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!

I’m Still Very Ill

  Okay, I know there's a lot that's supposed to be going on today. Karen Olsen is supposed to be guest blogging, and the winner of the 200 word short story contest is supposed to be announced today. The winner has been decided, but I…
CSI It Ain't

CSI It Ain’t!

  Following along the path of the many recent posts I've seen on the crime-fighting loops I'd like to clear up up another common misconception about police and CSI. Not all departments have elaborate crime labs, or high-tech equipment…
SCRAMx: Alcohol Monitoring and House Arrest

Prison Without Walls: Electronic Monitoring

  Electronic monitoring provides a low-cost means of safe, community supervision for lower-risk inmates. Contrary to popular belief the tracking devices cannot be removed without sending an alert to a base station monitored by the tracking…
Shoot or Not

Shoot or Not To Shoot: The 21 Foot Rule

  As a long-time police academy instructor and instructor trainer for defensive tactics, officer survival, and weapons retention and disarmament, I feel more than qualified to answer a question I've seen popping up on a few expert loops…
crimebake

Weekend Road Trip: New England Crime Bake 2008

Guest of Honor: Award-winning, best-selling author HARLAN COBEN Just added! A private screening of the award-winning movie, "Tell No One", based on Harlan's best-selling novel. Open to all attendees. *** For those registered for an…
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

  Deputy Sheriff Christopher Yonkers, 43 Barry County Michigan Sheriffs Office   Deputy Yonkers was killed in a motorcycle accident on October 17, 2008, while working an undercover drug deal. He leaves behind a wife and…

Surgery Is For The Birds!

  I'm still experiencing some pretty nasty complications, but I hope to be back soon. Thanks for all the get well wishes.

Surgery: On The Road To Recovery

  My surgeon ran into a few difficulties so please bear with me. I hope to be back online soon. In the meantime, why don't you chat among yourselves about the topics you'd like to see covered on The Graveyard Shift. I'll be checking…
Jonathan Hayes

Jonathan Hayes: Notes On Forensic Medicine

NOTES ON FORENSIC MEDICINE: AN INTRODUCTION While Lee is away having a little rest on the operating table, I'm going to take this time to introduce myself. I thought it'd be a worthwhile exercise, since I'm hoping to be guest blogging on…
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Weekend Road Trip: I’m Off To The Hospital

  I'll be down for the count for a few days. I'm checking into the hospital on Monday for some surgical repair work on my tired bones. Hopefully, I'll be back working the graveyard shift in a couple of days. In the meantime, please enjoy…
Halloween Safety Tips

Happy Halloween!

  Happy Halloween! Thanks to everyone for making The Graveyard Shift a huge success!
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

  Deputy Sheriff Randy Hamson Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department   Deputy Hamson was struck by a vehicle while directing traffic at an accident scene on August 16, 2004 . He succumbed to his injuries on October 24,…
Odds and Ends

Odds and Ends

  Officer Dave Crawford has been a great friend to me over the years. He has also been very supportive of the mystery writing community. He's my go-to guy when I'm stumped for an answer to your questions. Dave also provides many of the…
Rank: Who's the Boss

Rank: Who’s The Boss?

  How do officers know, at a glance, when they're addressing a ranking officer from another department? Well, the answer is as clear as everything else pertaining to law enforcement - it depends. Police departments use many symbols of…
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Tony Hillerman

Tony Hillerman 1925 - 2008   Elaine Flinn has also left us. She lost her battle with cancer last weekend.
Vivian Zabel

Vivian Zabel: Research with Law Enforcement Experts

Research with Law Enforcement Experts While I sat at my computer working on Midnight Hours, typing what my characters wanted to do and say, I realized I needed some expert advice to be sure what my antagonist wanted would work. Oh, yes, Midnight…
Ocean City Maryland

Weekend Road Trip: Sunrise in Ocean City, Maryland

  I grew up in Delaware, spending summers with my grandparents in a little town on the Choptank River in nearby Maryland, an hour from Ocean City. My summertime treat was to spend a day at the beach with my beloved grandfather. He was…
Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

  Deputy Sheriff Sarah Irene Haylett-Jones, 27 Monroe County, Indiana Sheriffs Office   Deputy Jones passed away on October 19, 2008. She'd been directing traffic at an accident scene on October 17, 2008, when a car operated…