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Cops and Writers: From The Academy To The Street
Are you a civilian crime writer who wants to use picture perfect law enforcement details? Do you worry that your mystery novel or screenplay lacks credibility? Fiction and nonfiction author Sergeant Patrick O’Donnell has seen it all in his 24 years working for one of the largest police departments in the country. Now he’s here to help your writing honor the men and women who risk their lives in the line of duty. Cops and From the Academy to the Street is your in-depth field guide for navigating the path from new recruit to seasoned patrol officer. Through O’Donnell’s accounts, you’ll get up close and personal with day-to-day challenges and out-of-the-ordinary emergencies including homicides, hostage situations, and bomb threats. Armed with this invaluable resource for decoding police jargon, tactics, and standard-issue gear, you’ll be well equipped to breathe new life into your stories. Cops and Writers is your all-in-one reference guide for giving your novel or screenplay much-needed street cred. If you like candid stories told with cop humor, technical details, and peering into the minds of those who serve and protect, then you’ll love Sergeant Patrick O’Donnell’s must-have handbook for crime fiction writers.
232 pages, Paperback
Published June 20, 2019
94 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
September 5, 2019
Good, easy to read and understand nuts and bolts book on police procedure, infrastructure, and basics. Definitely a book crime writers should keep in their arsenal.
May 26, 2021
Lots of information here, although you might want to take notes as you go along because there is a lot of information! It will help writers with the structure of your police force, etc. as well as give you a few story ideas as you're reading through it. I will be referring to my notes as I write.
October 31, 2021
Cops and Writers: From The Academy To The Street is a good starting point for writers looking to write crime thrillers or police procedurals and are looking to ensure they have a base of authenticity.
Patrick O'Donnell is a seasoned law enforcement officer with over a quarter-century of policing experience in a major Midwest agency. He walks the readers through the basics of what the basic street cop is trained on, what their day would look like, what kind of crimes they interdict, and a cop's brand of humor. To the uninitiated, it will be clear he knows his stuff; to those who have researched the topic elsewhere, this book will serve as a confirmation of many other information sources.
I will say that the reader will have to keep in mind that since Mr. O'Donnell is a LEO, he writes from an unabashedly pro-LE perspective. Being pro-LE myself, I didn't mind that; that said, I know many writers looking to do research who may be put off by that. That's not to say he's on the "cops can do zero wrong ever" train that we've seen from the fringe of the pro-LE factions over the past few years, but there were a couple of passages that had me thinking how others would rebut his point of view. I would say to them what I would say to Mr. O'Donnell if I were to offer constructive criticism on the book: step outside of your own perspective, understand where others are coming from, and bridge the gap.
My other nitpick is that there are a few grammatical errors spread throughout, but that doesn't detract from the information contained within.
I do stress this is very much a broad-strokes intro to the subject. One will not walk away from reading this having a mastery of how to write beat cops. Even Mr. O'Donnell stresses that writers do additional research into whatever particular agency their work of fiction will focus on. That said, it will give them an idea of what kind of research to do and what to look for. Additionally, the appendices in the back of the book will prove very useful in schooling the reader on some basic terminology.
I definitely enjoyed reading this book, confirming previous knowledge, learning new things, and hearing some of Mr. O'Donnell's war stories. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment in the series.
Patrick O'Donnell is a seasoned law enforcement officer with over a quarter-century of policing experience in a major Midwest agency. He walks the readers through the basics of what the basic street cop is trained on, what their day would look like, what kind of crimes they interdict, and a cop's brand of humor. To the uninitiated, it will be clear he knows his stuff; to those who have researched the topic elsewhere, this book will serve as a confirmation of many other information sources.
I will say that the reader will have to keep in mind that since Mr. O'Donnell is a LEO, he writes from an unabashedly pro-LE perspective. Being pro-LE myself, I didn't mind that; that said, I know many writers looking to do research who may be put off by that. That's not to say he's on the "cops can do zero wrong ever" train that we've seen from the fringe of the pro-LE factions over the past few years, but there were a couple of passages that had me thinking how others would rebut his point of view. I would say to them what I would say to Mr. O'Donnell if I were to offer constructive criticism on the book: step outside of your own perspective, understand where others are coming from, and bridge the gap.
My other nitpick is that there are a few grammatical errors spread throughout, but that doesn't detract from the information contained within.
I do stress this is very much a broad-strokes intro to the subject. One will not walk away from reading this having a mastery of how to write beat cops. Even Mr. O'Donnell stresses that writers do additional research into whatever particular agency their work of fiction will focus on. That said, it will give them an idea of what kind of research to do and what to look for. Additionally, the appendices in the back of the book will prove very useful in schooling the reader on some basic terminology.
