Researching for Upcoming book

[spidergirl1979]

Hello all,
I'm in the process of writing a book and have several police related questions in order to make the plot more believable/practical. Just a bit of background before I go onto the questions It's going to be a super-hero type book (similar to X-Men genre) and the main character is going to have a friend who is a police officer. (It's half sci-fi and half reality based)

Anyhow, I'm just wondering about the different ranks and duties associated with it. (Would say a sergent have similar duties to that of a lieutenant?) I have made the character a lieutenant and just want to make sure that the scenarios that are happening are something that could take place in the real world. (He goes undercover to expose a drug deal, investigates a missing persons case, that sort of thing)

Why are the policy's regarding being on duty but in civvies (I realize that if a cop is undercover than they certainly don't want to be in uniform. I can only go by what I've seen on tv which I know won't be purely factual but it seems that mostly detectives are the ones that don't wear uniforms while on duty.

If there is a case where a civilian needs to be involved (say a scientist, witness, or even occasionaly a psychic) what is the protocol? Do they have to sign something so they can't go around and tell everyone else about the intimate details of the case?

And lastly, how long can a person be held in custody before they can be either released or arrested? IE a person is accused of a crime and there is only circumstantial evidence, nothing solid, the police can take them in for an interview but at what time do they either need to release them or arrest them? Isn't it like 48 hours or is this dependant on the state/province and the type of crime?

(The book will take place in a fictional town so I'm not too worried about the differences between state to state or from province to province.)

And I'm sorry of these are rather stupid questions but I'm afraid I know a bit more about the forensics part that the actual day to day innner workings of being a police officer. Thanks again!

[Tennsix]

A sergeant is below a lieutenant. The duties of either position vary greatly with each department and the division (s)he works. Generally speaking, A SGT will report to a LT.

Not all detectives work plain or casual clothes.

The police cannot compel anyone from talking about a case. A person can be charged with a criminal offense, if they do/say anything that hinders an investigation.

The police deal more with probable cause and not evidence. Police often collect statements, items, etc that later become evidence. The police are not required to have

[Zeichnete]

man i am beging to think i should of asked stuff like that before i wrote a poem that involved police. So i will ask them now if you all dont mind because it isnt like it has been published yet, it usually will require me to die before my work is published but i will still ask just to make sure i am accurate. The questions are as follows:

1)would police discontinue chaseing with ground units if the person they were chasing wasnt hitting anybody on an interstate and there was a police helicopter tracking the pursuit and traffic was heavy?

2)if the pursuit entered a huge city with tall buildings and there were no ground units in the area would the helicopter back off to aviod hitting a building

3)if the suspect stoped at a hospital to see his dieing wife before she died, would police let him be with her during her last few minutes on earth because he had been speeding for hundreds of miles and evaded many police because he wanted to get to her before she died?

4)After the suspect's wife died in his arms and police came into the hospital room would they have been able to stop him from killing himself with a knife?

5) would the sound of a helicopter megaphone be able to be heard inside a large building if the copter was right outside the building?

thanks, in advance for answering for i simply must have accuracy in all my writtings

[Max Fischer]

NOT A LEO, Just a Horrified Bystander

(.....tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock.......)


If you guys hurry, you can still get a front row seat to this train-wreck.

[Buttercup]

(.....tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock.......)


If you guys hurry, you can still get a front row seat to this train-wreck.

Not a LEO, not offering a response, just hiding behind Max Fischer, peeking out every few minutes just to watch....

[Cockney Corner.]

After the suspect's wife died in his arms and police came into the hospital room would they have been able to stop him from killing himself with a knife?

Hard to give you a conclusive answer but statistics show that we have at least a two-thirds chance of stopping a bereaved husband killing himself, who has just been chased into a huge city with tall buildings by a helicopter.

[J--WS6]

1)would police discontinue chaseing with ground units if the person they were chasing wasnt hitting anybody on an interstate and there was a police helicopter tracking the pursuit and traffic was heavy?


No. The ground units would be out of the suspects sight, but close enough to be there if he stops/ditches.


2)if the pursuit entered a huge city with tall buildings and there were no ground units in the area would the helicopter back off to aviod hitting a building


No. Helicopter pilots are trained to not hit buildings. Roads run between buildings, so can helicopters. Besides, there is no need to be low enough to hit a building. They have zoom lenses.


3)if the suspect stoped at a hospital to see his dieing wife before she died, would police let him be with her during her last few minutes on earth because he had been speeding for hundreds of miles and evaded many police because he wanted to get to her before she died?


No. He's be proned out and hauled off before she had been given jello interveniously.


4)After the suspect's wife died in his arms and police came into the hospital room would they have been able to stop him from killing himself with a knife?


They would have already got him. If by some twist of fate, they arrived just after she'd died, im sure a taser would do the trick.


5) would the sound of a helicopter megaphone be able to be heard inside a large building if the copter was right outside the building?


I'd imagine that would depend on the construction of the building.