The Crime Factory and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more


or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
Start reading The Crime Factory on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

The Crime Factory: The Shocking True Story of a Front-Line CID Detective [Paperback]

Officer 'A'
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
RRP: £9.99
Price: £7.60 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.39 (24%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 9 left in stock (more on the way).
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.
Want it Friday, 21 June? Choose Express delivery at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £7.12  
Paperback £7.60  
Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Special Offer until June 30, 2013: Receive an additional £5 promotional Gift Certificate, when you trade-in at least £10 worth of books. Learn more.

Book Description

5 April 2012

Welcome to the Criminal Investigation Department, aka the Crime Factory.

Where the cops take and sell drugs (or steal them from the police storeroom), where they fit up, 'verbal' and harrass criminals, fight each other, drink-drive, abuse search warrants, have sex with sources, stab one another in the back (metaphorically), put each other under surveillance, abuse every aspect of their power, take bribes, cover up scandals, massage crime stats, leak sensitive information to the press . . .

The Crime Factory.

Where they perform life-saving medical care in the street, comfort people as they die, deal with gruesome suicides and murders as first-on-scene, attend cot-death post-mortems, examine rotting dead junkies for signs of murder, watch guilty rapists and paedophiles walk free, fight drunk soldiers, gypsies and various psychotic individuals, go undercover to catch scumbags who force-feed them crack, find missing children, arrest thieves, muggers, dealers, rapists and murderers . . .

The Crime Factory.

It's enough to drive anyone insane.

The first book of its kind, this is the unforgettable and explosive true story of what life is really like as a police detective in the twenty-first century.


Frequently Bought Together

The Crime Factory: The Shocking True Story of a Front-Line CID Detective + Ronnie's Looking for Trouble: The True Story of Britain's Most Brutal Undercover Cop + The Filth: The Explosive Inside Story of Scotland Yard's Top Undercover Cop
Price For All Three: £19.58

Buy the selected items together


Product details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Mainstream Publishing (5 April 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1780575254
  • ISBN-13: 978-1780575254
  • Product Dimensions: 13.5 x 2.1 x 21.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 123,843 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

Review

I laughed, I cringed, and I also found myself deeply disturbed by it . . . Officer 'A' does not pull any punches (Kevin Morris Qpm, Head Of The Superintendents Association For England And Wales )

Book Description

'The difference between a good detective and a successful criminal is paper thin' - CID induction lecture


