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  • Line of Duty

  • The Real Story of British Police Corruption
  • By: Wensley Clarkson
  • Narrated by: Rupert Farley
  • Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (47 ratings)

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Line of Duty

By: Wensley Clarkson
Narrated by: Rupert Farley
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Summary

A fascinating insight into the true history of British police corruption, for fans of the hit BBC 1 drama.

For more than a century, police officers used their uniforms to control and bully criminals, which in turn led to wholesale bribery and corruption. From Victorian times up to the 1950s, this crooked atmosphere tainted the UK police image of the 'friendly Bobby'. Then came the 1960s and 1970s when the Great Train Robbery and other bigtime heists changed the rules of the 'game' forever. It was like the Wild West out there. No one knew who the good guys and who the bad guys were anymore.

By the early 1980s, corruption was endemic amongst London's vast force of detectives. It was only now that police commissioners across the nation finally started to tackle endemic, across the board corruption.

The hit BBC show has brought these stories back to the fore, and in Line of Duty - The Real Story we go behind the contemporary headlines to explore the real inspiration behind the hit show, looking back at the history of corruption in the police and the anti-corruption units that were set up to sniff out the bent coppers among the good.

Referencing real-life historic and notable cases and people, from a range of sources and first-person interviews, Line of Duty - The Real Story tells the truth behind the fiction and its hard-hitting impact on real-life modern policing.

©2020 Wensley Clarkson (P)2020 Bonnier Books UK
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What listeners say about Line of Duty

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A good listen though a bit repetitive

I've listened to a couple of the author's other books and this was the same in that they are quite interesting as far as the subject matter is concerned, but there is a tendency to feel that it's somehow bloated or could be leaner. For example, there is a fascinating breakdown towards the end of this book about the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the police corruption within the investigation. but he keeps referring to the murder of Stephen Lawrence, as a phrase, when we know that's what the topic is. it sounds like a mountain out of a molehill but it can become mildly irritating when we know what context we're in but the same context is constantly repeated. All that said, the narrator was good and the material interesting. I would listen to another by the same author

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Truly insightful

Thank you for writing this book.
We have thoroughly enjoyed the The Line of Duty Series but honestly think I will enjoy more now after ready this. So interesting and made better hearing it read by the true author!

Hayley

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Well Researched

Very good explanation of the difference between the TV drama and what happened in the real situations

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Very good

very interesting audio book worth a listen enjoyed the narration and the various true stories

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fab and informative, good narrator too

It a shame that people can be corrupted, by money etc, esp the Police and the law system

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not really what I expected

Police corruption is scary and this book has depressed me. Also, it talks a lot more about the television programme Line of Duty than I thought was necessary. I imagined it had used that title to reference the idea of police corruption in a way that many will relate to but it then goes on to talk in quite some detail about plot lines and characters (spoiler alert…?) in a way that felt … lazy. I have listened to another true crime book by this author (Harold shipman) which I admired but this one not so much.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Became repetitive

Initially, I was enjoying the book. However, it became very repetitive. There are only so many links you can make with the TV show of the same name.
Whilst I'm under no illusion that there are bad cops out there. I find it very hard to believe that there are so many as is suggested in this book.

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