Crime Seen: From Patrol Cop to Profiler, My Stories from Behind the Yellow Tape

Such a well-written and fascinating chronicle of the experiences of an outstanding law enforcement professional. Kate Lines made history in Canada as the second criminal profiler in that nation. She relates in very readable fashion some of the crimes she investigated, and their impacts on victims and loved-ones alike. Her career and the accomplishments she achieved are truly worthwhile reading.

This was sent to a prison inmate. Unable to review.

What an inspiring woman with a compelling tale. I recommend this book to anyone -- those interested in crime and those not.

I like reading mystery and crime novels. This book caught my eye for a few reasons. It's the true account of how profiling is done. The author is a woman (and a very impressive one at that!) and she from the Toronto area. Here's her background ...Kate Lines joined the Ontario Provincial Police in 1977. Her early days at work comprised uniform patrol, undercover drugs, fraud and major crimes. In 1991, she completed the FBI's Criminal Profiling Fellowship Program in Quantico, VA, the second Canadian to graduate from the program. She later became the first female Director of Intelligence Bureau. Much honoured during her 33-year policing career, Lines received the Officer of the Order of Merit Medal, Queen's Commission, International Association of Women Police Excellence in Performance Award, Ontario Women in Law Enforcement Excellence in Performance and Team Endeavours Award and Canadian Police Leadership Forum's Police Leader of the Year award. She currently acts as a consultant to businesses and police forces and on TV shows such as Rookie Blue and Flashpoint.This book starts with the author's background, as the last born child and raised on a farm. She had wanted to go to law school but wasn't accepted so went into law enforcement instead (Ontario Provincial Police). She describes the experience she gained and relationships she built while on patrol and undercover. She came across some opportunities to train and advance and took advantage of them.Retired now, she worked on some high profile murder cases in Ontario and provides high level summaries:* Nancy and Ian Blackburn, who were found dead in the trunk of their car in 1992* Kristen French, Leslie Mahaffy and Tammy Homolka, murdered by Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo in the early 1990s* Eight-year-old Tori Stafford in Woodstock in 2009* Eleven-year-old Christopher Stephenson in 1988 (the man convicted had a long history of violence and sexual offences against children)* Russell Williams, base commander at CFB Trenton, who had 80+ charges against him in 2010 including two for murderI enjoyed the writing style. I found there was just enough information provided without being too detailed. As a head's up, there is swearing and graphic descriptions.Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2015/07/book-crime-seen-stories-from-behind.html

Kate Lines was the second Canadian and first Canadian woman to complete the FBI's criminal profiling course at Quantico. She started her career with the police force as a traffic cop, moved up into undercover vice, then became a detective and rose to higher positions of authority once she became a leader in profiling in Canada. She is much decorated and honoured in the profession and this is her personal story up to the present. What drew me to reading this memoir was, of course, the profiling aspect due to my interest in that field, however, the best part of the book was the first half. Kate starts off briefly with her childhood and upbringing to how her interest in police work began. Her days of training and becoming a cop follow with details of her work as a traffic cop and undercover "narc" working in the high-risk area of biker gangs. Surprisingly, I found this part terribly interesting especially finding out how the Canadian system works. (So much of what is written is from an American perspective) I thought the really good part would start once she went to Quantico and her ten months there were quite interesting but not very detailed. The rest of the book was rather disappointing as she describes profiler work matter of factly, insistently tells the reader how unlike the TV shows it is, and even though she goes over a few high profile cases including Paul Bernardo and Colonel Russell Williams they are the most boring retellings of those crimes I've ever read. Lines also has an annoying habit of taking time out to praise the police force and pat her colleagues and the entire force on the back that it made me roll my eyes and think "save it for the acknowledgements!". This back patting was an obvious strike at public image control for the police in general. So while the book wasn't as good as I'd hoped for, the writing style not overly engaging, and the author's voice on the annoying side; I did enjoy learning how these things are done in Canada and especially hearing the story of her early days as a woman in the police force. Lines is now retired and works as a private detective and consultant.

I have just finished reading Crime Seen and enjoyed it thoroughly. I had the privilege of working for Kate Lines for five years in Behavioural Sciences and have never been shy to acknowledge learning more from her than any previous boss. Many of the stories she outlines in the book were the highest profile cases that helped shape the future of criminal investigation methodology in Canada and Kate had a significant hand in shaping that future. This book would be a good read for anyone who is interested in a career in law enforcement or anyone who wants some insight into behind the "Seen".

When I read the summary of this books, I imagined some interesting and out of the ordinary cases. I was disappointed. This book is more about how the author 'climbed the ladder' of law enforcement , then actual crime scenes or cases.

In ‘Crime Seen’ Kate Lines recounts her fascinating policing career. She started as an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer in the late '70s when males dominated the profession. From traffic cop to working undercover to a graduate in criminal profiling from Quantico, Lines has had an amazing career. She has worked on many of the most notable and high profile cases in Canada and provides her own take as well as additional background information on some of them. Unfortunately I found the writing style to be somewhat flat, which was a disappointment as this book has the power to be very impactful as here is a young woman rising in the ranks to become one of the most prolific criminal profilers in North America. Her life was and experiences are amazing without any doubt but a book like this could be one that you ‘just cannot put down’ instead it was one in a pile left to finish. It was very "just the facts" book; Lines does not sensationalize any cases which I find respectable and understand. Anyone interested in crimes in recent Canadian history and criminal profiling would likely find this somewhat enjoyable. I would give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

Fantastic book written from the perspective of a criminal investigator. Well written and informative. Gives you a great inside view of a criminal investigator, the struggles and success. Worth every minute, I thoroughly enjoyed the read.Bravo Kate Lines! Thank you for your service and thank you for the sneak peek into your world!

In "Crime Seen" Kate Lines describes her career progression and advancement through the ranks of the male dominated Ontario Provincial Police. She writes about her many investigations in a manner that mirror a well prepared and detailed synopsis of events. She includes all details, facts, names and even gives credit to her fellow officers, superiors, police agencies and others working on the case. What Kate Lines omitted to write about in detail was her struggle, hardships and trials and tribulations into getting accepted and advanced in a large male dominated police organization. A very intelligent and well honed criminal investigator and profiler. Kate Lines worked on so many high profile criminal investigations and in this publication she provides interesting insight as well as her own take on each case she writes about. She tells you exactly how each investigation progressed, the pitfalls and shows the reader that the crime-fighting seen on television is not how it is played out in real police work! Crime Seen is also an easy read filled with interesting information.

Kate Lines is an inspiration to us all and a great role model to all women. Her working life story is amazing in how she took charge of her career and rose to the heights that she did in a male dominated world. The stories she told were difficult to say the least. Most of us reading this book would remember the horrific crimes that took place. It was an excellent read. It also really made me think of the victims and their families. I would recommend this book to others. Great work Kate!

I quite enjoyed reading this book. I enjoy reading fictional mystery stories and found this to be just enough info from the inside about young female officers coming up through the ranks and advancing to finally lead the new field of profiling. Not a field I ever would have considered but enjoyed reading about.