Student graduates from writing crime to fighting it

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A university graduate is going from writing about crime to fighting it.

Sophie Carney, 25, has spent the last two years writing crime fiction as part of her course at the University of Dundee.

She came up with perfect crime mysteries and protagonists who solve them during her time on the crime writing and forensic investigation course, and is now preparing to become a police detective herself.

Ms Carney said she first became aware of the National Detective Programme, a fast-track route to becoming a detective, during a masterclass talk.

She said: “I never knew that was an option. The traditional route of becoming a detective is starting off as a police constable and working your way up. That never would have suited me. I am more interested in the process of solving a crime and behind-the-scenes work to put together the puzzle.

“True crime and the theories and methods that go into solving a case has always been an interest of mine. I would never have heard about this opportunity if it wasn’t for doing this course and interacting with people who have similar interests.

“I was able to talk to a lot of people in different specialties and I had to do a lot of research to make sure everything was forensically accurate, and that’s going to be very useful as I go down this new route.”

Ms Carney, from Sussex, is one of around 2,500 students graduating from the university this week but is still undergoing final tests for the programme before starting her detective journey in January.

She said she may be able to draw on her own experiences as a detective for future writing work.

She added: “It will be great material if and when I decide to write something. There are lots of writers out there who are police officers, or ex-police officers.

“It will be a fascinating experience and I’m really excited about starting this new adventure.”