The mindless boredom of criminal investigations.

Zodiak, 2007, David Fincher

Hey, did you remember that part in the film where the SFPD were tying to obtain some evidence from a Sheriff's office in another jurisdiction, and it went back and forward between the police, the Sherriff's office, the attorneys, and so on and so on - you remember, the point in the film your eyelids started to close, and you began to wonder exactly which one of your friends suggested that you all see this film, and quite how this could be the same director who did Fight Club and Seven? And then the film ended with no-one being caught, and you still not knowing who did the murders? Yep - that's virtually every single criminal investigation ever, right there. Zodiac has been referred to as the most accurate representation of a police procedure on film, and not without reason. Investigations are BORING.

I'm a criminal investigator with a govt dept and have been for 6 1/2 years, so I am well versed in the frustration of investigating and prosecuting a case. To say it is challenging puts it mildly. Breaks in cases often happen suddenly - you spend the next two days chasing a lead. And then sometimes you go weeks without anything. You have to learn a huge amount of patience, and come to expect frustration and disappointment. Sometimes you just can't get the quality of evidence you need. Sometimes the suspects give you a hard time. Often, the witnesses you reply on to give you your primary evidence don't want to do it. Oh sure, there's the odd occasion that something genuinely exciting happens (interviewing suspects, surveillance). But do something exciting, and expect to be writing it up for hours afterwards, and then face the possibility of being questioned about it in court by a defense barrister. In this job, being too dedicated can sometimes come back and bite you in the bum. Thinking of a new way to deal with something is usually just finding a new way of getting into trouble. You are better to be cautious and patient, and work with what you have. And learn to start swearing creatively;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQbsnSVM1zM&feature=related

Show Zodiak to new police recruits before they sign the bottom of their application forms and we'd lose the entire force within a year or two - most people join the police for the action.


Hot Fuzz, 2007, Edgar Wright

If you look at police advertising campaigns like Could You? (http://www.policecouldyou.co.uk/index.php), it stresses the importance of making the right judgments at the right time - snap decisions that can make a difference. What it doesn't explain is the hours of paperwork, mindless procedures, having to see some of your cases fail either in or on their way to court, and ultimately, how you accommodate the criminals you deal with into your view of the world. Have a look for example at this well-known website;

http://www.coppersblog.blogspot.com/

Most of it is just the dull opinions of PC's whinging about 'bloody paperwork'. It's because it's not what they signed up for. But look closer, and you will see some worryingly reactionary articles.

I understand where they come from. Most people who join the police come from well-adjusted law-abiding backgrounds. For the first few years in my job, encountering endemic social problems and some entirely unsympathetic people committing crimes - and who sometimes get away with it - was a real shock to the system. A lot of it was naivety on my part - I grew up in a very nice middle-class town in the Scottish countryside. But there was certainly more to it - how to come to terms with seeing justice fail, and to see the work that I do make little or no difference whatsoever to huge social problems. And to compound the matter further, often the only people who understand the world you live in are other police or investigators. This daily brush with harsh reality turns most onto just another become PC Plodd, because it's the easiest option available - do as little as possible, and despise most of the people you deal with.

As for me well, I'm still liberal sort of chap. And I still like the job. There's a part of me which still wants to go out doing the crime fighting, but when I come up against a procedural wall or evidencial desert, I have to switch it off, and just not feel guilty. Mark Rufallo's character in Zodiac is in many ways the personification of every effective investigator or officer I have met. He takes a case as far as he is allowed to, and then goes home and switches off. The other alternative is vigilantism, which of course makes for great films. Though Zodiak does allow Mark Rufallo's cop the dignity of walking out of Dirty Harry in disgust.