160 - Mistakes Writers Make about Police Roles

Episode 160 - Mistakes Writers Make about Police Roles and How to Avoid Them with Frank Zafiro

November 15, 2022

I talk with Frank Zafiro about MISTAKES WRITERS MAKE ABOUT POLICE ROLES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM. We discuss the police department career ladder, the role of the police sergeant, police roles and social media, commanding a SWAT team, how communications can save the day, and how his study of best practices for writing of police reports informed his work as a fiction author.

Frank Zafiro writes gritty crime fiction from both sides of the badge. He was a police officer from 1993 to 2013, serving as a patrol officer, a training officer, and a detective, and leading K-9 and SWAT units. He retired as a captain. Frank is the award-winning author of over forty novels, including the River City series of police procedurals, and co-author of the Charlie-316 series. Frank also hosted the crime fiction podcast Wrong Place, Write Crime. He has written a textbook on police report writing and taught police leadership all over the US and Canada. An avid hockey fan and a tortured guitarist, he lives in the high desert of Redmond, Oregon.

"The thing that gets underplayed in fiction with the law enforcement field is how important communication is and how often communication saves the day." —Frank Zafiro

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I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Frank! If you’re a follower of cop shows, which of the mistakes Frank discussed do you see them making most frequently? Do you think the writers of those shows adjusted their portrayal of police roles to better support the story and, if yes, do you think they succeeded? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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Episode 160 - Mistakes Writers Make about Police Roles and How to Avoid Them with Frank Zafiro

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