Crime novels by former detective Neil Lancaster shed light on real-life police corruption | Books | entertainment

An elite secret unit of highly trained detectives aiming to root out corrupt police and their criminal conspirators. Allegations of misconduct that corrupt the force. and a network of private messaging apps where officers exchange shaming information.

No, not the Metropolitan Police – although Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley is forced to move 90 officers from tackling serious crime and terrorism to investigating their colleagues – but the fictional world of cop turned thriller writer Neil Lancaster.

Described by crime-writing legend Ian Rankin as a “Jack Reacher Fronting Line Of Duty,” Lancaster’s action—the fourth of which, Blood Runs Cold—reflects concern about who polices surveillance.

Published in September 2021, Dead Man’s Grave started the gripping chain of many of the current scandals.

But there’s no escaping the timing of DS Max Craigie’s Lancaster and fictional police team in Scotland – nor their broad appeal in the wake of popular TV dramas like Line Of Duty, Happy Valley and Grace.

Featuring bent cops selling information for sexual favours, brutal Albanian gangsters trafficking drugs and women, and murder at the highest levels of law enforcement, you might think its latest threads stretch into credulity.

Even, that is, you can pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV news for the latest allegations against Britain’s largest police force.

Despite a reformed new commissioner, Met police are neck deep in their worst corruption crisis since the 1970s amid the widespread fallout of sexual and domestic abuse allegations against serving officers.

Former officers Wayne Cousins, who kidnapped and murdered 33-year-old Sarah Everard, and serial rapist David Carrick, who were both jailed for a 17-year campaign of terror against women, shattered the public’s trust.

Other cops were recently fired for sharing racist, sexist and misogynistic WhatsApp messages, crime scene photos, and abusing Katie Price’s son, Harvey, who has learning disabilities.

Sir Mark, who came out of retirement to become Commissioner six months ago, vowed to “raise the stone” and insisted that the majority of the officers supported his efforts.

“The most urgent thing is to remove the cancer from the body,” he added.

Former Detective Sergeant Lancaster, 57, who retired from the MIT in 2015 after 25 years of service, including many years as an undercover police specialist, wholeheartedly agrees.

“I am proud of the fact that I was an employee of the Met and I believe my account balance is in credit,” he states firmly.

But it has become an open wound and the plaster needs to come off. I have friends and family in the police and this is really hard for them. It’s a very difficult time. Things change – and a lot needs to change – but good cops hate having criminals in the ranks as much as anyone else.”

Born in Liverpool, contemporary primary school to Strictly Come Dancing star Anton du Beek, a father of three now living in the Scottish Highlands.

He is commendably reluctant to play an armchair expert, or to be seen as exploiting crime victims or his former powers of publicity.

However, prior to joining the Met he spent six years in the RAF Police and his experience on the ‘job’ shines through.

Today, the relationship between the police and the public is feared.

Low morale, poor quality recruits, inadequate vetting and non-residential training all played their part, Lancaster says, but he also blames the closing of police stations, and a lack of intervention in management.

Police “canteen culture” was a term once used to describe the toxic chords in which misogynists like Wayne Cousins ​​could hide in plain sight, but Lancaster suggests a “counterargument.”

“When we had canteens at the Met, you’d come in for a meal and decompress. You’d be with the senior officers, administration staff, and visitors. You could share ideas and let loose,” he carefully explains.

“They’re gone now and officers have to eat where they can, often on the go. There’s a break. Where’s the time to decompress?”

The rise of social media and smartphones – which you end up with instead – has also contributed to a toxic culture.

“The officers in the WhatsApp groups with Wayne Couzens deserve whatever they get — the feedback has been horrific,” Lancaster continues. “But you just have to look at Twitter to see how decent, right-thinking people say the most ridiculous things.”

“Look at issues like transgender rights or Scotland’s independence, and regular folk go from disagreeing to ‘I hate you, you’re a cheater, you deserve to die’ in moments.” In general, officers need more interaction, both with the public and with their colleagues, he says.

But perhaps the most pressing issue, he says, is the scale of the numbers. Some 20,000 officers were lost as a result of the austerity measures, and the service never recovered.

