No Comment

What I Wish I'd Known About Becoming A Detective

Jess McDonald author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Published:11th Apr '24

£9.99

Available for immediate dispatch.

No Comment cover

An extraordinary, eye-opening memoir from a young woman who went from working at an advertising agency to being a fully qualified detective in just 9 months. She passed her training, but can she survive the realities of life in the Met Police?

'No Comment is essential reading for anyone interested in the questions being asked of the Met today' Katherine Faulkner 'Amust-read for anyone who has ever wondered what happens after they've called 999 and a shocking indictment of a system not fit for purpose' Angela Kirwin Jess McDonald was a true crime junkie and Line of Duty sofa sleuth with a strong sense of justice. Under a year later, thanks to a controversial new initiative, she was a detective in the London Metropolitan Police Service. The Met Police’s Direct Entry Detective scheme was aimed at turning people with no experience of the police into detectives. When it was launched, to tackle an unprecedented recruitment crisis, over 4,500 people, Jess included, applied. But why, within just a year of qualifying, had the majority of Jess’ cohort resigned? No Comment is Jess’ candid, eye-opening and often shocking account, exploring the reality of being a detective in the Met and responsible for ‘keeping London safe for everyone’. In her incisive book she explores the challenges of life on the front line, dealing almost exclusively with serious crimes against women, and what that reveals about the Met Police now. 5***** Mail on Sunday'An absolute gripping read' Andrew Marr

Probably the most important book on the state of British policing you’ll ever read. Written with candour and balance, Jess McDonald lifts the lid on why cultural change is nigh on impossible in the Metropolitan Police and how the justice system conspires against the most vulnerable. A brilliant read which should be compulsory for all Chief Officers if they are serious about understanding what life is really like at the coal face -- Graham Bartlett
Vivid and harrowing... Hammers home how urgently the whole criminal justice system is in need of reform’ * Mail on Sunday *
I was gripped by this unflinching close-up account of life as a new Met detective. As a female outsider, McDonald offers a rare insight into the current state of the UK’s biggest and most controversial police force - a world usually painfully resistant to scrutiny. No Comment is essential reading for anyone interested in the questions being asked of the Met today, and its passionate call for change could hardly be more timely -- Katherine Faulkner
It's an excellent insight into modern policing and how the system fails to protect victims, communities and the people who work in the job. Jess writes about complex, dark subjects with humanity and warmth. It's a must-read for anyone who has ever wondered what happens after they've called 999 and a shocking indictment of a system not fit for purpose -- Angela Kirwin, author of Criminal: How Our Prisons Are Failing Us All

ISBN: 9781526621740

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

256 pages