You’re Nicked!

Saturday 20 July 2024 | Throughout the day

9.00am – 10.00am

10.15am – 11.15pm

11.30pm – 12.30pm

1.15pm – 2.15pm

2.30pm – 3.30pm

3.45pm – 4:45pmThe Rose | Old Swan Hotel, HarrogateSuspect Ticket: £7.00 | Spectator Ticket: FreePlease note that you must have access to the site through a paid ticket (individual event, Rover, Site or Weekend Break Package) to access these events. Numbers are limited so you will need to book.Please note all SUSPECT bookings are subject to a £2.50 transaction fee.BOOK A SUSPECT TICKETBOOK A SPECTATOR TICKETPlease Note: Online and door sales will reopen Friday 19 July subject to availability‘Enjoy’ the complete arrest experience! Join us for an interactive workshop where you’ll immerse yourself in the heart of an investigation. Feel what it’s like to be arrested and to meet the all-powerful custody officer. Taste the authenticity and tension of this most dramatic part of any novel, as you live the crucial moments following the capture of a culprit. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how these dramatic scenes can pack a punch!

How Will the Event Work?
Get ready for an unforgettable experience! Here’s how our interactive live event will unfold:

1. The Suspect:
   1. Each hour slot will comprise three suspects being separately arrested, of which you will be one.
   2. As a suspect, you’ll undergo a realistic and immersive arrest and feel what it’s like to meet the custody officer and experience what might be the start of a life-time in prison.
   3. You will either draw your crime out of a hat or, if you prefer, you can suggest on the day what you’d like to be arrested for.
   4. This is your chance to feel the tension and drama of having your liberty ripped away, and your every right and move allowed only at the behest of the custody officer,  just like in the most gripping crime novels.
   5. You can take on the role of a ‘suspect’ for a fee of just £7.00 (reserve your ticket now and don’t miss out)
2. Spectators:

1. • The event is free for spectators (but you still need to reserve a ticket to attend)
   • You’ll get to witness the entire process, from the mock arrest to the horror of being processed for what might be indefinite jail-time, all from the comfort of your seat.
   • Each hour slot lasts for a total of 60 minutes during which you will witness three sorry suspects have their lives changed forever

1. The Process:

1. • Interview: Each 15-minute session will feature a different participant as the suspect, arrested by Graham Bartlett, a crime writer and former detective, and presented and processed by the sternest of custody officers, ex police jailer and crime writer Tina (TM) Payne.
   • Debriefing: At the end of each slot, Graham and Tina will provide feedback and insights to the ’Suspects’, giving them a behind-the-scenes insight into how such fictional scenes should be crafted and how to ramp up the pressure.

Join us for this unique and educational experience, where you can either be part of the audience or step into the spotlight as a suspect, learning firsthand how crime writers create compelling and intense scenes. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the real world so as to create the drama and authenticity that make custody scenes so captivating! Graham Bartlett is a best selling crime writer but before that he served in Sussex Police for 30 years, mainly as a detective then rising to become Brighton and Hove’s Chief Superintendent and the city police commander. He now writes the Jo Howe crime novels, Bad for Good, Force of Hate and City on Fire having previously published two non-fiction books with Peter James, Death Comes Knocking – Policing Roy Grace’s Brighton and Babes in the Wood. Known as the crime writers’ crime writer, he leads one of the UK’s foremost police procedural and crime advisory services, helping scores of authors (including Peter James, Mark Billingham, Elly Griffiths, Anthony Horowitz, Ruth Ware, Claire McGowan and Dorothy Koomson) and TV writers achieve authenticity in their drama. T.M. Payne (Tina) is the best-selling author of the D.I. Sheridan Holler series. Her debut novel, Long Time Dead was published in April 2024, and went to number one in Crime Fiction in both the UK and Germany. The second book in the series, This Ends Now is out in October 2024 and the third, PLAY WITH FIRE, will be published in March 2025. Tina has spent most of her working life in the criminal justice system, starting out as a Store Detective (where she once got thrown in a river) before becoming a Prisoner Custody Officer (where she once carried a prisoner out of the courtroom single-handedly, when he started hallucinating butterflies.)

She has worked in practically every London court, including the Old Bailey and Court of Appeal and has been handcuffed to murderers, rapists, and one of the worst sexual predators this country has ever seen. In 2001, she joined Norfolk Police as a Detention Officer, working in the custody suite, before joining the Domestic Violence Unit as a Police Case Investigator. In her 14 years in that role, she dealt with thousands of victims of domestic abuse, with one of her cases earning her a Chief Constable’s commendation.BOOK A SUSPECT TICKETBOOK A SPECTATOR TICKET

This event is brought to you by Graham Bartlett – Police Advisor and Professional Writing Academy,
as part of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival