Researching criminal forensic and court procedures

iguana

I'm attempting to write a novel which while not a crime novel features somebody being convicted of a crime. They thing is my entire knowledge of the criminal system stems from American crime dramas.:o

I've realised I've made some assumptions on the way a case would be made against someone but in reality I have no idea if things work that way in Ireland. Does anyone know how I'd go about finding this out? Like I said the book isn't a crime book, but unless I know a few basic facts I will really undermine the whole story.

pickarooney

Very strange... I'm in a similar situation myself and was debating posting a thread on the Emergency Services or legal forums only yesterday but thought better of it for some reason.

rockbeer

OP, things would be very different here to in the US. Don't use that as your primary source.

You could read some reputable Irish true crime writing, and talk to anybody you know who would have knowledge in this area e.g. solicitor/barrister, friendly gardai, journalists etc.

shut up!

You could PM one of the legal forum Mods and ask would it be ok to ask on the forum. Or else ask him/her.

You have a question, that's what boards is for.

iguana

shut up! wrote: »

You could PM one of the legal forum Mods and ask would it be ok to ask on the forum. Or else ask him/her.

You have a question, that's what boards is for.

Thanks, I think I'll do that. I'll take some time to work out exactly what questions I need to ask so I'm not constantly going back and forth with it. It's funny, I never really thought that I'd need to do this much research on this subject as it's not a crime book, this is just background to the story. But once I started drawing up the first draft all the things I didn't know became glaringly obvious.

And I absolutely hate it when books get basic stuff wrong. It throws me right out of the story. Maybe it come from being a sci-fi nerd who enjoys plucking holes with shows online, but I've got to assume that bad research can ruin a story for everyone.

rockbeer wrote:

OP, things would be very different here to in the US. Don't use that as your primary source.

I'd be fairly sure that things in the US are quite different from what you see on the likes of CSI, nevermind things here.:D

Fatboydim

It's called research and it's essential. After all if an author is too lazy to research - then the quality of the work can't be that great can it?
Working out where to start can be difficult but from what you say I would recommend the following:

Go to your local Police / Garda Siochana station tell them you are a writer doing research and request to go out with them on a shift.

[I did this years ago and spent many hours in the back of police cars - valuable research]

Go to a court and watch proceedings - again if it's a more serious crime then put in a request to attend a trial.

read books: Try to get hold of Police manuals - They do publish them. I work mainly on UK police procedures - But I have written stuff for RTE and went out on shift with the Garda - UK and Irish procedures are very similar but the cautions are different. Same goes for Irish court procedures as obviously they were based on Crown procedures. I'd also recommend picking up a few forensic books.

I hope that's of help. And well done for wanting to do it properly as so many authors do not take the time to research properly.

iguana

Thanks, I live in the uk but the book is set in Ireland. I think over the new year I'll stay with my parents for a week in order to try get some information from the gardai.

Antilles

OP, sorry if this is slightly off-topic. I was browsing the net and found this site. I remembered your post and thought if you are writing a crime novel it might be of some help: http://www.hodrw.com/cop1.htm

Antilles

iguana wrote: »

I'm attempting to write a novel which while not a crime novel

Oops, OP. When I remembered your post I just remembered the "crime novel" bit, and not the salient "not". Well, I hope you find some use for the above link anyway

Phototoxin

I have a BSc in forensics if that's of any use. Studied in the UK but I know enough about Ireland too, being irish and all =p