The Police Procedural: Part 1 of 3 Editor: Carol St.Ann 
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| Hello. My name is Carol St.Ann. I joined WDC in September of 2006, and I write for this newsletter once a month. This year, 2026, I plan to focus on ideas, how-to, development, and craft with a hard lean toward publication, be it magazine, anthology, local paper, contest-win, or self. |
Crafting a police procedural
Part 1 of 3
Let's get right to it.
Writing a police procedural requires balancing authentic investigative details with an engaging, character-driven story. The genre is defined by its focus on how law enforcement officers solve crimes, via evidence and, nowadays, sophisticated forensics, and the detective's knowledge and understanding of human behavior.
Frequently, to differing degrees, the investigators become the main characters and their personal lives intertwine with the plot in their ability (or hindrance) in solving the crime.
This is one type of story or book I'm not at all sure can be written well without some kind of an outline. Even if it's a page of scribbled notes, there's got to be a direction and at least an opening cast of characters and a crime.
According to Google, readers, who favor police procedurals return more for the detective character than the thrill of the mystery. I cannot disagree with that.
Therefore, step number one has got to be create an amazing, interesting, intriguing, quirky, or certainly original detective. Someone readers either love or love to hate.
Er, step one and a half, then, must be our detective's counterpart; the partner, friend, commanding officer, nemesis, coworker, or even lover or spouse. This is the person who will affect the detective's ability to get the job done. Either in the negative or the positive. Just like anyone else, even the best detective's personal life will occasionally affect their ability, or the quality of their work.
Step three, and no less important given how truly easy it is to maintain (and readers will be put off if we get this wrong) mind those facts, folks, and strive for authenticity. I won't belabor this, but be sure to consider location, vocabulary, rank within the police department, local dialect, and protocol. Forensics is a whole 'nother story. Fact, check. Fact, check. Just do it. I know it can be tedious. But, hey, best case scenario: you've caught a mistake and come off looking like a genius, and you've gleaned two lessons for the angst of one! (You're welcome.  )
That's it for today. I hope you found this interesting and useful.
Next month I will be covering police procedural, developing the plot, pacing, and investigation.
See you next month.
Carol St.Ann
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Mystery: July 08, 2026 Issue [#13834]
