
The
Writers' Police Academy was founded by Lee Lofland, an acclaimed author and expert on police procedure and crime-scene investigation, and has become an annual event where authors can get a hands-on education in all aspects of law enforcement. Lee recently announced that the 2013 keynote speaker is bestselling author Lisa Gardner and special guest speaker is Dr. Kathy Reichs (creator of the Temperance Brennan series on which the TV show
Bones is based). Also featured this year is a session taught by Dr. Dan Krane, a well-known expert on all things DNA, who has testified as a leading DNA expert in over 100 high-profile criminal cases all over the world.
Some of the types of classes and workshops led by police, fire, and EMS staff at an actual police academy include:
- Ride-a-longs with police officers and deputy sheriffs
- Jail tours
- Interview and interrogation
- EMS mini "Crash Course"
- Cold case investigations
- Crime scene investigations
- FATS (Firearms Simulator Training)
- Police vehicle driving simulator
- And more: K-9 teams, SWAT teams, Bomb Squad, robots, Static displays, Mobile Command Posts, Pursuit vehicles, Motorcycles, Fire trucks, Ambulances, Dive Teams
The three-day conference is held September 5-8 at Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, N.C. WPA registration will open this later month, and like last year, space is limited and slots fill fast, so early registration is recommended. (Sisters in Crime pays well over half their members' registration fee.) Also note the conference will once again sponsor the Golden Donut short story contest, with submissions of exactly 200 words to be based on the photograph prompt provided. More details on the contest will be posted
on the website soon.