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!

Evelyn (“Ev”) E. Dense: A Guide To Crime Scene Investigation

Officer Willie Findem was hot on the trail of two armed robbers, running as fast as his flat feet could carry him, when he heard a woman screaming for help as he raced past a row of shotgun houses in a section of town the locals call Murder…

From A Cop’s Perspective: What You Didn’t See

Officer Idu Thebestican feels as if he faces a no-win situation each day he puts on his uniform, and he stopped by today to tell why he feels that way. Here's what the officer had to say ... Today I found a lost grandmother. She has Alzheimer's…
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Writing Believable Make-Believe Begins With Knowledge, Not Guesswork

It's the year 2021. Since last year we've all endured COVID, working from home, quarantine, wildfires, flooding, more COVID, lockdowns, shutdowns, layoffs, tornados, earthquakes, masks, vaccines, the loss of loved ones, riots, a mess overseas…

Nursery Rhymes for Cops: Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe: Catch a Robber By the Toe, When He Hollers …

Every job has its difficulties. Police work is no different. In fact, I don't believe there's another job in the entire world that offers more opportunities to screw up than a career in law enforcement. Think about it. What other business provides…
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Murder: The Night Was Dark, But Not Stormy – When Real Life Contradicts Elmore Leonard

Elmore Leonard's rules of writing are, of course, excellent guidelines. Never open a book with weather. Avoid prologues. Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue. Never use an adverb to modify the verb "said"…he admonished…

Academy Instructor Detective Sergeant Dilly Pickle: Homicide Crime Scenes

Good morning, cadets. My name is Detective Sergeant Dilly Pickle. I'm your instructor today and my topic is Introduction of Homicide Crime Scenes. Before we begin I want you to totally scrub your minds clean of everything you've seen about…
Takin' Bacon

Takin’ Bacon: The Big Investigation – A True Story

Last weekend at MurderCon, one of the classes wound up in a lively discussion about the crime of beastiality (having sex with animals). The presenter, an experienced and entertaining homicide detective from the south, waded into the topic like…

6 Ways to Transform a Boring Crime Scene into Fascinating Factual Fiction

There's nothing more boring than to read a book where the author lists a bunch of facts without any means whatsoever for us, the readers, to visualize how the crime is solved. You know the ones of which I speak ... The cop, Detective Sergeant…
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Renowned Toxicologist Dr. M. Fredric Rieders Joins 2021 MurderCon Lineup!

We are pleased to announce that renowned toxicologist Dr. M. Fredric Rieders has joined the 2021 MurderCon stellar lineup. This is an unbelievable opportunity to learn from one of the world's leading toxicology experts! His session, "Forensic…
Cop, crook

Here’s Your Street Slang, “Shorty”

The world of cops and robbers is an entity all its own. It’s a culture that lives and breathes in every neighborhood of every city. And, within each individual subgroup comes a separate set of traditions, rules, regulations, and even their…

Nanoarchitectured Materials: The New Kevlar

Scientists at the U.S. Army’s Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Caltech, and ETH Zürich fabricated a revolutionary new material that's stronger, more durable, and far lighter than…

Inside The Four Corners: Search Warrants

Our law demands that searches and seizures of property and people must be reasonable and based on probable cause, not mere suspicion. Actually, the 4th Amendment is pretty specific, stating that no warrant shall issue without probable cause.…

Forensic Terminology, Illustrated

It's been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, so this is me with too much time on my hands. Forensic Terminology External Ballistics - characteristics and behavior of a bullet after it leaves the muzzle of a firearm, but before…
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MurderCon: It’s a Killer Event!

Welcome to MurderCon. It's a killer event that features renowned experts who train top homicide investigators from around the world. Writers, please take advantage of this opportunity to learn from those who are the best in the business of…

Independence Day: The Right to Life, Liberty, and Happiness

Today, July 4th, is a celebration of national independence, and our freedom to barbecue.

Too Stupid to be True; However … 911, What’s Your Emergency?

How many times have we all heard that truth is much more difficult to believe than actual events? Well, let me be the next person in line to confirm that statement. Just when you think you've seen and heard it all, these folks picked up the…

Seriously, Keep Your Shirt On … OMG!

The hero of your story had a long night answering call after call---he-saids, she-saids, chasing a Peeping Tom through back yards and alleys, a couple of drunks arguing over a near-empty bottle of Ripple, kids spray-painting Smiley Faces on…

Murder Investigations Are So, Well … “Fly”

Homicide investigations are the crème de la crème of all investigations. To solve a murder, investigators use all available resources. No sparing of the horses. Sometimes it's a race to catch the killer before he strikes again. But detectives…