Deep Cover

If Deep Cover was a piece of fiction it would be exceptional,as a true story by one of Britain's top undercover policemen, and they're all genuine heroes, it's mind-blowing.

Shay Doyle was brought up on a rough Council Estate in Manchester where violence and law-breaking was a away of life. After a stint in the Army ,where he spent time in Northern Ireland's "Bandit Country" ,Doyle found life in Civvy Street boring and to the surprise and scorn of many of his mates he joins the police. Despite putting many noses out of joint he advances very quickly and gets noticed,gaining a post in the elite undercover unit while barely out of training.
With his background,physique and intimidating manner Doyle is picked to infiltrate the notorious drug gangs that were running riot in Manchester ,young men with fearsome weaponry that they had no fear of using,and did so frequently. While putting his life at risk Doyle found that support from his police superiors was not all he expected it to be and putting him undercover a few miles from where he grew up was a seriously stupid move.

After a stellar career undercover Doyle moves on to finish his police career after adding several major ,and dangerous,investigations to his CV.
The final part of Doyle's book tells of the ramifications of the stresses and things he saw as a policeman and his struggles with his mental health are as "edge of the seat" as his adventures in the force

I've read a few books by undercover policemen in recent years, these are seriously courageous people, and tragically the story has been the same every time. Brave people working for a system that often seems to actively be trying to undermine them and quite often putting them in danger. These are a very special breed of people,they tend to be "awkward" and often rock the boat. People behind desks with fancy job titles don't understand , don't like them and certainly don't appreciate them. In just about every similar book ,just like Doyle,they get chewed up and spat out by a police force that really doesn't deserve them.

This is a fantastic read, I read it from start to finish in 5 hours.....I hadn't intended to but it was that gripping.
A tale of Lions led by Donkeys.

Shay Doyle (not his real name) grew up on a rough housing estate in Manchester. He came from a family which was on the wrong side of the tracks - they weren’t criminals per se, but they weren’t strictly law-abiding either, and there was lots of fighting with other residents of the estate. His father was what might be called one of the estate’s “hard men”. He also physically abused Shay’s mother.

It was in part to escape his father that Shay joined the army. Here he was unruly, but dedicated, and quite the risk taker. He left the army and someone suggested he join the police. This he struggled with (most of his family and friends hated the police) but eventually did. Again, in the police, he was a risk taker and was never afraid to go toe to toe with criminals. This got the attention of the organised crime squad, who quickly recruited him (within just two or three years of joining the police, which is quite an achievement).

It was then suggested to Shay that he apply for Undercover Officer training, which he did. He got on the course and passed with flying colours. Soon, he became a Level 1 undercover operative. Level 2 operatives do buys of crack or heroin to build intelligence on street dealers, but level ones do long-term infiltrations. I’ve read a couple of biographies of Level 1 officers before, and most are only on assignment for a couple of months, and in between they’re in detective squads - such as CID. Shay appears to have been undercover for long periods of time and sent from one level 1 deployment to another, which makes him unique.

As someone so utilised, he was used against some major criminals, though most of his assignments seem to have been against wider criminal fraternities. So, for example, he worked undercover in the Moss Side in Manchester, building a picture of the criminal landscape there, and again later in Cambridge. What he never seems to have done is been deployed against a major criminal or crime family, such as the Adams crime family in London, or the Noonan crime family in Manchester. So, he never seems to have been deployed to infiltrate such an OCG and “bring them down”. This isn’t a criticism of Shay, or even the police. As a layperson, I don’t know. Perhaps that’s not how it’s done, or such an operation would be too risky. 

That said, some of his work (albeit not his undercover work so much, but his intermittent work in the organised crime unit) led him to take on Dale Cregan and the OCG he was part of, after Cregan murdered two police officers, and then later, to pursue Paul Massey’s killers.

Throughout the book, Shay Doyle talks of being a bit of a maverick who was not afraid to take on criminals. And he complains that his bosses often thought he was out of control. I’m in two minds what to make of that. As it’s his biography, it’s easy to take his side and assume his bosses didn’t - as Shay complains - understand what it took to be a successful Level 1 undercover operative. But equally, one could ask whether he did stray over the line occasionally. I have to stress. I’m not suggesting he did. I’m not making any accusation against the author. And certainly the police command seems to have had enough confidence in him to keep using him. But equally, as with any biography, this is a one sided account. Unfortunately, due to the operations he writes about being secret, we’re never likely to have a more neutral account written by a journalist (such as Michael Gillard’s book, Legacy, which looked at a Met police officer’s battle with a London based OCG), so all we have is Shay Doyle’s account, and obviously he tells things how he sees them.

This is a very good and very revealing account of undercover policing in the UK. I’m sure it’s been vetted by the police prior to publication and there are operational details he can’t divulge, and it will have inevitable limitations because of that, but it’s well worth a read.

Love love loved this book! Not only does it fill my true crime passion, but also allows the reader to gain an insight into policing, with no sugar coating! I love Shay's writing and his honesty about being a police officer in GMP. His battles with mental health and CPTSD is a complete eye opener.
I just want to give him a hug and thank him for all his hard work, but I'm pretty scared!

This is a fascinating insight into the work of undercover police officers from Shay Doyle. A very personal account of the time spent in policing and the toll on his mental health and personal life. It's honest, fast paced and filled with adrenaline. I can't believe the way he was treated by GMP and the force politics involved. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.