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Murder, International Drug Smuggling & Hostage Negotiating: From Scotland Yard to Turks And Caicos with Det. Supt. Bob Lessemun (Part One)

Cops and Writers Podcast··19 August 2026·49 min

About this episode

Send us Fan MailToday’s show takes us across the pond to England and the Caribbean to Turks and Caicos with a man with over half a century of experience in law enforcement, retired Detective Superintendent Bob LessemunA little about my guest. Robert C. ‘Bob’ Lessemun, a man who left school at sixteen and walked straight into a police career that would span more than half a century. From uniform sergeant to detective sergeant on the Regional Crime Squad, then inspector, chief inspector, and ultimately Detective Superintendent. He built a reputation for tackling some of Britain’s toughest cases-murders, international fraud, major drug operations-while pioneering interview and interrogation training that would influence detectives across the UK. This is the story of how a grammar-school boy from England became one of the country’s most experienced investigators, leading him to Turks and Caicos to investigate international drug and money-laundering cases.  I loved chatting with Bob, and I think you will love this episode. Part Two will go live next Sunday, where we'll dive into more of his international experiences and author journey. Please enjoy my chat with Bob Lessemun! In today’s episode, we discuss:·      Being chased by the police as a young lad to becoming a police officer.·      His grandfather being a constable and the influence that had on him as a young man.·      The realities of being a constable in 1968 England.·      The lack of equipment and training; it took two years for him to get a set of handcuffs. ·      Being in a fight of his life on Christmas and the unlikely backup that helped. ·      Being outnumbered all the time and learning the gift of gab. ·      Writing the interrogation / interview manual for the English police.·      What is Scotland Yard and his training there?·      Hostage negotiating and other specialties he possesses? ·      Negotiating with an armed man holding a police sergeant hostage.All of this and more on today’s episode of the Cops and Writers podcast.Visit Bob's Amazon Author Page. Head on over to my website! What's the craziest thing you saw when you were a cop?My first week on the job, a guy running at me with a butcher knife. He'd just killed his brother over the last hot dog.That's chapter 1. There are 33 more.Police Stories: The Rookie Years just launched - available on Amazon. Search 'Police Stories Patrick O'Donnell' or click thSupport the show