Product Description

From WPC to Detective Inspector, this is the true story of Carol Bristow, the first woman detective sergeant in the Sweeney whose call sign was Central 822. During her 30 year career she arrested Francis Bacon on a drugs charge, worked undercover alongside prostitutes and mixed with drugs barons.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #806661 in Books
• Published on: 1999-02-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 459 pages

From the Back Cover
A chance glance at a recruitment poster for the Metropolitan Police in 1964 changed secretary Carol Bristow's life. Little did she know, aged twenty-two, what the next thirty years would hold.

From her early days as a police rookie, Carol worked undercover in a drugs club, was strip-searched by her colleagues, and dealt with prostitutes, runaways and pickpockets. But being a simple WPC was not enough. Against all advice she signed up to join the virtually all-male enclave of the CID. Her call sign was 'Central 822'.

Carol rose through the ranks to become the first female detective sergeant on the Flying Squad and detective inspector on the Drugs Squad. But it was in the detection of serious sexual assaults that Carol truly made her mark, acquiring an unequalled reputation for dogged determination on cases such as the Ealing Vicarage rape and the murder of Australian heiress Janie Shepherd. She interviewed many shattered victims, set up the first sexual assault unit in the Met and became the unofficial police spokeswoman on sexual offences. Unsurprisingly, the nature of her work finally took a personal toll.

Central 822 is an insider's guide to policing at the sharp end. It is also the story of one remarkable woman's fight for justice.

Customer Reviews

If you are interested in the police - get this book
You won't believe it but I spent about 90 DM ( that's about 30 pounds) on this book, because I wanted to read it so desperately and I don't regret it. Well, these were the times before I had Internet access. But I think it shows that this book is really terrific. Carol Bristow tells us the story of her life. How she became a policewoman and why, the way her career developed and the way she personally coped with her cases. She writes about women who were the victims of sexual crimes and the development of the police procedure in this field. You will also read about evidence and a famous murder case. Anyone who is interested in police work will love this book. I paid such a high price for it, but I would do it again. It is a must have and a brilliant piece of work. Thank you for the insights you gave me, Carol!

Informative & actually quite moving
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although as an officer of the law myself I am surprised that Ms Bristow does not know what PLONK means. I think that had she known it stood for "People with Little Or No Knowledge" and was used by male officers as a dereogatory reference to female officers, she would not have considered it a term of endearment. Although I have to say that it's quite funny to see her referring to her own female colleagues as PLONKs.

Anyway the book is well written and shows the perils and pitfalls of the service very well. It also made me remember why I joined the job as the good times are documented too. It is comforting to read about a female officer rising to the higher ranks and performing so effectively in the role. It also made me think that not all the higher ranking officers have forgotten their time in the lowly ranks and some even look back on their time with fondness.

All in all I would recomend this book, especially to those within the police service.

Maybe Ms Bristow could write a fiction novel based on some of her cases? I'd buy it.