I need some extended information on police

[Chuck58]

As a retired police officer, I can say the situation depends on the size of the town. Who is in charge depends on the seriousness of the situation. If it's a major situation involving a number of hostages, the shift commander, usually a lieutenant or a captain depending on the size of the town, will be in charge. In a routine standoff, the SWAT commander can take charge.

In a school shooting situation, I'd say the shift commander would be in charge, but don't rule out the possibility that the Chief of Police could very well appear.

Understand, that SWAT officers in larger cities are highly trained. Whoever is in charge of the problem is going to listen to the recommendation of the SWAT commander before making a final decision.

[ScriptNurse]

If you're i n a good-sized town, your local police department may have a Public Information Officer. This is usually within their purview. They're interested in helping because  accurate depictions of police work (or military units) are seldom all that interesting, really.

[Micky P]

I know this is way late but as a newcomer I still read the post and believe others will too. I think that if you write a nice letter to the local Police Chief/Sheriff and tell him what you are writing and that you are looking for basic info on such matters you should get a response, it only costs a stamp. They also have spokespeople to answer such questions so if he/she doesn't answer then they will probably give the request to the spokeperson for the police department. They are a public service and they really do want to give out information when they can. I also found a book about Police Investigations so I'll go back to the book store and get its title and post it here in the coming days.

Micky P

[robogabs]

I did exactly what Don said for something I wrote long ago. I found several officers who went way above and beyond the call of duty to help me out.
Most people involved in any profession are more than willing to help you out and are usually flattered by your interest.

[ScriptNurse]

Did you try looking here ... http://scriptnurse.com/wcms/index.php?reference_n2a (there are 7 police references)

Does this help ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police

You might try walking into the local police department, state that you're writing a story and you want it to be truly accurate, so you've come to the  source, if they can spare a few minutes to clear up some things for you.

[Willard]

I'm currently working on a story that involves a school shooting (in the US). I have looked at a few websites under the resources page but couldn't find anything pertaining to who would be called in for this sort of situation, what rank would be in charge at the scene, who else shows up (SWAT?), SWAT'S rank in control of the situation, and so forth.

Any information to that is extremely appreciated,
thank you!