Making Crime Pay

No, I'm not talking about going out and robbing a bank. Or even about plagiarizing someone else's work and calling it your own. We're all ethical writers here, right? So how does an ethical person learn to write about crime? Where does a writer find ideas for true crime stories and detective fiction?

Last week, I looked at three books for writers of crime and detective fiction. This week, I'd like to take a lighter look at crime. If you're looking for strange crimes, ideas for a new story, or bizarre bits to add to your detective story, try these sites:

A Treasury of Police Humor is a great place to start looking for bizarre crimes and strange stories. The site promotes a book by Oliver Gaspirtz of the same title, which I haven't read. But as long as the author updates the page regularly, this could be a great brainstorming tool. Even if you aren't writing crime fiction, some of these gems can really spice up your story. How about these:

Boynton, Florida - For their attempt to raise money to attend the police academy, Michael Harrison and Kevin Carter were arrested and charged with armed robbery and murder.

Stockholm, Sweden - Customs officers arrested a woman who had tried to smuggle 75 live snakes in her bra. The officers became suspicious when they noticed how the woman kept scratching her chest.

If you think this is a book you'd like to own or give to your favorite crime writer, you can get it at B. Dalton, Barnes and Noble, and other large bookstores, or order it directly.

Police Humor and Police Stress is another good site, this time with the emphasis on Police. I especially liked the Gun Preference Test.

Here's a gem from Humor Archives:

Police in Radnor, Pennsylvania, interrogated a suspect by placing a metal colander on his head and connecting it with wires to a photocopy machine. The message "He's lying" was placed in the copier, and police pressed the copy button each time they thought the suspect wasn't telling the truth. Believing the "lie detector" was working, the suspect confessed.

The Hudson County Sheriff's Office has some great Stupid Criminal Stories. This one really makes you wonder: "A Woman, 20, was arrested in Lake City, Florida for robbery of a Howard Johnson's motel. She was armed with only an electric chainsaw, which was not plugged in."

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