Scotland Yard’s Casebook of Serious Crime (ePub)
Seventy-Five Years of No-Nonsense Policing
Imprint: Pen & Sword True Crime
File Size: 2.3 MB (.epub)
Pages: 256
Illustrations: 24 black and white illustrations
ISBN: 9781399009638
Published: 21st May 2021
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Times change and not always for the better. Dick Kirby, a former experienced Met detective and now best-selling author, maintains that the current politically correct culture coupled with an inept Crown Prosecution Service and aided and abetted by the Police & Criminal Evidence Act, has slowed the pursuit of criminals and justice to a snail’s pace.
As this gripping book clearly demonstrates it was not always so. During the 20th Century, uniformed officers were visibly part of the community, patrolling their beats and protecting the public’s property. Detectives detected, cultivated informants and, like their uniform counterparts, knew the characters on their manor. What’s more, they were backed by their senior officers, who had on-the-job experience.
Drawing on both celebrated and lesser known cases, the author vividly describes crime fighting against merciless gangsters, desperate gunmen, inept kidnappers, vicious robbers, daring burglars and ruthless blackmailers. Using his first-hand knowledge he highlights the often unconventional methods used to frustrate and outwit hardened criminals and the satisfaction gained from successful operations.
One chapter – “An Old Master” – accurately describes the theft of Goya’s portrait, The Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in 1961. This audacious heist was recently adapted into film: “The Duke” starring Jim Broadbent as the thief and Helen Mirren as his long-suffering wife.
read Scotland Yard’s Casebook of Serious Crime by Dick Kirby and I was thoroughly impressed. This book is a collection of some of the most notorious cases in British criminal history, from the Jack the Ripper murders to the Great Train Robbery, and Kirby does an excellent job of bringing them to life. He provides detailed accounts of the investigations, the suspects, and the outcomes of each case. As an American reader, I found the book to be interesting and informative about a justice system that is quite different from the one I know. It was fascinating to learn about the different approaches taken by Scotland Yard to solve crimes over the years.
NetGalley, June Lee
Enjoyable read.
NetGalley, S Ballinger
I read this one in one read sitting easy to dip in and out of.
Would recommend to any true crime enthusiast.
Written by Dick Kirby, probably the third book of his I have read and I have to say what a brilliant writer he is and his background in the police probably makes him an even better writer due to knowing the system inside and out. He has an informative style that in my opinion helps grip the reader because I read this book in just a couple of nights and I really wanted to read more.
The History Fella
The book covers serious crimes over the second half of the 20th century and being serious crimes, your looking at crimes such as jewellery theft, robberies, blackmail, bank heists, forgery etc. The book is split into 28 chapters with each chapter covering a different crime and we see how crimes were solved, how evidence came about and often how the police were hampered by the system that was in theory supposed to help tackle crime. I enjoyed the punishment terms at the back of the book, quite enlightening. A really detailed and informative book certainly a book I would recommend and true crime fans would love this book.
Read the full review here
Love and enjoy crime books. Enjoyed this one and was read within a couple of sittings. Any true crime enthusiast needs to read.
NetGalley, Louise Pridige
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
NetGalley, Anna Maria Giacomasso
A highly entertaining, gripping and well researched book. The authors is an expert and know what he's talking about.
I enjoyed this book and it's highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
"A fascinating read."
Law Society Gazette
Read the full review here
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
NetGalley, Susan Johnston
I am not sure which I enjoyed more: the stories of various villains whom the Yard have brought to justice or the no holds barred writing style of the author. It is often said that one should write about things you know. Mr. Kirby knows the Yard and he can tell a story in an entertaining and informative way.
I more than suspect he longs for the return of the days when the gloves were off more in policing but he is also not remiss about bringing the questionable ethics of some coppers into the light. All in all, he shares with the reader the exploits of some colourful characters to whom he has given just due. I enjoyed it a great deal.
I found this book by Dick Kirby , a new author to me, to be well written and informative. It was interesting to see how policing has changed over the years..
NetGalley, Alison Bevington
Recommended to anyone who enjoys the crime genre
A well written and researched book about bygone policing methods and crimes
NetGalley, Zoe Hitchen
A great insight in to the crimes of the past, the detection of the criminals and the punishment they received.
Highly recommended for true crime readers.
Fascinating, Intricately Researched…
NetGalley, ruth giles
A fascinating and very readable account of historical policing methods through caselaw, both renowned and lesser known but always of interest. Intricately researched and well compiled.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
NetGalley, Wendy M Rhodes
A well-written, plain-speaking account of true crimes from bygone times. Well researched and wonderfully written. Recommended.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
NetGalley, TJ Lewis
I received this book to review and I am so grateful as this is an excellent book! Well researched and well written, I could not put it down. The written style is easy to follow and I would recommend to people who enjoy reading books about real life crime and the history of the police. This author was new to me, however I will be reading other books by this author on future.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
NetGalley, Rebecca Hill
Justice seems to move at a snails pace - but this was not always the case! Take a step back in time through the eyes of a member of Scotland Yard, and see how policing used to be!
