Confessions of An Undercover Cop

Confessions Series #6

by Ash Cameron

The sixth book in the bestselling Confessions series.
What is life like for a female Undercover Cop?

Ash Cameron gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at life in the Police. Funny, moving and irreverent, you’ll never look at a bobby the same way again…

Ash Cameron joined the police in the 70s – think Life on Mars with added ladders in her tights.

From arresting East End gangsters, dealing out justice to football hooligans and coping with sexism on the job, Ash did it all. So when she was asked to go undercover, well, it was just another job, wasn’t it?

Told with warmth and humour, these ‘confessions’ will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you roll your eyes as you learn exactly what goes on behind-the-scenes in the police…

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir

430 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 2013

Reviews

[Lisa Shardlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the real-life memoir of female police officer Ash Cameron (not her real name) who worked undercover in the city of London from the 70s up until the 90s. She tells us what it was like to deal with sexism on the job, football hooligans, arresting gangsters, and dealing with druggies and the homeless, etc.

Some of the incidents that Ash describes while working in the police were quite funny, whereas others were more sad and difficult to read, but all of them were very interesting. I don’t know any police officers and I don’t tend to read or watch many police procedurals so I had no idea what being a police officer would actually involve (outside of arresting people), especially in the 70s, 80s and 90s when women were treated differently in the police force than they are today. Some of the cases that involved the abuse of children were particularly difficult for me to read. This book was a real eyeopener and gave a good insight into what being an undercover police officer was really like.

I don’t think that there was anything that I didn’t like about this book. I really loved Ash and how she told her story with warmth and humour. It really came across that she absolutely loved her job, whether she was involved in a particularly difficult case or not - she loved it all. And she was very brave to cope with everything that got thrown at her.

For all of the above reasons, I give Confessions of an Undercover Cop 5 out of 5 stars!

I would recommend this to anyone who loves nonfiction memoirs and autobiographies, people who are interested in joining the police force, or are looking for a very interesting insight into undercover work.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I love to read about cops and what they go trough. Ash wrote a real feeling book with real emotions and real feelings. I just loved it!

[Ann Rawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stayed up very late last night reading this memoir of one woman's career in the police force, starting in the late 70s. And yes, she does make a joke about Life on Mars.

Told with characteristic humour and the odd touch of self deprecation, there are moments of high comedy but also there is some tragedy. We follow Ash from her time at Hendon and through several different postings - seeing her deal with traffic and pickpockets, prostitution and violence. The most harrowing stories are from her time in child protection.

The memoir has the unmistakable ring of truth. It's a useful reminder too, of what we ask of people like Ash. They see the worst of human behaviour day in, and day out. Sometimes they go through all that only to see the guilty walk away. Ash touches on the politics, and the sexism, from time to time, with a very light hand. She mentions the bad apples, and issues like Hillsborough - but gently reminds us that the majority of police, the majority of the time, deal with our dirty work on a daily basis. And through it all, no matter what she was faced with - spat at, insulted, even held at gunpoint - her empathy and concern for others survived intact. That, for me, is her ultimate achievement and it was worth reading just to have my faith in humanity restored.

My own confession - I know Ash a little via Facebook, and I've been looking forward to reading this memoir for a good while. It lived up to my expectations. A very good read.

[D.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book which had a mix of stores ranging from funny to heartbreaking. The writing style is concise and compassionate. This is Ash Cameron's first book but I am hoping it won't be her last.

[Sharon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this book at all, which is a shame as I love these confessions books. Just couldn't get into any of the stories. Sorry!

[Atlas · Rating 3 out of 5]

* * *
3 / 5

~mini review~

Like the rest of the Confessions series, Confessions of An Undercover Cop is a collection of short stories about the experiences of being a cop. Whilst this called "undercover cop", only about half of the book is about being an undercover cop - mostly it's just about being a cop, from being on traffic duty to going with a male colleague to a swinger's club to try and find a suspect. The stories are often entertaining and harrowing.

Read more of my reviews on my blog: http://atlasrisingbooks.wordpress.com

[Judy Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful and thought-provoking

This sequence of short chapters, each describing an incident from a career in the police service covering time in CID, undercover work, and a child -protection unit, gives the reader a vivid picture of frontline policing. It also highlights a number of social issues and challenges our preconceptions.

The short, relatively self-contained chapters make it an easy book for someone with limited time to take in over a prolonged period.

Highly recommended.😊

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't put this down - but I'm a big fan of the 'confessions' books! This gave an exciting insight in to the life of a police officer. Some of it sad, some of it hilarious, some of it graphic and upsetting, some of it simply really silly. Fantastic read!

[Frankie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always love the confessions books, a glimpse into an undercover cop, the good, the bad and the people that are there for everyone to help protect and serve, forever grateful for the brave ladies and gents that do this job for us every day!

[John Pearce · Rating 1 out of 5]

It must have lived better than it reads.

A dull book; years of writing measured and neutral police reports has robbed the author - plainly a good person and an excellent police officer - of the ability to tell her story interestingly.

[Kirsty Farmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable book from the confessions series

I do love these books, it gives you an insight into a world I would love to be part of. Nothing surprises me to be honest, the dark depths of the criminal under world, certainly worth a read if you’re looking for something light

[Nick Morice-Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read

This is an excellent account of varied career in policing. No punches are pulled, yet it’s also a self-deprecating and honest account, with easily recognisable characters that all job and ex-job will be familiar with.

[Karin Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of anecdotes about being a female police officer in the 70s and 80s. I enjoy a behind the scenes look at other people’s jobs. It’s a book you can dip in and out of with lots of short chapters.

[eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was SO INTERESTING!! ash is SO VERY COOL i am obsessed with her work ethic, her emotional intelligence and the way she writes!! the range of the work she carries out and the risks she takes to make other people’s lives safer is insane! such a great book full of interesting tales of her working life!

[Noushin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good little stories.

The cost of an arrest
Saving lives
Head case

are my favourites

[Marilyn S Corke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very eye opening and funny in places

[Lauri Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn’t really get away with this book. I tried and I finished it but the chapters are too short, it’s not chronological and there are no ‘confessions’ so to speak.

[Ali Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting incite into the work of a police woman's career. Easy to read, fun.

[Shelleyrae at Book'd Out · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ash Cameron served as a policewoman in London from the late 1970's before reluctantly retiring due to ill-health after 20 years on the job. In Confessions of an Undercover Cop, she shares the highlights, and lowlights, of her career from a stockinged, tea making rookie to an undercover officer investigating, amongst other things, fraud, theft and later child abuse.

Confessions of an Undercover Cop is related in the first person in a conversational style. The series of vignettes illustrate cases and events Cameron was involved in during her career, ranging from the amusing to alarming. Dealing with the drunk and disorderly, the homeless and prostitutes dominated Cameron's time on the street while at the other extreme Cameron brushed shoulders with celebrity. The most harrowing cases Cameron relates involve the abuse of children.

While gun crime was rare during Cameron's tenure, in fact London police were armed only with truncheons and Capsicum Spray, she did have to contend with IRA bombing attacks and citywide riots. She faced knife wielding drug addicts, and offenders who spat, bit and head butted her. Cameron confesses she was also accident prone (she was later diagnosed with dyspraxia) and earned several scars from not only from violent offenders, but also recalcitrant doors and protruding tow bars.

Ash has faced her fair share of sexism as one of the few serving female police officers during her career from both colleagues and criminals alike. It is rarely mentioned though she relates exceptional cases, such as the Sergeant who constantly remarked that women should be at home 'where they belong' and another who deliberately sabotaged her during driver training.
Cameron also briefly comments on the failures of the justice system, of cases dismissed on technicalities and offenders walking away after being found not guilty by a jury panel.

What is evident in Confessions of an Undercover Cop is that Ash Cameron was a dedicated police officer. These stories offer an interesting and entertaining insight into her time of service and I enjoyed the read.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The police have had a lot of criticism recently, I think it's fair to say that a great deal of trust has been lost due to the actions taken by senior police officers that have been highlighted in the media over the past year or so. We have to remember that the majority of serving police officers are there because they want to protect the public, because they want to see justice done. They are everyday people, just like the rest of us - doing a job that is often very unpleasant, often criticised and often played down.

I really enjoyed this book. Ash Cameron tells of her time in the police force with humour and affection. We join her as a new recruit in the 70s and follow her as she goes undercover, and later when she works with the People Protection Unit.

The book is made of up short chapters, each describing an incident that Ash had to deal with. Some of these are laugh-out-loud funny, some of them are desperately sad and a few of them are shocking. Ash Cameron writes really well. The reader feels as though they have travelled alongside her, but without the scrapes and bruises!

Ash Cameron saw and did a lot during her career with the police. She was physically attacked and spat at, she saw and heard things most of us could never imagine having to deal with once, let alone on a daily basis. Despite this, her passion for the job, and her belief in the system shines though.

One of the beauties of this book is that it is told in short, snappy bursts. Each chapter is a story in itself, and the book can be either read straight through, or dipped into every now and again.

Confessions of an Undercover Cop is a book that will appeal to many, and one that I'd recommend - a proper behind-the-scenes look at life in the force.

[Sue Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was underwhelmed.

[Debbie Viggiano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to win a signed copy in a competition - and what an absolute treat! The cover is slightly at odds with the story...it's quite light-hearted...whereas actually this is a read that is deadly serious and incredibly gritty. It is absolutely perfect for dipping in and out of if, like me, your reading time is scarce and you don't want to lose 'the plot'. Ash Cameron tells her story of joining the police as a naïve young woman and takes the reader through the tough job of policing and, eventually, going undercover. I defy anybody to whinge about their own day at work after reading this book. From being in the heart of jeering crowds and terrified police horses, to dead vagrants, from drug addicts to notorious villains and hanging around for hours on end to orchestrate the perfect high octane arrest, at times this reads like a movie. Except it's real life. Hats off to Ash Cameron - and all the other brilliant men and women who go to work and literally risk their lives every single day.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bitesize stories detailing one woman's life as an undercover cop in Central London. I love the fact that you can pick up this book and read one story at a time in a spare moment. The stories are warm, often humorous and sometimes heartbreakingly sad. What do you wear when going undercover at a swingers' party? What do you do if you rip your trousers climbing over a fence while chasing a suspect? How does feel to be a female working in a predominantly male environment? How do you cope with sexism? Ash Cameron pulls no punches. She also lets the reader into a world of secrets and cover-ups. She leaves us guessing the identity of the celebrities up to no good in the sleazier parts of the West End. Very apt with Operation Yew Tree and the like. I get the impression that Ash Cameron was an old-fashioned copper with integrity. It makes a refreshing change in a more cynical age when many view the police force as corrupt and ineffective.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cameron was a police officer for 20 years from the 1970s. She tells stories from her career, a mix of funny, poignant and downright crazy. I tend to pick up a book from the Confessions series when I want to read something undemanding.

[Laura Clode · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couldn't put this one down, I loved the varied experiences she had

[William Boyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sure there are enough seeds here to write at least 10 international best sellers.

[Martha Handel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. So interesting to hear another side of the Emegency services lifestyle, really informative. Some great laughs and also some heartbreaking moments. Great work PC ash Cameron