I definitely enjoyed reading this book, confirming previous knowledge, learning new things, and hearing some of Mr. O'Donnell's war stories. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment in the series.
June 21, 2019
It’s a masterclass on police work
An eye-opener! This is a terrific resource for writers who are looking to understand how police organizations function and what a day in the life of a police officer is really like.
The author, a police officer with many years of experience, weaves factual explanations with real life stories, making for an entertaining read! Highly recommended
An eye-opener! This is a terrific resource for writers who are looking to understand how police organizations function and what a day in the life of a police officer is really like.
The author, a police officer with many years of experience, weaves factual explanations with real life stories, making for an entertaining read! Highly recommended
July 15, 2019
COPS AND WRITERS:FROM THE ACADEMY TO THE STREET---PATRIC O’DONNELL
Mr. O’Donnell has delivered a writers guide for those authors writing police procedurals or mysteries that may involve some form of law enforcement. You’ll find everything from the application process, academy life and life as a police officer. I found the book to be quite comprehensive in the information was contained and how it would affect the characters written about. Kudos to the author for writing such a wonderful writing resource!!!!! I give this 5 sergeants badges!!!
Mr. O’Donnell has delivered a writers guide for those authors writing police procedurals or mysteries that may involve some form of law enforcement. You’ll find everything from the application process, academy life and life as a police officer. I found the book to be quite comprehensive in the information was contained and how it would affect the characters written about. Kudos to the author for writing such a wonderful writing resource!!!!! I give this 5 sergeants badges!!!
May 2, 2022
This is an informative book, not just for writers but for others to understand policing and police culture. Billed as being for writers, I did, however, find the organization of the book a little lacking. The initial portion of the book could use some work. I nearly pulled out my hair with the number of times the author used the phrase "he or she." Although I can understand the desire to not appear sexist, this could have been broken up a bit through the use of genderless terms.
As the book progresses, it begins to sound a bit less stilted, and loosens up nicely when the author engages in more anecdotal discussions.
There are some spelling/misuse errors, punctuation errors, and grammar errors that should perhaps be addressed by an editor and proofreader.
Again, not a bad book, but with a little work it could really shine.
As the book progresses, it begins to sound a bit less stilted, and loosens up nicely when the author engages in more anecdotal discussions.
There are some spelling/misuse errors, punctuation errors, and grammar errors that should perhaps be addressed by an editor and proofreader.
Again, not a bad book, but with a little work it could really shine.
January 1, 2025
This book had a lot of really great information. I also liked the conversational tone. It made it feel more like having a conversation with the author as opposed to a dry regurgitation of material. The only complaint I really have about it is that his editor kind of did him dirty. There are a lot of misspellings, misused words, tense switches mid sentence, or repeated words that should have been caught during the editing process. I saw that it said the book was professionally edited, but when I tried to look up the editor, all I found was a self-published author on Amazon. My guess is this author had no idea. If this book went through a solid line edit, it would be impeccable. Like I said, really great information and tone, but the editing definitely could have been better. (Of course, it could have been worse also!)
July 18, 2020
I loved Patrick O’Donnell’s personal account of his many years as a law enforcement officer. Whether or not you are a writer of crime novels or just an interested reader for an inside look at what it’s like to work in law enforcement, this book provides an in-depth look at the realities. As a writer of romantic suspense, I constantly refer to this book for everything from protocols, communication, what police academies are like, arrest techniques, you name it. It’s all here in easy to understand language in this comprehensive look at what goes on behind the scenes. I highly recommend this book for everyone, not just writers and authors, to gain an understanding of what police officers deal with on a daily basis. Kudos to Patrick O’Donnell!
July 24, 2019
So much information!
This book was well worth the read. As a suspense and thriller writer, I’m always trying to learn more and perfect my craft of writing believable cops. This book had so much information and I will be recommending it to everyone I know who writes in my genre. I can’t wait to read the others in this series!
This book was well worth the read. As a suspense and thriller writer, I’m always trying to learn more and perfect my craft of writing believable cops. This book had so much information and I will be recommending it to everyone I know who writes in my genre. I can’t wait to read the others in this series!
November 25, 2019
A highly recommended eye-opener! Wow, I found this a terrific resource for writers who are looking to understand how police organizations function and what a day in the life of a police officer is really like.
The author, a police officer with many years of experience, weaves factual explanations with real-life stories, making for an entertaining read.
The author, a police officer with many years of experience, weaves factual explanations with real-life stories, making for an entertaining read.
January 30, 2020
Excellent resource for writers.
I haven’t read the whole thing yet but it’s obvious this book will help a writer with details that are widely unknown to the general public. I had a technical problem with the police procedural that I’m working on and this book answered it for me. Definitely worth the money.