For lovers of true crime, this book is PERFECT! I absolutely loved reading about the cases, the sentences meted out, and the no-nonsense take of the author in discussing both crime and criminal.
As a lover of true crime this book was right up my alley and I would like to give a big big thank you to the publishers for granting my wish for this book.
NetGalley, Kirsty Lock
This true crime book was written by a former and very experienced Detective in the London Met as well as a true crime writer and he uses this platform to illustrate through the crimes that he discusses how factors such as political correctness, amongst others, have changed the way policing is carried out, how crime is revied and how crimes are responded too by both officials, media and members of the public.
I loved that he put the lesser-known crimes in the book instead of just talking about the same old recycled crimes that a lot of crime writers, bloggers, vloggers etc go into, this was a refreshing change. I also loved the humour that he brought which was a bit of light hearted relief at times and didn’t take anything away from the seriousness of the crimes – although some of the crimes in themselves were quite laughable.
I would recommend this to non-fiction crime lovers and also lovers of crime fiction that want to try something new but still crime related.
Another good true crime read by Dick Kirby, about the ins and outs of policing over the last 75 years. Well researched and full of cases, I enjoyed this one a lot. Many great stories about this time period regarding the pursuit of criminals.
NetGalley, Valerie Shampine
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
NetGalley, Rhian Price
Dick Kirby is a former experienced Met detective and it's really interesting to hear his take on these cases. Several years ago I read another of his works, Whitechapel's Sherlock Holmes: The Casebook of Fred Wensley and really enjoyed that one. In this book Mr. Kirby has chosen a number of cases, some well known others less so and walks us through the various methods used by the police in order to track down the criminals. He is a very engaging narrator and I really enjoyed this book, it is a very engrossing read and fairly easy to read. I would really recommend this book, and will definitely look into more by him. It is perfect for fans of true crime.
Comparing and contrasting policing in the 20th century with the present time and political climate is interesting and revealing. I recommend this book for Nonfiction crime readers, as well as those interested in human nature and the progression and regression of society over the past century. Be sure to read the glossary at the back, too, for definitions on birching, lagging, punishment diets and so on. The photographs are a great addition...I love when they are included for visual people like me.
NetGalley, Brenda Carleton
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
NetGalley, Dave Blendell
Scotland Yard's Casebook of Serious Crime is another book by prolific and very entertaining True Crime author Dick Kirby. Mr Kirby is a former long-serving policeman from "the old days" when criminals lived in fear of the law and and its officers were not required to consider the "human rights" of those with no regard for those of others. That is the theme of this particular book when far from there "never being a policeman around when you want one" officers of the law were in earlier times were "out there" actively looking for potential law-breakers. Coincidentally before reading this book i was talking to my Dad about his days as a young lad in post-war London where the local beat constable was liable to appear "anywhere at any time" and was happy to oblige anyone who thought they take him on in a fight. That's Dick Kirby's style of policing and in his usual ( I'm a big fan and have read most of his books) acerbic and blunt manner he again highlights his disgust with the state of today's criminal justice system.
Like most of Dick Kirby's books this is basically a collection of anecdotes featuring the mad,bad,dangerous to know and merely hapless exploits of the criminal classes and those tasked with bringing them to justice. As ever it's a great read and an insight into a kind of policing that has been replaced with one that has made life a lot easier for criminals and is a career where it's not actually essential to have done any actual police work to progress rapidly.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
NetGalley, Michelle Griffiths
This book was informative and really fascinating to read.
A great read if you like true information.
5*
About Dick Kirby
Dick Kirby was born in the East End of London and joined the Metropolitan Police in 1967. Half of his twenty-six years’ service was spent with Scotland Yard’s Serious Crime Squad and the Flying Squad.
Kirby contributes to newspapers and magazines on a regular basis, as well as appearing on television and radio. The Guv’nors, The Sweeney, Scotland Yard’s Ghost Squad, Brave Blue Line, Death on the Beat, Scourge of Soho, Scotland Yard’s Flying Squad, London’s Gangs at War, Scotland Yard’s Gangbuster, The Mayfair Mafia, Scotland Yard’s Murder Squad, Racetrack Gangs, IRA Terror on Britain’s Streets, Scotland Yard’s Casebook of Serious Crime, The Brighton Police Scandal and Missing Presumed Murdered are all published under the Wharncliffe True Crime imprint and he has further other published works to his credit. On retirement he lives near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Kirby can be visited at his website: www.dickkirby.com.
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