Police blogs: Putting a human face to police work?

Some may see blogging about police work to be unprofessional, unethical, a breach of security, etc. However, providing certain details are omitted, is it really fair to deny the public insights of a world only the police really ever witness? To me that's the beauty of work-related blogs - first-hand accounts of the world of work instead of second-hand accounts by dramatists, journalists and academics; not forgetting the sanitized and censored corporate line.

Police blogs are certainly popular with the public and have been attracting attention in the tabloid and broadsheet press - see previous postings here and here. What is more, it seems that the blog-based antics of one notable police blogger - David Copperfield who runs "The Policeman's blog" - has spurred a sudden growth of police officers keen to put a human face to police work. See below.

The Sleepy Policeman
- fighting indifference with apathy
The cynical policeman - insights into the life and thoughts of a police officer within a certain Police Force working in a lovely area right next to Heathrow
Special special's blog
Policing in Scotland - a detective's perspective on Scottish Policing
Office blog - a look into the job of a Reactive officer working in a mix of sleepy villages and nightmare towns
Diary of a Bow Street runner - a police officer in a large city somewhere in the UK
De-tec-tive - Ramblings of a UK Detective in a Regional Police Force: loves the work but battling against interference - and losing.
Lights, sirens....action! - personal views, rantings and observations of a Brighton based Police Officer.
Ssssh, it's the filth!
Cough the lot - blog of a thirty something copper in suburbia
Confessions of a SPC - life of a UK Special Constable in a County Police Force
Semper Fi - views that do not represent the views of the Police Service in general or any respective Force or government agency

Here are just a list of British police blogs that have been on my blog for at least a few months:

200 weeks; Another constable; Another day at the office; Blues and twos; Brian's brief encounters; Cat amongst the pidgeons; Cerebus says...; MagicMan; Policeman's blog; Special constable's blog; The thin blue line; World weary detective.

I'm surprised no one has run something big in media on this subject.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm surprised no one has run something big in media on this subject.

It's coming. But given that the Service is so keen to shut us all down, I don't know whether any of us will be around long enough to make for an interesting story.

Anonymous said...

I should have been more specific - i.e. you only have to glance over such blogs to get an idea that police workers are subjected to practices that conflict with how they think their work should be done.

For me police blogs are good PR for the police force because they are likely to make the public more sympathetic of what they have to put up with.

Spike said...

For me police blogs are good PR for the police force because they are likely to make the public more sympathetic of what they have to put up with.

Ditto.

Reading the blogs of coppers, ambos and other emergency services has given me an insight into what they do and what they go through to do it. I've got a lot more sympathy for them now and I'm a lot less confused about what they appear to be doing. How their bosses think that a bad thing is beyond me.

Anonymous said...

And lo and behold, we make BBC Online today!

cardinal_wolsey said...

interest seems to be up again with Chief Constable of N.Wales talking about his blog on R4 6 oclock news

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