University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2011 Waiving Miranda Vance E. Voyles University of Central Florida Part of the Creative Writing Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Masters Thesis (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. STARS Citation Voyles, Vance E., "Waiving Miranda" (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 1724. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/1724 WAIVING MIRANDA by VANCE E. VOYLES M.F.A. University of Central Florida, 2011 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in the Department of English in the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Fall Term 2011 ©2011 Vance E. Voyles ii ABSTRACT Waiving Miranda is a nonfiction collection that explores my career in law enforcement with a special emphasis on how the day-to-day association with others can lure a person into self-observation. The essays include my experiences as a road-patrol deputy, sex-crimes detective, and homicide detective in one of the largest county law enforcement agencies in the nation. Instead of the TV version of law enforcement— anecdotes of police chases and shoot outs—this thesis examines people on both sides of the yellow crimes scene tape as they face their own mortality and the gruesome truth of people’s unabashed cruelty towards one another.