“Not enough staff, deadlock,” says Lancaster. “The police are running ripped apart. Many response teams are also carrying case loads that they don’t have a chance to handle.”

One ugly example, much of which has been realized, is that on February 27, 2021, six days before the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Sarah Everard, Firearms Officer Couzens exposed himself at a drive-in restaurant.

It later emerged that this was the fourth (known) time he had revealed himself, as no previous action had been taken by the police, leaving the Cousins ​​to continue working with the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Branch.

This time they did respond, though they didn’t visit the restaurant where the complaint was made until March 3 – the day the Koozes kidnapped Sarah.

“This case could have been assigned but the officer might not have been on duty, or they might have been in court, or sat on permanent guard in the detention ward,” Lancaster explains.

There is an argument that indecent exposure should rise to a really serious crime because the suspects are doing so much worse. But there are too few officers and too much work, and it’s often not police work—nearly 60 percent of police time is dealing with mental health crises and missing persons. This means that when someone is burgled, there is no one to send.”

It’s not just a museum either.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that officers across the country failed to visit the scene of 45,233 burglaries in 2022. Data from 19 forces also revealed 75% of burglaries were closed without investigating any suspects.

Lancaster, who will appear at this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Criminal Writing Festival in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, continues: “Since 2010, 126 police stations in London have closed.

“Some of them were very small – one I had served in for many years, Willesden Green, was like a little house – but there was someone there who worked 24 hours a day.

“If you wanted to talk to the police, you could go in. Many of those stations have since closed, and officers have switched to the larger ones.”

People feel abandoned by the police and this leads to a loss of trust. What the average person would want if they were a victim of crime is for the police to turn up…and that doesn’t happen.”

The author suggests several areas where changes can be made: including staffing, auditing, and management. “We’ve been in a long period of full staffing, so the police have gone from being able to pick the best candidates to having to take those they can get,” he continues.

“We also saw a change in the actual process. When you applied, you were visited at home by a sergeant. They would chat with you for an hour and get you measured. That was incredibly valuable.”

“Now everything has been outsourced — especially during a pandemic — and there have been cases where the first time a recruit met anyone from the service was on their first day as a police officer. Because of that, you get a different level of recruit.”

“I don’t want to generalize because there are so many great people still serving at the Met, but they also get recruits who haven’t made the standard before.”

Lancaster turned to writing after his retirement and has clearly found his home, having published seven books, including the most recent one, since 2019. “I enjoyed creative writing at school,” he says. “When I left the police, I found myself not having a great deal of work and living in this remote area and just wondered if I could write. Turns out I could. I wrote three action-adventure series and then created Max Craigie.”

Like Lancaster, Craigie was also an ex-trooper. He served in Afghanistan and saw a close friend die.

He suffers from PTSD, which he manages with exercise, not drinking.

None of this is based on the author, though he admits his new book was inspired by the real-life human trafficking ring he hunted while on loan to the Home Office’s Immigration Crime Squad.

Albanian women were brought to the UK via Eurostar, then disappeared into the underground, most likely being exploited.

Thanks to the efforts of Lancaster and her colleagues, three men were imprisoned for 21 years and acclaimed.

Today, while the real police may be in the kennel, we’re reading more accounts of crime than ever before. Lancaster’s books alone have sold over 200,000 copies.

“I don’t wear rose-colored glasses,” he adds.

The subject of my books is corruption, but, just like the real world, it’s good for cops to catch the bad guys. The investigation into Wayne Cousins ​​- led by a woman, by the way – is hailed by the judge as “the most impressive police investigation in 30 years”.

“Despite what happens in the real world, our fascination with crime isn’t going anywhere. People still want to read about the police and watch TV crime series – it helps them make sense of a complex world.”

• View Blood Runs Cold by Neil Lancaster (HQ, £14.99) now. visiting Expressbookshop.com Or call 020 3176 3832. Free P&P in the UK on orders over £20. Theakston Old Peculier Criminal Writing Festival takes place from 20-23 July. Tickets are on sale from May 2. Visit Harrogateinternational Festival.com For more information m