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Broken Blue Line

How Life as Britain's Supercop Broke Me

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Broken Blue Line

By: Alistair Livingstone
Narrated by: Mike Rogers
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'Broken Blue Line is a rollercoaster of a ride depicting the realities of twenty-first-century policing on the front-line. Its well written, honest and informative. Alistair Livingstone put his life on the line, and now he's put his heart on the line. Courageous and human. Highly recommended.'
Mike Pannett, author of Now Then Lad . . . and Crime Squad

As a police officer, Alistair Livingstone was dubbed Supercop by the media for making more arrests than any other officer in the UK. But then Ali broke down. Broken Blue Line is the vividly told story of what brought him to that point, and the beginning of his slow, painful recovery.

Ali was dubbed Supercop for making more than 1,000 arrests over one eighteen-month period, when the average arrest rate for officers in England and Wales is just nine a year. In his work as a police officer, he dealt with life-and-death situations on an almost daily basis: saving lives as a hostage negotiator; rescuing the occupant of a house fire; providing tactical advice during some of the most violent incidents; clinging onto a suicidal man hanging from the roof of a multi-storey car park; and entering a flat that had been blown up in an explosion just moments before. Ali was also engulfed in the aftermath and devastation of losing a colleague and friend who died doing the job she loved, and he witnessed the unprecedented response to the serial killings in Ipswich and the profound effect it had on the community and the police.

But then an agonising and debilitating mental breakdown left the seemingly indestructible sergeant desperately seeking help. After almost two decades helping some of society's most vulnerable people he became so troubled by what he had seen and done in the line of duty that he hit rock bottom. Ali had no option but to walk away from the job that had defined him to embark on his biggest challenge yet: regaining his mental health.

Ali's book offers an insight into the real world of modern policing: the demands and challenges faced by frontline officers throughout the UK. Ali's hope is that by opening up about his experiences and his struggle to regain his mental health in this no-holds-barred account, he will help to remove some of the lingering stigma that attaches to mental illness within the police and other professions and prevent others from making the same mistakes that he did.

Ali says that he thoroughly enjoyed being a police officer and got to experience the sharp end of policing in so many different ways. When he finally made the decision to leave he was devastated and the months that followed his breakdown were the toughest he'd ever faced. Now that he is on the road to recovery, he hopes that by sharing his story it'll shine a light on the challenges of modern policing and the toll it can take, and, in doing so, to help others.©2020 Alistair Livingstone Mental Health Murder Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders Psychology Psychology & Mental Health True Crime Health United Kingdom
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Critic reviews

Broken Blue Line is a rollercoaster of a ride depicting the realities of twenty-first-century policing on the front-line. Its well written, honest and informative. Alistair Livingstone put his life on the line, and now he's put his heart on the line. Courageous and human. Highly recommended. (Mike Pannett, author of Now Then Lad . . . and Crime Squad)
All stars
Most relevant
Loved this book. I thought it was a realistic view of modern day policing. Funny, heart felt and genuinely interesting. 5 Stars

Fantastic listen

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An amazing and honest look at society and mental health. This journey we are taken on with the author shows the good, bad and ugly that the police sea on a daily basis. I gave this rating for the openness and honest way that Ali and Mike the Narrator delivers-this amazing book.

Keeping it real.

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Being a cop of 20 years I felt I could fully relate to Alistair's story, I have seen the ups and downs and struggled with Depression and Anxiety, having been honest to myself my road has changed path (yet still in Police) and it was refreshing to hear others feel the same.
excellent book and one for all new/potential cops to read prior to joining. University degrees do not prepare you for real life experience. Thank you Alistair for your honesty.

Clear, Honest and right on the mark of Police life

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Awesome! Loved listening to a real life cop telling his stories. The good the bad and the ugly

Personable and on point

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Coming from the same background as Alistair and can totally relate to his frontline tales. The narration though…. Robotic like a cheap AI App which prompted me to give up halfway through. Much respect to Alistair and his service though

A great story poorly told

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