I haven’t read the whole thing yet but it’s obvious this book will help a writer with details that are widely unknown to the general public. I had a technical problem with the police procedural that I’m working on and this book answered it for me. Definitely worth the money.
April 11, 2020
Nice Basic Review about American Police Force
As a South African mystery writer, this gave me a useful insight into the American police force. The only failing though is that I write from the perspective of homicides and would ha e preferred more detail on police procedure in that respect.
As a South African mystery writer, this gave me a useful insight into the American police force. The only failing though is that I write from the perspective of homicides and would ha e preferred more detail on police procedure in that respect.
October 10, 2021
Great info about basic police work!
This book was great, and answered a lot of questions I had about police work. Broken down into numerous sections, the book is loaded with information. I liked the way it was structured and the author gave in depth info about not only department titles but various units within the departments.
This book was great, and answered a lot of questions I had about police work. Broken down into numerous sections, the book is loaded with information. I liked the way it was structured and the author gave in depth info about not only department titles but various units within the departments.
September 26, 2019
Informative and Entertaining
As an officer of more than 20 years the author accurately depicts the daily job of an officer. Loved the added comedic stories that every cop has while explaining what we do.
As an officer of more than 20 years the author accurately depicts the daily job of an officer. Loved the added comedic stories that every cop has while explaining what we do.
January 18, 2021
You could take a guy who’s never watched a cop show, never read a crime novel and plunk him down beside the Sarge for a half hour and he could write a book Elmore would be impressed by. No kidding! The Sarge lays it all out there like a Rand McNally road map. I loved this book…can't you tell!?
December 2, 2021
If you're looking for a interesting and fact-based read on what it's like to really be a cop, you can't go wrong with Patrick O'Donnell. His Cops and Writers Podcast is also pretty darn good. If you are a mystery/crime/police procedural writer, you need this book on your shelf.
December 28, 2021
An invaluable resource
Patrick O'Donnell's book is a great resource for the writer or crime fiction. I"m a homicide detectives son and have worked in corrections for 28 years, and I still learned a lot from this book. Highly recommended.
Patrick O'Donnell's book is a great resource for the writer or crime fiction. I"m a homicide detectives son and have worked in corrections for 28 years, and I still learned a lot from this book. Highly recommended.
November 8, 2024
Informatīvs ceļvedis rakstniekiem policijas darba ikdienā
Tāpat kā nākamā grāmata šajā sērijā, šī, sērijas pirmā grāmata, ir vērtīgs un informatīvs ceļvedis rakstniekiem policijas darba ikdienā, kas palīdz uzrakstīt labāku un reālistiskāku stāstu.
Tāpat kā nākamā grāmata šajā sērijā, šī, sērijas pirmā grāmata, ir vērtīgs un informatīvs ceļvedis rakstniekiem policijas darba ikdienā, kas palīdz uzrakstīt labāku un reālistiskāku stāstu.
May 5, 2025
Informative
Found it really informative. It’s a helpful book if you’re trying to understand how cops and their assignments work. Can’t wait to read the crime scene investigation book!
Found it really informative. It’s a helpful book if you’re trying to understand how cops and their assignments work. Can’t wait to read the crime scene investigation book!
October 8, 2019
A highly biased take on a lot of police procedure, and a few outright falsehoods.
December 26, 2019
Very Informative read. Great for research.
Very informative read. There were also some good stories and humor in the book. This should help anyone doing research.
Very informative read. There were also some good stories and humor in the book. This should help anyone doing research.
September 8, 2020
Very thorough and informative.
October 25, 2020
Good solid police procedural info from someone in the front lines.
April 23, 2021
Clear, real-life introduction to how cops train.
April 23, 2021
I found this interesting and informative. Had what I needed and a whole lot more!
January 5, 2024
BEST book on writing authentic law enforcement and how to nix the cliches. Best FB group. Highly recommend.
June 22, 2020
Excellent book on how cops are developed. Useful for my present WIP. Can't wait to read more from this guy.
November 7, 2025
What I loved most was how approachable this book is. It’s packed with detail, but never dry. The author’s humor and storytelling make you feel like you’re on a ride-along. Even if you’re not a writer, it’s a fascinating look at real police work.
October 17, 2019
O'Donnell's book is to the point and very useful for crime writers. Maybe it's just me, but I found the blunt facts a little boring and struggled to get through the details, but I have used so much in my own writing and have a better understanding of policing in the US as a result.
June 7, 2021
A good overview of what it takes (from the academy to the street) and what it means to be a cop, told from the author's experience. For a writer, this provides firm insight into what police work truly entails.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews