To think the fictional character of the police detective who works all hours until the murder is solved is really unrealistic

[Fragmentedbrain]

They'd sign off at the end of their shift like everyone else imo

Are you a detective?

It would be interesting to hear from a detective what it is actually like.

Are you a detective?

It would be interesting to hear from a detective what it is actually like.

I worked for the police and the DIs and above in particular put in insane hours, especially during a big case. I would arrive at 9 to start work (support staff) and they would have been there from 6am and they would still be working past 10pm, then in again first thing the next day. Partly the reason so many of them were divorced I think, they must have spent so little time at home.

To be fair coppers get paid good overtime

But they should show the bit where they sign it off with the commanding officer before agreeing to do it

When my dad worked on a high priority crime team he would sometimes go off for an 8 hour shift and not come back til 48 hours later if something big had happened. He had other roles that were less bonkers but 3-4 hours late home was well within normal parameters.

Tell me you've never worked in policing.....

How come now they're always off shift? "Sorry but the witness won't be available until September 4th due to leave"

Yes TV is unrealistic but I would work 80hr weeks plus call out on Major Crime quite regularly.

Not unusual for detectives. And police can't just down tools at the end of a shift if there's things happening, no.

I work with police........(...)

Doing what? Sounds like you make the court date arrangements. Not working on shift with them.

Well you'll know you're being goady and talking nonsense then. Unless you live in the arse end of nowhere where the biggest crime of the year is some rustled courgettes from the allotment

Enough to know they tend to be very protective of leave and hours

(I respect this by the way no one should do unpaid work it's stupid)

My friend's son and daughter in law both work for the police.

They work incredibly long hours and often have to miss important family events as they can't just drop what they're doing.

When the Southport riots happened they had to cancel a holiday they were due to go on the next day because they were required to (and wanted to be) on duty.

Whether it's realistic or not... its called fiction for a reason

Just as well for the UK public that doctors have to.

First, yes they would put in the hours.

Second, it’s fiction, so there’s always a bit of licence taken.

Very protective of what hours they can control, absolutely.

Have you any idea how difficult it can be to get time off? You better believe they aren't willingly coming to court on the one week they've managed to book off during their kids school holidays, or the rarer fortnight.

When I left the police my system auto ran my hours for me. I'd worked more hours of overtime in my career than I ever took in annual leave.

There’s a huge difference between different teams. If there’s a big case that’s time critical then of course they work all hours to get it done. Other departments won’t have that kind of overtime budget so people clock off at the end of their shift and use their annual leave days.

I’ve no idea what happens IRL but it would make for a pretty dull book/TV series if the murder investigations were put on hold while the DI was on rest days!

I run a department of 26 detectives across 5 teams. The team that are on lates this week (set shift 2pm til 11pm) have so far finished at 2am, 1am and a beautiful 4am last night. All back on duty at 2pm today despite regs saying they are allowed 11 hours between shifts. Yes, all claiming time and a third for the extra hours. 2 of them who got up at 7am for the school run today. Its real. Not all the time but it is. The job is insane, its incessant and never ending. When there is a live job on its all hands to the deck doe as long as it takes. PACE clocks dont stop and we cant pause risk just because we have reached our shift end time. Feeling a little defensive of this subject at the moment, can you tell! My people are passionate, committed and breaking, and there's no end in sight. I have 8 off on long term sick due to stress and have taken 2 resignations this month.

And in dramas its not the hours that are fake but the high ranking officers kitted up, chasing criminals and responding to incidents. THAT'S the unrealistic bit that drives me nuts!

Only the lower ranks.

AFAIK Inspector and above don't get OT.

DF was a DI for much of his career. He would work ridiculously long hours. There was also the cliché though that they would work long hours then go for a drink. As children, DB and I also spent many hours waiting in the car in police station car parks when he was looking after us, while he popped in - and spent an hour or so there.

My parents did get divorced.

DB however followed in his footsteps and is also a DI, but he seems to have a much better work life balance - and less of a drinking culture. I think things may have changed for the better (slightly).

I think lots of fiction is unrealistic...that's kind of fiction's prerogative.

My DH was a DCI on the Major Crime Unit and was SIO on a couple of high profile murders. I would get a call from him to say he was on a murder and then would barely see him for weeks. One particular murder I hardly saw him for about 3 months. Luckily at that point we didn’t have our DS. I was one of the lucky wives as my DF was also a DCI so I was used to it! Some of my friend’s marriages really suffered.

To be fair I have put in insane hours researching and acting like an armchair detective and going down deep rabbit holes on some crime cases I read about online. I am absolutely not a detective, but I probably would be even more inclined to put those hours in if I was getting paid for it.