Ben Aaronovitch

As Conan the Barbarian famously said, “That which does not kill us does not kill us.”

Low sample size—one of the reasons why magic and science are hard to reconcile.

Anything that can go wrong with armed men in the light can go twice as wrong in the dark.

Have you noticed that about journalists—all they really want to talk about is themselves.

The police can live with looking corrupt, bullying, or tyrannical, but looking stupid is intolerable. It has a tendency to undermine public faith in the forces of Law and is deleterious to public order.

I’m an old-fashioned copper–I don’t believe in breaking the laws of thermodynamics.

“There’s more to life than just London,” said Nightingale.

“People keep saying that,” I said. “But I’ve never actually seen any proof.”

Like young men from the dawn of time, I decided to choose the risk of death over certain humiliation.

“He did some drugs at university,” I said. “Isn’t that what it’s for?”

Blackstone’s Police Operational Handbook recommends the ABC of serious investigation: Assume nothing, Believe nothing, and Check everything.

It’s no fun looking down on people if you can’t let them know you’re above them.

All diplomatic cars have distinctive plates that indicate status and nationality, for the ease and convenience of terrorists and potential kidnappers.