Former Bristol homicide detective features as character in video game

A former detective sergeant for Avon and Somerset police is playing a big part in a BAFTA-nominated mobile game.

Sim Cryer, who spent 15 years as a homicide detective with the major crimes unit, acted as a consultant for the storyline of the interactive crime game.

The latest season of Dead Man’s Phone: Unmasked, created by Electric Noir Studios, highlights the issues around the lives of online sex workers.

The game places the player in the shoes of a homicide detective charged with cracking the case of a body found on Hampstead Heath. To unravel the mystery, the player must trawl through social media posts, analyse text messages, and examine photos saved in the victim’s phone.

Cryer, who moved to Bristol in 1990 to study before joining the police force, initially lived in Kingswood which was home to the first police station he worked at.

The 50-year-old told Bristol24/7 about what it feels like to be a character called DCI Sutherland in the game and spoke about the shift in attitude he has seen towards sex workers during his career.

What does it feel like to be a character in a game?

“Playing a character in the game was so different from anything I’ve ever done before, and coming to London to film on set put me way out of my comfort zone, but it was an incredible experience.

“Even though I’m no longer a police officer, I’m proud to put my knowledge to use, and keep the character as real as possible. Sutherland has a slightly grumpy personality, which is not too far from my own demeanour, so it feels like I’m actually in the game. Some of my colleagues even called me ‘smiler’ because I didn’t smile too often.

“I’m proud to be involved in a project that’s pushing the boundaries of what’s been done before, and I admire the team at Electric Noir Studios for taking risks and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in mobile games. The Dead Man’s Phone series has done a great job of shining a light on important social issues which are typically not highlighted in video games.”

How much of your own experiences as a former detective sergeant did you contribute to the game?

“My experience has given me a treasure trove of knowledge about the minutiae of a murder investigation. I was able to provide insights to the team as they wrote and developed the game, and we worked closely together to make it entertaining, but realistic.

“One major contribution was in the scenes shortly after the player finds the body of AllMyFans influencer Gemma Dream, where the forensics team scour the crime scene to recover any trace evidence left by the offender.

“Many police procedurals underplay the significance of the forensic investigation, and often get important details wrong. I was pleased to be able to shine a light on the, often unsung, heroes of a murder case with these scenes in particular.”

“During this time I was involved in more than 30 homicide cases, ranging from county lines cases through to contract killings.” – photo: Electric Noir Studios

How many years were you a homicide detective in the Bristol major crimes unit?

“I was a police officer for over 26 years, and spent 15 years as a homicide detective with the major crimes unit. During this time I was involved in more than 30 homicide cases, ranging from county lines cases through to contract killings.

“I have also been involved in several high profile cases, including the murder of Rico Gordon in 2011 which featured on the Channel 5 documentary Criminals Caught on Camera.

“I also managed the CCTV trawl, recover and analysis for the murder of Joanna Yeates in 2010. This generated significant media coverage, focusing on the issues surrounding the arrest of Christopher Jefferies, and the way he was treated by the media.

“During my early years working in major crime, I specialised in innovative techniques using telecoms data as evidence, and developed processes for digital CCTV recovery, analysis and evidential presentation.

“Since leaving the police force in 2019, I’ve been working as a Police Procedure Consultant for companies seeking to bring a true-to-life perspective to crime media productions. Most recently, I was asked to consult on the latest season of Electric Noir Studio’s mobile game Dead Man’s Phone.”

What did you do as part of the game development process?

“I was involved in workshopping the narratives and storylines to ensure that they fit within a realistic and factual framework, based on actual police procedures. My role was to ground the gameplay and script in real life, while keeping the game as authentic as possible.

“Alongside consulting on the narrative and script, I reprised my role as DCI Sutherland, one of the characters in the game that players communicate with to help them unpick the mystery.

“In this latest season, the role of DCI Sutherland was expanded and I helped capture the bodycam footage that the player receives. I even got in front of the camera for the first time to record the sting operation sequence.”

The game places the player in the shoes of a homicide detective charged with cracking the case of a body found on Hampstead Heath – photo: Electric Noir Studios

Going forwards, do you think police treatment of crimes against sex workers needs to change, and if so, why?

There have already been huge improvements in the way sex workers are treated by the police compared to four years ago, when I was still in the force.

As far back as 15 years ago, sex workers weren’t treated as victims when crimes were committed against them, but more like offenders. This was despite them usually being in that situation for reasons outside of their control.

“Since then, police attitudes have improved significantly. But the world of online sex work has brought its own set of challenges.

“The internet represented a huge change in the way the sex industry operates. Before the advent of the internet it was easier to keep track of people, as we got to know them individually on our beats. Moving the world of sex work online creates a distance between the workers and the police, which makes any offences harder to investigate.

“The volume of sex workers online is much greater than the relatively small numbers we used to see on the streets of Bristol.

“It has also become much harder for police to allocate the appropriate resources to investigate effectively. It takes a very different set of skills to solve an online case, and we often find ourselves under-equipped to process the huge amounts of data that an online presence generates. This can lead to missed evidence and failed prosecutions.

“Even after a successful prosecution, there’s still a victim who needs support and guidance to live with their experiences and move on with their lives. The police do not have the resources to offer the long term support that victims need, and this often ends up coming from voluntary organisations, such as Victim Support, and Catch-22, to help them come to terms with what they’ve been through.

“The retention of officers and investigators will be a key issue moving forward, as no one seems to view the police service as a long term career anymore, just a five year job on their CV. This leaves a large void of experience and knowledge, and I’m not sure what this will do to the reputation of the British police service.

“Serious sexual offences are now investigated by very inexperienced investigators, so there is no wonder we get it wrong sometimes.”

Dead Man’s Phone: Unmasked is available to play on the Scriptic app on iOS and Android.

Photos: Electric Noir Studios

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