Confessions of a Police Constable

by Matt Delito

Thieving ninjas, racist fast-food patrons, road traffic accidents, mischievous shoplifters, sudden deaths, car chases, and domestic violence – it’s all in a day’s work for London-based PC Matt Delito.

Working at the front-line on the streets of London can be thrilling, frightening, rewarding, infuriating, and sometimes plain hilarious.

In this eye-opening account of on-the-beat policing, Delito narrates some of his most interesting cases – from working undercover in a city club to being ambushed in the London riots – as well as taking us through the gadgets, procedures, and lingo that go with life at the other end of a 999 call.

From the team that brought you the bestselling CONFESSIONS OF A GP and CONFESSIONS OF A MALE NURSE comes CONFESSIONS OF A POLICE CONSTABLE: a book that will shine a light on the gripping, touching and shocking realities of life as a city police constable.

What did you do at work today?

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Crime, Biography, Autobiography

305 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 25, 2013

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

An easy read, nothing special, confessions of a checkout girl was significantly better.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read Matt Delito's posts on Gizmodo for while, so when I saw he'd released a book I bought it straight away.

Some of the content is stuff I've read before online but there's enough new content for the book to be well worth reading even if you are familiar with Matt Delito's writing.

A very enjoyable read. I finished reading it in one sitting. I'd recommend this book to anyone who has a geeky curiosity about the Metropolitan police force. Service.... I mean service.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read confessions of a NY taxi driver and at the end, this was recommended to me by Kindle. I think this book would be far more enjoyable for those not in the job, unfortunately, for me, even though I'm not an officer, I work with them, so the mystique was not quite the same. There were a few laughs, and he seems like a nice guy. If you're curious about the world of response policing give this a go.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine you're sat in the pub and this guy at the next table starts chatting about his work. This is the conversation you'd be having as he tells you about some of the things he's seen as a police officer. I enjoyed reading about his exploits and, as mentioned, it was written in an easily accessible style.

[Laura Clode]

Read in one sitting, a great insight into police life and the things police officers, constables and more have to endure on a day to day basis.

[Laura Clode · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bit slow but the collection of stories are quite amusing and weird.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and entertaining insight in to modern policing in the UK.

[Jenny Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read quite a few of this type of book and I absolutely loved this one, I couldn’t really fault it! A reminder of what an amazing job the police do most of the time and the range of things they deal with. I’m looking forward to reading others in the series.

[Zara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a little disappointed because I was hoping to see more introspection in this book like the other Confessions book I've read - Confessions of a GP. No real thoughts about what works and what doesn't work so well in terms of what measures have been tried to improve the police force - whether it is the right thing to do certain things or not - e.g. there was talk about rounding up suspects from the London riots but nothing about his or his colleagues' opinions on whether they should have been put in jail or given leniency. There's also not much discussion about his "customers" and the circumstances they live in - being on the force he's certainly met quite a lot of them - so it would be good to hear what he thinks about why do some people end up in crime and others not?

At the end of the day, the author does deliver stories about being on the services and I have gained a better insight into the mind of a police man, but I was hoping for a lot more.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating insight into some of the situations and challenges faced by an English policeman. It's not a particularly long book, but it has a good range of stories. I found the narrative engaging and well-written, but I also appreciated learning a few little technical details here and there, such as how some of their radio protocol works.

I find books like this tremendously helpful in appreciating life from other people's points-of-view. This one is a particularly good example, so I would recommend it to pretty much anyone.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's ok probably better if your not related to serving and retired coppers who tell stories grittier and more entertaining at times.
It was an easy read though but not the best I've read it is probably more to do with the fact I thought it would be written like Blood sweat and tea but I should know better!
There were a few good bits but the dark humour which I have too didn't seem to come across as well as it should but still give it a go it's still worth a read!

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been reading his articles on Gizmodo for some time, so purchased the book as soon as it was released. Like the other review states some of the stories are reprinted but it was definitely worth the purchase. A good, informative read.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book, easy to read, covers some of the serious stuff but also some light hearted cop banter and 'so crazy it must be true' stories. The author must really love his job, doesn't have the same 'fed up' attitude similar memoirs have

[Glenn Keenan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book which was both very funny and completely shocking in places. Shows how hard the work of the police can be but also how rewarding their efforts can be. I completed the book in just over a week.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

With plenty of enjoyable anecdotes however Confessions of a Police Constable does lack occasional bite. I get the feeling these are reserved confessions on the basis of not being too explicit or out there.

[Dayzee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, and a great late-night read when I was struggling to get some much-needed sleep! Took the edge off the tiredness!

[Michael Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing insight into a policeman life
could not put this book down a real lazy easy read

[Mark Maguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly entertaining and eye-opening in equal measure.

[Keely · Rating 3 out of 5]

a nice easy read, found this book quite good. it's always interesting to have an insight into someone else's life.

[Antonianmoon · Rating 1 out of 5]

With this person, the police way of talking does not make for enjoyable book reading

[Laura jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

ok for a quick read some of the detail was a bit of waffle doesnt give me much faith in the police and he seemed big headed

[Andrew Tuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Stuff

Very readable well written - funny but also tackles the serious issues. Will certainly look out for more books by the same author.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy, enjoyable read. Lots of short stories mean this book can easily be finished in a day or two, alternatively drawn out for longer if you want to just dip in.

[Helen Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. I've read quite a few police tell-alls and this was one of my favourite despite it being quite a few years old. It wasn't heavy going, it didn't overplay the negative and cynicism and it wasn't morbid and upsetting. Overall "Matt" pitched it just right with describing to us his world, as it is from both a call wise and a form filling perspective! Not sure I'll read the other books in the "confessions" series' as it was specifically the police I wanted to read about but would recommend this one.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read in the Confessions series. I really enjoy these books as although they are informative and interesting, they are also very light hearted and witty.

This book is very similar, there are funny parts throughout, and also true stories of a day in the life of a Police constable. There are also some sad cases, such as sudden death and how to deal with that, but this was a great oversight. There are a lot of slogans used in this book for all the code words for things related to all things Police, and it's good they are defined in the back of the book as many won't understand all the different abbreviations and terminology.

Very good read.

[eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

i enjoyed this, a good range of stories & matt was very respectful towards criminals & their victims which was nice to see! i definitely felt part of his world, which was the point of these books so what a slay!! also some good inner-station police gossip :)

[Dawn Brookes · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting insight into the daily life of a rather cynical policeman. Funny in parts.

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally a book that conveys a happy Police Officer who speaks from the heart of a job he loves.
Well written and excellently explained. Read for a true and accurate representation of policing.

[Lizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting, and a nice chap. Good book for breakfast time! Occasional horror.

[Cheri Smallwood-ellerker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book it was lighthearted and a great book to read whilst on the beach .