The detectives

In the history of detection, certain cases stand out not only as fascinating examples of human behaviour, dedicated policework or forensic expertise, but also because in their time they provided a springboard from which the forces of law gained new impetus and a useful advantage over the lawbreaker. Three of the cases recounted here introduced for the first time in a major trial scientific methods of identification which were then unfamiliar or even suspect. Fingerprinting, ballistics and odontology are nowadays common-place, but it took the blazing publicity of a sensational murder case to prove each of them to be invaluable aids to detection. Another of the cases established the accuracy of chemical analysis and led to the setting up of police forensic laboratories. Of the other two cases, one led to a reassessment of the resources available to the police in time of emergency, and the other resulted in the complete reorganisation of the internal system of the force itself.

This book, based on the successful BBC radio series, explores these famous cases in the form of dramatised documentary concerned with the new methods of detection which were the outcome; and each case recreates the background of the times and the human interest behind the courtroom scenes.