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!

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The Old Man and the Wheel: Page Two of My Spiral Notebooks

My career in law enforcement started in the prison system working as a corrections officer in a maximum security facility. The aged institution was a series of old, weathered and worn brick buildings that were probably ten years past the demolition…
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Serial Killers: Where, How, and Why They Do What They Do

Serial killers may attack anywhere at any time. However, depending upon whether or not the murderer is organized or disorganized, those two factors can affect location and timing. The set up, or initial place(s) where the killer(s) first…
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Serial Killers and Bull Castrators

When looking at murder cases, detectives occasionally find that some charactistics and aspects of the crimes and killers are similar to those of others. Then, as time and investigations move forward, patterns sometimes begin to emerge, such…
The Graveyard Shift

The Graveyard Shift: Feral Dogs, Mannequins, and The Sandman

It's four in the morning, the halfway point of the graveyard shift, and fatigue is slowly gaining control of your eyelids. It's a subtle move, like grasping the string on your grandmother's window shades, slowly pulling them down. The Sandman's…
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People Are Strange: 2020 Writers’ Police Academy’s Anthology Contest

The Writers' Police Academy is pleased to announce the coming release of our second anthology in the "Tales From the Graveyard Shift" series. Contributing authors are already hard at work writing individual mysterious and thrilling tales of…

Shop With Cops For All Your Household Needs

Police officers require certain tools and equipment to carry out their day-to-day duties, such as the obvious---patrol vehicles, uniforms, badges, bullet resistant vests, and firearms. But there are other things that make their jobs go more…
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Read Any Good Bloodstains Lately? The Endings are Killer!

Detective Sergeant Carl Catchemall studied the bloodstain pattern on and next to the ticking cow clock hanging on the kitchen wall. He stood there, staring, for what seemed like an eternity before turning toward his partner Hank Handsup. Then…

And the Cop Said, “I Gave Chase and Pursued Said Subject”

I don't know when it started, but it did and it is puzzling. After all, when did, "I got out of my car" become "I exited my vehicle." And how is it that, "Are those donuts for Ralph and me?" is sometimes spoken as, "Are those donuts for myself…

The Base: Over the River and Through the Woods, to a Terrorist’s House We Go

On January 14, 2020, three members of an extremist group called “The Base” were arrested and charged with firearms offenses. One of three men charged was Brian Mark Lemley, Jr. of Elkton, Maryland. Lemley, in addition to the firearms…

Inmate J.L. Bird Flies Con Air, and Live ALL NUDE Shows for Prisoners

Inmate J.L. Bird had never heard of the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (JPATS), let alone be a part of their mobile inventory. And, after experiencing it first-hand, well, he didn't care if he never heard of it again ... not…

A Prisoner’s Coast to Coast Journey: Three Very Long and Unusual Months

It was three-thirty in the morning when the taller of the two guards woke him by using a metal flashlight to deliver a few sharp pokes to the thigh. "Roll 'em up, Bird. You're going on a little trip," said the short one with the acne scarred…

Ten Excuses That Make Cops Say, “Hmm …”

Any cop will tell you that just when they think they've heard it all, well, along comes something else that tops all the rest. For example, here are ten excuses people offered as explanations for why they did the things they did. All I can…
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20 Survival Tips for Real and Fictional Officers

Cops absorb lots of information during the months they spend in the training academy. Then, when they finally do hit the streets they're required to ride with a field training officer for a few months, a time when the FTO crams even more important…

Mr. X: I Was Abused By A Female Corrections Officer

A recent news story about the abuse of inmates in some U.S. jails and prisons reminded me of a conversation I once had with a former federal prisoner, a person we refer to as Mr. X. Mr. X is a former business professional who committed a…

Where’s the DNA?

Can't seem to find the right clues for your current work-in-progress? Well, here's a handy guide to help with locating DNA evidence. Undergarments (boxers and/or briefs, etc.) Sweat-stained clothing Semen stains on clothing, bedding,…
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“Hanging Out” With Kat Bungler

Bad guys are often portrayed on TV, and in film, as super intelligent geniuses who're one step away from ruling the world. They're savvy and wealthy with a gang of bodyguards and accomplices who are always miles ahead of the law enforcement…
Between a rock and a hard place

Biff Steele: Have You Created A Rocky Hardplace in your Latest Book?

I cringed when I read the opening line of the first draft of the new series. She'd named me Biff Steele, as if Rod Manly hadn't been bad enough in the previous books. But names, however cheesy they may be, are not the worst thing that could…

How to Arrest a Naked Man

I've never been one to back down from a challenge. Actually, I've rarely shunned any sort of obstacle, including wading into a group of angry armed men to arrest one of their group. I like other officers, have tackled the biggest and the…