Policing is a uniquely dangerous, harrowing and challenging profession where officers are expected to do far more than prevent and detect crime. To be a police officer is also to be a social worker, marriage guidance counsellor, mental health worker and medic.

Offering incredible true stories from the front line of policing, The Coppers' Lot is a compelling insight into what it takes to be a police officer in Britain in the 21st century. The extraordinary experiences recounted include:

• The heroic officer who continued to put his life in grave danger as he pursued marauding terrorists wearing suicide vests, while they indiscriminatingly stabbed members of the public.
• The undercover officer who targeted organised crime groups and drug dealers.
• The courageous officer who regularly tackled knife crime head on, saving several lives.
• The intense feeling of elation when an officer discovered key evidence to convict a murdering paedophile.
• The officer who, trapped alone and disarmed with a violent man, persevered despite being in fear of her life as her radio was thrown away leaving no means of summoning help.

Taking readers on a ride along with the exceptional men and women who have sacrificed so much whilst protecting and serving their communities, these officers reveal, often in their own words, just how much policing has changed from the traditional notion of the bobby on the beat.