The Real Sweeney

(Paperback)

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Description

From his bruising first experience of giving witness to securing Britain's first ever double-supergrass, Dick Kirby describes with a strong dose of humour the trials and tribulations of over twenty years spent in the Serious Crime Squad and Flying Squad. Not for him the flabby compromises shown to today's criminals. Kirby's methods lead straight into the underworld, meeting informants in often dangerous situations, gathering together intelligence before hitting the criminals hard, either when they're carrying out a crime or hauling them from their beds at an unwholesomely early hour. Whether it's the Kings Cross job that became the worst kept secret in London, or the case of the unhappy bigamist who burst into tears, Kirby tells things the only way he knows - no punches pulled. His tales of how life in the force used to be in the good old days are sometimes shocking, sometimes blackly funny, and always compelling.

Reviews

Those who haven't sampled the terrific true tales penned by this retired detective, are in for a page-turning experience to remember. - Joseph Wambaugh, author of The Choirboys

Dick Kirby gives us a unique insight into the workings of the Flying Squad as it used to be. - John O'Connor, former Flying Squad Commander

Author Bio

Dick Kirby received a secondary school education which was so utterly undistinguished that, when he left school at the age of fourteen, without a single academic qualification to his name, both pupil and teachers breathed a collective sigh of relief. On joining the Metropolitan Police, he gained rapid promotion to the Serious Crime Squad and thence the elite Flying Squad. Of 40 commendations received, over half were for the arrest of armed robbers. He was described 'a good man to have in an explosive situation', and now lives in Suffolk tending his garden.