Free (Kindle) Scotland Yard Casebook by Joan Lock [19th-20th C UK Police History]

[ATDrake]

Scotland Yard Casebook by British author Joan Lock (SYKM, Fantastic Fiction), herself a former policewoman, is her accessibly-written history of early policing in the UK, focusing especially on the creation of the Criminal Investigation Department which replaced the scandal-ridden Detective Branch, and its early cases as well as the decades following, during which various crime-solving technologies and innovations were adopted, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press.

This was originally published in 1993 by Robert Hale under the title Scotland Yard Casebook: The Making of the CID, 1865-1935.

Currently free @ Amazon (available to Canadians & in the UK and pretty much everywhere else Amazon sells worldwide, since this is being done via their KDP Select exclusive-or-else program)

Description
In 1878 the Criminal Investigation Department replaced Scotland Yard's corrupt and discredited Detective Branch.

In this classic story of the early days of detection, Joan Lock tells the fascinating story of the creation of the CID, the scandal which preceded it, and the successes and failures of the new organization, including early cases such as the four murders by Ernest Southey, the ferocious outbreak of dockland killings in 1869 and the more familiar Bravo, Neill Cream and Jack the Ripper crimes.

She describes Scotland Yard's gradual, if sometimes tardy, acceptance of identification and communication aids such as photography, the telegraph, telephone, Bertillon's anthropometric measurements and the fingerprint system.

First World War spy and Dear John jealousy murders were followed by Roaring Twenties' swindles and the arrival of motor car bandits — which in turn led to the formation of the Flying Squad and the adoption of mobile wireless telegraphy.

The introduction of women detectives is also discussed and the difficulties they experienced in establishing their place in a male dominated force.

Joan Lock closes the gap between the academic police historian and the writer of popular true crime, making this book a fascinating read for crime experts and the general reader alike.