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!

Restraint Chair

Prisoner Restraint Chair

  Prison and jail officers often encounter extremely violent inmates who are a serious threat to themselves, staff, and other inmates. In these situations, normal restraining devices - handcuffs, waist chains, and leg irons - are simply…
Paradise in N.C.

Weekend Road Trip: North Carolina’s Outer Banks

    Our WeeKend Road Trip this week takes us to North Carolina's Outer Banks. First stop, Jockey's Ridge, the tallest sand dune in the eastern United States. The height of the dunes vary from 80 to 120 feet depending upon the…
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Police Officer Lanny Ash

  Police Officer Lanny Ash My mother always told me that people who roamed the streets past midnight were up to no good. I found out just how right she was when I became a police officer working the graveyard shift. When the…
killer with knife

Shanks, Shivs, and Sliming: Jail Weapons

Life behind the bars and miles of looping razor wire of our country's prisons and jails is not an easy existence. Not only do the inmates have to deal with the emotional stresses associated with being away from their families and…
Jessa Nicholson

Defense Attorney Jessa Lutz: They’re Not All Monsters

  Jessa Lutz is a private bar criminal defense attorney in Madison, Wisconsin. She runs a two attorney firm, Frederick/Nicholson, LLC,  with her business partner, Terry Frederick.  Jessa attended the University of Michigan for her…

Serial Killers, Mass Murderers, and Spree Killers

  Mass murderers kill at least four people in a single location. Sometimes, that location may even be divided into separate areas, such as an office building, an adjacent parking lot, and a nearby warehouse. In 1984, James Huberty,…

Thermal Imaging

  Thermal imaging and night vision are NOT the same. Night-vision equipment needs some sort of light to work properly. Thermal imaging devices don't use light to operate. Instead, they detect differences in temperature. For example,…
California Coast

Weekend Road Trip – Pacific Coast Highway

  The drive along California's Pacific Coast Highway is breath-taking. The photos speak for themselves.
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Killed In The Line Of Duty

  January 1, 2008 Corporal Courtney Brooks (40 years of age) - Maryland Transportation Authority Police. Vehicluar assault. Hit and run driver. January 5, 2008 Deputy Sheriff Jason Zunker (31) - Chippewa County Sheriff's Department.…
Crime Fighting Robots

Crime Fighting Robots

  The remote controlled Andros F-6 robot has the capability to stand tall at 6 feet 5 inches. It can also squat to a compact three-feet. The 500 - 800lb robot can be equipped with attachments to suit the needs of its department. Some…
Nathan Bransford

Literary Agent Nathan Bransford: Q&A

Nathan Bransford is an agent in the San Francisco office of Curtis Brown Ltd., a New York-based agency that has been representing authors since 1914. He represents a wide range of genres and is particularly interested in literary fiction, narrative…
Insect Evidence

Insect Evidence

We're still trying to work out the bugs in the new system.  In the meantime, here's some real-life, crime-solving bugs.   Maggots are true eating machines. One end is comprised of biting and chewing parts. The other end is an…
Robin Burcell

Robin Burcell: Fight Or Flight

Robin Burcell has worked in law enforcement for over two decades as a police officer, detective, FBI-trained forensic artist and hostage negotiator. She is the author of the Anthony Award winning SFPD Homicide Inspector Kate Gillespie novels:…
Lee Lofland

Ask An Agent

On Wednesday May 7 our guest blogger will be literary agent Nathan Bransford of Curtis Brown LTD. Nathan has requested to receive questions in advance of his post. If you'd like to submit a question you can do it here in the comments section,…
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Field Training Officer Gary Tabke (ret.)

Gary Tabke has lived a life in motion almost from his birth on an Air Force base. Attending four different high schools in various states and abroad helped to shape the individual he is today. Often the new kid in town, Gary learned early…
Homicide investigations

Crime Scene Investigation – Murder

  How many of you thought murder and homicide were the same? That's what I thought. Well, they're not. Homicide is the killing of one person by another. It can be legal if the killing is in self-defense, in the defense of others,…
Sheila Stephens

Sheila Stephens: Camera Surveillance

  Sheila L. Stephens was the first female Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) special agent in the state of Alabama - one of the first in the nation.  Recruited by ATF while a police officer in Mountain Brook, Alabama, she has a unique…
Lucienne Diver

Literary Agent Lucienne Diver: It’s All About The Buzz

  Lucienne Diver has been an agent with Spectrum Literary Agency for over fifteen years, representing all kinds of commercial fiction, including fantasy, romance, mystery/suspense, science fiction, some mainstream and young adult.  Her…