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, informing, disturbing... 3 May 2012
By Orpheus
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Knowing Officer A and how fond he was of a good story I approached this book with a huge wad of skepticism. I needn't have. Yes the stories of actual incidents are written in a style that would seem to exaggerate them, but that's to be expected from a book - boring stories don't sell books.
The real story - the demise of a proud, hard working Detective and increasingly failing family man - starts to come through about half way through the book and for me this was worth the read. He isn't alone and his is a story worth telling, a warning that the 'modern' police service is becoming more and more lost, obsessed with 'modernising' amidst claims that policing has become very complex. It isn't. Thieves still steal, burglars still break into houses and yobs still fight on a friday night. The 'management' however, seem to have lost the ability to Police. Whimsical management practises, changing direction in the slightest political breeze, together with interference from clueless politicians who once they're elected suddenly become experts in policing, are causing confusion, despair and resentment. It is destined to get worse. As a result there will be more casualties like Officer A.
Officer A can hold his head high. While he was serving, he did so with a passion, a professionalism and a commitment that is rarely seen these days. He achieved a lot in a short time, more than many do in a full thirty years! His only mistake was giving too much of himself and believing he would be thanked for it and supported when he needed it.
I wish him well for the future and a speedy return to good health.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars It's Police Work 26 April 2012
By Maglite
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm a former CID officer of many years experience, of pensionable service and an avid reader. What can I say? Well done comes to mind.
I believe the types of event described can happen. I think this shows that the job really can bring the best and worst in life.
I really feel for today's police officers what with the increasing pressure, violence and legislative changes. What's more is that the government are unashamedly doing their best to make it even harder for frontline officers.
The author clearly was a competent officer otherwise he would not have been allowed into the CID, much less survived many years or have been endorsed by senior officers at times in his career.
It seems to me that he does identify many short fallings in the system of process these days and brings forward so many relevant issues. Shocking detection rates, poor court disposal and a watered down police force which seems to be the case everywhere in this country now.
Even if half of this book were true, and I suspect it's more than half, it is a shocking indictment of what officers can and do endure even if it's an unpopular view.
In my office I did see detectives literally work themselves into the ground for the love of the job, sacrifice family life and stray off the moral path in their work and the bar. It isn't just CID in my experience who do suffer but every officer who puts in the effort.
The police is a wonderful organisation doing wonderful things but I never lose sight that it has its casualties. It can be a rewarding job, a destructive job, a fulfilling job and an exciting job. Sometimes all of these at once, whatever area of policing an officer is in, but rarely is it without ugliness being far away.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Suprisingly honest in the end 13 Jun 2012
Format:Paperback
I knew of this officer briefly and to be honest.i found him quite intimidating and robust in his approachability. This is something that he has acknowledged and explained well. As with the police force its worse than a school playground with all the loose lips that inevitably sink ships. Officer A is honest and hard hitting about the affect his career had on his life. I totally agree about there being a "dog eat dog" mentality after being subjected to it not once but twice in different forces! I dont agree with every opinion Officer A has expressed but they are exactly that; opinion not fact.
Its a hard remanisance of his career, as addictive as a drug and will hopefully shut a lot.of people up in regards to slagging off the police and may make people realise that police.are HUMAN BEINGS and suffer everything normal "MOPs" (members of public) suffer!
Think before you criticise!
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars So true of weakpol 9 Dec 2012
By Perthy
Format:Paperback
This book is so true to life. If you ever get the opportunity to live in Western Australia, you will see first hand of how this book is reflects life in weakpol. Life on Mars, stuck in the 1970's is truly what it is.
The modern policing we all take for granted in the modern world, is science fiction here in WA.
they are so far behind the times it is laughable
Remember those roadchecks you used to see in the UK in the days before violent crime took over. In WA its roadchecks first, revenue collecting, hidden speed cameras everywhere just to rake money in.
Violent crime prevention and detection is totally ignored as it doesnt raise money for the government coffers.
What WA needs is cops that have experience in fighting crime, not issuing tickets
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A vivid portrait, beautifully painted 29 July 2012
By JaneT
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a gripping read from start to finish - a real page turner! Encouraged by the positive reviews, I ordered for leisurely summer reading but couldn't put it down. Officer A has a gift for making 'the Job' come alive for the eader who, like me, has no inside knowledge of police work. It felt neither sensationalised nor dry, but deftly treads that fine line between - explaining the complexities, acronyms, and procedures clearly but engagingly.

It's a rollercoaster - it had me roaring with laughter at times, but it doesn't shy away from the damage wrought on both victims of crime and those who serve. The descent into darkness of one officer - The author himself - is evocatively traced; it is raw and unflinching. The hours, the workload, the terrible sights and despair of humanity are all self-evident and clearly take their toll. Yet these are tempered by some of the friendships forged, the experience of fatherhood, and passion for the Job.

Its particular strength is the author's acute visual memory (a blessing and a curse) which allows him to paint with words, vividly and with a filmic quality. I wish Officer A well and dearly hope there may be a second volume to follow.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars good
bought for a friend who had heard about it from a friend in police force, very good read and heartfelt story
Published 2 months ago by MRS KIM CORTON
4.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading
If you too are dismayed at the state of UK policing, endless budget cuts and politicians now sitting at the top (Commissioners) making ridiculous decisions then you should read... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Jo
5.0 out of 5 stars The Crime Factory
I have just ordered this book and are eagerly awaiting to receive it. I live in Perth, Western Australia, was born here and have lived here my whole life. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Pippa
5.0 out of 5 stars NEVER A TRUER WORD
Living in Surrey I new the places that were depicted in the book.
Once started I could not put thebook down.
Truely a Good if not Sad read.
Published 6 months ago by graham
5.0 out of 5 stars What a book
This book was a brilliant read. I enjoyed every minute of it.
To me, it was one of those books you couldn't put down. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Dolly
3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read... As a book... Some fact some exageration
This book is a good book. It makes you want to keep reading. All i do is emplore readers to keep an open mind. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Reader999
2.0 out of 5 stars I've read it all before
It was an 'entertaining' read but it's clear this is the author's first attempt at writing. The first thing that hit me was the number of apocryphal stories that the author has... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Alister McGrath
5.0 out of 5 stars Fair Play
I've bought it, read it and have very little argument with what it says. I've also known the guy for years and worked with him. Read more
Published 14 months ago by PCPC
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges