WELCOME TO MODERN POLICING, FBI

Thirty-four years ago in 1980, when I moved from patrol to criminal investigations in my hometown's police department, the unit had already been tape recording interrogations and witness statements for years.  We knew nothing swayed a jury more than hearing a suspect's confession come from his own mouth. I didn't realize how progressive our policy was until I moved to metro Atlanta in 1989 where NO agencies recorded statements.  The typical procedure involved a detective writing out a statement or confession by "transcribing," in essence, paraphrasing, the suspect's words. The suspect would then sign it, often without being able to comprehend what had been written.

I adopted a mandatory recording policy at my new agency, first for tape recording, followed later by videotaping. My agency was the first in metropolitan Atlanta--an area with dozens of law enforcement agencies. Prosecutors of all the local counties soon made everyone else follow our example. Today I learned the FBI didn't start recording interviews until THIS MONTH.  In fact, the written policy was that interviews and interrogations were NOT to be recorded, a rule that left skeptical juries wanting more. The new procedure will be to record all interviews until there is a compelling reason not to make a record. While the FBI has established the benchmark for many investigative procedures, they were way behind on this one.

Welcome to modern police work, FBI.

WHAT DO EDITORS DO?

The publishing industry has changed significantly since the days when an author could submit a promising but mechanically flawed manuscript and rely on the company's editors to clean it up. Publishers receive so many manuscripts that they need little justification to reject one. While publishers still have editors, an author must submit a reasonably clean manuscript to have a hope of acceptance.

The editing process can be confusing with so many editing services available before and after a manuscript is accepted. When writecrimeright.com reviews a manuscript, we do more than analyze the legal procedures. We also provide "copy editing."   

Three levels of freelance editing are available to authors seeking to improve their manuscripts before seeking a contract:

Proofreading: A proofreader provides a check of the document for minor mistakes in spelling, punctuation, spacing, and so on.

Copy editing: Our definition of copy editing includes checking:
grammar
punctuation
spelling
word usage
awkward phrases
pronoun agreement
missing words
typos
repetition
inconsistencies
story details
tight writing
manuscript formatting

Line Editing or Substantive Editing: In addition to performing the tasks of copy editing, the line editor may initiate significant changes to improve the narrative.  While copy editing pertains to "mechanics," line editing focuses on "story." The editor enhances the quality of the writing, removes unnecessary repetition and plot flaws, and restructures sentences and paragraphs for smoother flow. The line editor knows the difference between active and passive prose, turning dull writing into something more engaging. 

When writecrimeright.com reviews your manuscript, you get "two for one"--an extensive analysis of everything related to police work and criminal procedure as well as word-by-word, line-by-line copy editing. The result: a story your readers will find plausible and realistic and a manuscript attractive to publishers.