Decoy

Winner of 'Best Book' and 'Impact for Change' True Crime Awards 2025 <p> The shocking true story of one of Britain’s most secretive, groundbreaking and successful police covert operations </p> <p> Bristol, 1979. </p> <p> An attacker roams the streets... </p> <p> Young women are warned not to go out alone... </p> <p> Enter the Decoys. </p> <p>For several years, a prolific predator haunted Bristol. Avon and Somerset Police had tried all their usual tactics to catch the ‘Clifton Rapist’, and public pressure was mounting.</p> <p>In 1979, a daring new plan was introduced, unlike anything previously attempted by a UK police force. A small group of young female officers – some aged just 18 – put their lives on the line, walking the quiet residential roads late at night, acting as bait.</p> <p>Drawing on in-depth research and first-hand interviews with the women at the heart of the operation, Decoy is a dramatic retelling of one of the most groundbreaking agent provocateur stings in British history.</p>