I like to make my fiction as realistic as possible, so I do a lot of
research using various sources, including the Internet. Some of those sites are
gold and others are pyrite (fool’s gold), so they need to be carefully vetted.
My murder mystery takes place in Chicago, and I hit gold when I found
the Chicago Police Department directives online. They provide information on
police procedure that I would not have guessed on my own, including some that
is at odds with what happens in the movies and on TV. What a surprise.
Take search warrants, for example. First, the warrant has to be
approved by an Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney before it can be
submitted to a judge. That serves as an extra check on the police. Second, with
a few exceptions like drug busts, non-uniform personal must wear hats or vests
clearly identifying them as members of the Chicago Police Department, and those
hats and vests are closely monitored to ensure that they are worn only by
individuals who are executing a valid search warrant.
I was even more surprised at the requirements for police lineups. The
detectives investigating the case are not allowed to attend—nor is anyone else
(other than the witness and the suspect’s attorney) with ties to the case. The
lineup must be conducted by an independent administrator who is unaware of
which person in the lineup is the suspect. While the directive doesn’t list the
reason for these requirements, I’m guessing that the CPD doesn’t want anyone
signaling the suspect’s identity to the witness either intentionally or
unintentionally.
One reason for the precautions is purely pragmatic: the CPD doesn’t
want the evidence thrown out because it is tainted. But I’d like to think that
they are also trying to be fair to the suspect.
The point of this post, however, is to emphasize that the Internet can
be a goldmine for researchers if we know how to sift the gold from the pyrite.
And it’s clearly worth the effort.
__________
If you haven’t figured it out yet, the answer to the rebus puzzle is
“Police Lineup.” [Pole+icecube–cube line+up.]
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