plots

Sure, you hear the argument nearly every day that pot is harmless. It just makes you laugh and eat a lot. Well, that may be true on the consumer's end, but not so much for the police officers assigned to marijuana eradication duties. I know,…
Southland: Butch and Sundance

Southland: Phase Three – A Review

  I haven't carried a gun or worn a badge in years, but last night while watching the season opener of Southland I felt that I was back working a shift. And I was exhausted when the credits began to roll. Why? Because I backed up every…
A Century of Female Cops

Southland: A Sneak Peek At The New Season On TNT

The Graveyard Shift has some new friends - the folks at TNT and Southland. It seems they'd been following our Castle reviews and asked if we'd have a look at their new series that's premiering on TNT tonight. Well, I watched what they sent…
A Century of Female Cops

The Smoking Gun…Literally

Once in a while (okay, almost every week), I receive questions about unusual firearms and other weapons, the kind that are easily concealed by bad guys in those perfect mystery stories. So, today I thought I'd show a few examples of just…
San Jose

Weekend Road Trip: Birds Eye View Of San Jose, Ca.

The world looks different when seen from the rooftops. Here's a view of San Jose, Ca. while standing on a downtown rooftop near the airport. Geez...the things I do for a photo... Just for fun, here's a little squirrel…
Prisoner Face Smashing: A New, Fun Sport For Guards?

Prisoner Face Smashing: A New, Fun Sport For Guards?

  Sure, prison inmates have done wrong. They've chosen to break the law and to go against the grain of society. Many of them have done things that are simply too reprehensible for words. There's no doubt that each of them should be punished.…
A Century of Female Cops

How Many Cops Does It Take To Make You Safe?

The crime rate in Notsosafe County is up. Houses are broken into on a regular basis. Assaults are on the rise. There've been two murders already this year and it's only February. Citizens flock to the next county government meeting. Frank…
A Century of Female Cops

Police News

Providence, Rhode Island - Detective Robert DeCarlo has been charged with assaulting a handcuffed suspect. A surveillance video shows the detective dragging the man from beneath a parked car and then kicking him and beating him in the head…
A Century of Female Cops

Castle: One Man’s Treasure: A Review (of the police procedure)

  One Man's Treasure was written by Elizabeth Davis who also wrote last season's Little Girl Lost. I recall that I wasn't a fan of that particular episode. In fact, I described it as a snore-fest. This week, Davis' second effort at placing…
Hike in Olympic Mountains

Weekend Road Trip: Hiking In The Pacific Northwest

  We left the Seattle area a few years ago, but I'm still in touch with our former neighbors on a weekly basis. Bill, our next door neighbor in the Pacific Northwest, sends me wonderful little stories and photos that truly help my weeks…
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

Deputy Sheriff Davy Wayne Crawford, 55 Carroll County Georgia Sheriff's Office February 12, 2010 - Deputy Sheriff Davy Wayne Crawford was killed when his patrol car left the highway and became submerged in a creek. When Deputy Crawford…
A Century of Female Cops

K2: It’s Smokin…!

Okay, so the Feds say they won't raid facilities that sell legal medical marijuana, but they do anyway. States pass laws allowing the sale and use of medical marijuana, but the DEA still suits up and arrests the sellers, growers, and users.…
A Century of Female Cops

The Silent Killers: Part One – Anthrax

In the grand scheme of murder, knives and guns pale in comparison to the instruments death that are nearly invisible to the human eye. Long before man shaped the first stone into a weapon, viruses and bacteria silently killed humans and…
A Century of Female Cops

Castle: Love Me Dead – A Review (of the police procedure)

I'm popping open a bottle of champagne after watching this episode. I honestly think it was their best effort to date. I'm actually kind of shocked that I can't say enough about the wonderful combination of wit, snappy dialog, emotions, and…
A Century of Female Cops

Dr. Katherine Ramsland: Risk Assessment For College

Dr. Katherine Ramsland has published 37 books, 16 short stories, and over 900 articles. She is professor of forensic psychology and criminal justice at DeSales University, and her latest books are Inside the Minds of Sexual Predators and The…