Do You Ever Do Live Research in Dead Places?

Kate Thornton said:

Do you ever research your local law enforcement entities? Or visit the Coroner's Office? I once visited a funeral home and they were very helpful. (It helps if you dress nicely for funeral home research)

Sometimes I take character names for stories from cemetery headstones.

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I've interviewed both a State Police detective and my local Chief of Police (we're a small town, so it wasn't too much to ask). They were both very accommodating and cleared up a lot for me. As long as you approach them nicely and don't harass them for info, I think they'd be willing to help--if they're not busy with a body, of course.

And character names from headstones? Yup. Done it. I also use street names--a lot of times they're named after people anyway, some of them very old with names not that common in the area anymore.

Carlene said:

There is NOTHING like going 110 MPH on the freeway running code 3 (lights & sirens).

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That sounds like a blast. Question I have, I hear that call codes vary from state to state, especially 10-codes. Not sure if that's accurate, so if anyone can elaborate that would be great.

Also heard that a lot of detectives use cell phones instead of radios--it's quicker and provides less opportunity for people with scanners (like reporters) to overhear things. I'm talking detectives, not uniformed beat cops. Has anyone else heard the same?

gp101 said:

That sounds like a blast. Question I have, I hear that call codes vary from state to state, especially 10-codes. Not sure if that's accurate, so if anyone can elaborate that would be great.

Also heard that a lot of detectives use cell phones instead of radios--it's quicker and provides less opportunity for people with scanners (like reporters) to overhear things. I'm talking detectives, not uniformed beat cops. Has anyone else heard the same?

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I googled 10 codes for our state, and they are different from other places. I wrote a short story and the editor of the ezine that bought it said I had the code wrong, and I had to show him where I got it.

My scanner doesn't work anymore, everything is digital now. I'll have to ask my detective friend about the cell phones.

jeseymour said:

My scanner doesn't work anymore, everything is digital now. I'll have to ask my detective friend about the cell phones.

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Oh please do! I would like to get to the bottom of this.

This is an awesome thread -- and I had no idea that so many of these things were openly available for people to do! I really should look into finding an autopsy or a ride-along that I can do in the area (though if I can get down to Vegas, I'm sure that'd be a riot of different proportions).

gp101 said:

That sounds like a blast. Question I have, I hear that call codes vary from state to state, especially 10-codes. Not sure if that's accurate, so if anyone can elaborate that would be great.

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Yes, this is true. 10-codes can vary wildly not just from state to state but from PD to PD, and many PDs don’t use them at all. Ours doesn’t, they've always used plain language, although they do have codes for some service-related things. (I don't think "code 3" was meant as a 10-code here though, it indicates the urgency of the response. My service uses Priority 1 to 3, other places use Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc.)

gp101 said:

Also heard that a lot of detectives use cell phones instead of radios--it's quicker and provides less opportunity for people with scanners (like reporters) to overhear things. I'm talking detectives, not uniformed beat cops. Has anyone else heard the same?

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Yes. Ours still have radios to communicate with dispatch, but most of it happens via phone.

If you don't ask, you don't get - that's my motto!

In England I've met with "my" county police's Cold Case Unit, picked the brains of various friends in the police and a family friend who's a consultant anaesthetist, grilled colleagues who are originally from the US and Mexico and hope to see a postmortum (I should really start putting out feelers on that one). I also spent the day with the local CSI years ago for something connected with work and they said I'm more than welcome to go back, but my story doesn't go into lots of forensic detail and a friend's sister works in that field (so said I can send her questions if I need anything).

For the US-based sections of the story, it's a little more tricky. I've done four research trips (and am now addicted to road trippin') and asked any locals I can engage in conversation all manner of random questions - luckily they just seem to think I'm some eccentric Limey type and politely humour me! You can learn a lot about a place by talking to the locals and doing "mundane" things like riding the bus, going to the supermarket, reading the local newspaper, etc.

I even emailed the FBI for some information, assuming they'd politely say they were too busy, but ended up having a looooong chat (on their bill too!) with a very helpful agent, who I've since emailed for an extra snippet of info. I also phoned the Reno resident agency to find out which one of two addresses they were at in 2009 - and had yet another informative chat which gave me a few extra authentic details to incorporate.

Like WackAMole said, the worst they can do is say no.

Cheers...

LPH.

As a police officer I would like to add that many of us cops enjoy taking civilians on ride-a-longs. It is a nice change to have someone else in the car, assuming single officer patrol units.

I might sound like a geek here, but I take ride-a-longs with other police departments. When I have been on trips out of state I will often call the local PD to see about riding with an officer.

A friend recently offered me a Saturday night ride-along in the riot van - haha! Not sure if I quite had that in mind when I asked if I could maybe go out and about (on police business) with him sometime. We'll see.

If I was to try to charm my way into a ride-along next time I'm in the US, how do you suggest I go about it? Would contacting the public relations office be the way to go, and see if we could sort something from there?

Of course, I could always just turn up with:
http://media.katu.com/images/110806_donuts.jpg
(I've sampled this place's offerings - Mmmm!)

Los Pollos Hermanos said:

If I was to try to charm my way into a ride-along next time I'm in the US, how do you suggest I go about it? Would contacting the public relations office be the way to go, and see if we could sort something from there?

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Depends on where. If you want to do it with a larger PD you'll probably have to submit a request in advance. They'll have forms on their website if they have a ride-along program.

Los Pollos Hermanos said:

Of course, I could always just turn up with:
http://media.katu.com/images/110806_donuts.jpg
(I've sampled this place's offerings - Mmmm!)

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Reeeaaally. On a completely unrelated matter, you wouldn't perchance be interested in a ride-along with an inner-city ambulance, would you?

Ha! You only say that for the donuts! Actually, I'm quite squeamish about live bleeding people (and vomit) - I struggle to watch reality shows which feature ambulance crews and their cases. However, give me a book of real crime scene photos and I'll take my time looking though and ask for another (my local CSI department were shocked when I did this - they're apparently more used to people passing out/throwing up). Weird eh?

Thanks for the heads-up on the big city ride-along request etiquette. I think LAPD do this, but I'll look into it for next time I'm in Denver (hopefully next summer, couldn't afford it this year). Apparently they now have a Voodoo Doughnut in Denver (I've been to the original one in Portland), so those mile high cops should be more than welcoming!