Gathering dust

Evening all.

Apologies for the continual lack of updates here. Unfortunately at the moment blogging is somewhat on the back seat. I'm not under any pressure from anyone to stop, I don't have senior management asking awkward questions, nor am I getting any funny looks from my Pc's.

Well, none more than usual, anyway.

Personal circumstances at the moment mean I just don't simply have the time to put a proper effort into this and I don't like doing a half-arsed job on things. Maybe one day, (if the senior management finally relent and change this frankly terrible shift pattern we're currently burdened with) I'll find myself with more time and will get motivated to starting shouting out again from this corner of blogdom.

In the meantime I'm currently looking to get off response team. I've said that before but this time I actually am. I've been doing it for several years now and I need a break from all the politics and scrutinisation to the nth degree. I'm just coasting at the moment, not really wanting to get stuck into anything.

I'll come back, I know I will. Uniform response work is all I ever joined to do and despite the opinions of practically everyone else in the job, everything else plays second fiddle to the boys and girls taking the 999 calls. If you lost one office based department or other there'd be varying degrees of hassle and whinging but should the 999 team collectively decide to call it a half day and clear off down the pub it'd be total chaos.

I'm looking at a number of things- going into one of the specialised uniform units like traffic (should they still exist, as unpopular as they are) or armed response (if the wife will let me). I may go back to old grounds if a position pops up in the street duties unit. I did enjoy that when I last ran it- still out and about, but with a lot more flexibility. I wrote the shift pattern for the troops when I last ran it and yes I made damn sure there were weekend night shifts in there. I don't get it when street duty units do 10 weeks of early turns. Pointless.

Got to admit tho I am somewhat of a closet rat (job parlance for traffic officers) and there's where I'd go if I had the choice. I've even starting nosing around neighbouring forces to see if they've got any positions going.

So we'll see what happens. I'm not going to be fussy and whatever comes up first I'll apply for.

So, in the meantime, if anyone is still reading, thanks for the patience. I'll be back one day.

Forbackward

Morning all.

A word of explanation. I know for a while now I have only been posting inconsistently. This is mostly do with a new, frankly terrible shift pattern where I seem to never have any time at home, and that time at home is spent not wanting to be anywhere near a computer desk nor thinking about anything job related.

I am also a bit frustrated that I can't blog about what I'd really like to, like the barmy amount of paperwork I have to do to evidence a particular PC isn't up to the job and the sheer length of time it takes to kick someone out of the job for not being up to scratch. Unless you commit criminal offences or are overtly phobic or 'ist' in one way or the other then it is bleeding hard to be fired in this job.

Perhaps I'm being excessively paranoid about being found out, but I know if I talk about some of the embarrassing moments this Pc has put himself in anyone on my team, and some of the more senior management involved, will suddenly have a very accurate idea of who I am.

I don't know, I seem to have lost a bit of motivation or direction for what I'm doing here. I stand in awe of the like of Bloggs and Gadget et al who are always updating with topical stuff with a good degree of wit and / or sarcasm thrown in, but I find myself thinking I'd rather be out in the garden or polishing the bike or something.

I apologise if anyone has sent an email to the one I have to the right- I haven't checked it in ages and now I look at it with a good degree of guilt, particularly with regard to one person whom I promised I'd do something and I never have got round to it- particular apologies to you.

I think this will be the status quo for some time, methinks, or at least until I get on a different pattern. I've reached a point where I am now actively looking for something to get me off response team as I figure if I'm going to put up with rubbish shifts and far too much time in custody, I might as well clear off somewhere else where I still may have rubbish shifts but can bin the time in custody instead. I can't remember the last time I was able to driven a pursuit standard car for anything other than 15 minutes and Traffic (yes, Traffic, not Roads Policing), always in the back of my mind as a career option, is coming more and more to the fore.

I'm not saying I'm going to fold this site. I just wanted to explain why I have been so sporadic in updating, and say that unfortunately that'll be the case for a while yet.

Thanks for reading.

Random things

I've had 5 minutes to spare, so I've had a look at some of the stats I've got for this site. Weird search engine results that have somehow ended up here include:

- "female blogs handcuff him". I bet they were disappointed when my page turned up.
- "deactivated guns price". I bet they were even more disappointed.
- "how to make round stairwell post". I have no idea. Go to B&Q.
- "how to make a warrant card". Go to Toys R Us, thats where our ones feel like they're sourced from
- "I'm a PCSO". How nice for you!

...and the best one by far- and I kid you not, somehow someone stumbled across this page after googling the following:

- "the average size of duck flippers".

Note from the 5th March- What are you lot like! This has now jumped up to the 6th most common search engine referral!!!

Randomness.

Another one gone

Feel a bit guilty as I hadn't really checked my sidebar for a couple of weeks, relying on that planet police place to see whats happening in blogland.

Unfortunately, it only tells of who has been posting. Not the ones who haven't.

I am most gutted to find one of the best ones has gone. Has been reported or found out, and the management have obviously ordered it to be shut down.

Take a look at his last post before he is told to erase that too.

Farewell, Belfast Peeler. I shall miss your eye-opening tales of what happens across the Irish Sea. It is one of the few things that made me glad to be over here, putting the management problems into a new perspective.

Here onwards

Well if there's ever going to be a day when there is renewed interest in police blogs it is today. The original candle bearer has gone and told the world about the state of policing culture, where the priority of the police is to meet performance indicators, rather than use common sense and deal with situations in the best way.

I guess that leaves myself and the other bloggers left to try and keep the world aware that despite what the government says this is what its really like. But there is an inherent risk in writing these blogs. I started because of someone else I knew who wrote a police blog (a good one at that), but got found out and got hauled in front of the Chief. There can be real discipline brought against officers writing these things.

As for Tony McNulty. Am I the only one who thought he gave the impression that he regards the front line police officer with contempt? That they should do what he says because he's the police minister? I'm sorry Tony. I know several officers who have been in the service far longer than the Labour government have been in power, let alone before anyone had heard of you. I know who I'll listen to.

So where from here? Two things, I guess. One, to carry on on here, posting now and then about what I see. I'll be the first to admit I don't post about half what I see for fear of being recognised by a colleague. How Stuart Copperfield-Davidson managed for 3 years I don't know (but am impressed).

The other, more difficult thing will be to start making more of a stand at work. We have a new governor coming next month who the rumour mill has is very stats driven and expects 1) the Pcs to have a certain number of arrests, detections, stops etc per month, 2) myself to reinforce this.

Its one thing blogging about how crap this is and another to start doing something about it. But perhaps it might be time to start. It hasn't been a problem recently, my old governor happy enough with us doing our jobs properly and as long as policy wasn't breached then didn't mind us dealing with jobs appropriately. This looks like it is going to change. Might be time to put myself to the test, can I practice what I preach.

Last word today ought to go to Mr DC- click here for his summary of his experience of writing the blog.

Organising etc

Rightyo have fiddled with sidebar links now to have all the other job bloggers ordered in the length of time that their page has existed. As usual if you want your link in let me know via comments or email.

Have added a couple to the graveyard, too. Dogberry has disappeared without a trace. I have added a new rule that if your page hasn't been updated for 6 months without explanation then it goes down in the graveyard too.

Following on from previous rambles about PCSOs and whether their uniform should be more distinct from regular sworn PC's, I've added one of those poll things to the sidebar. Please click your thoughts in, just to satisfy my curiosity.

In the meantime in the news here's a tale of two trains. First- ordinary member of public is prosecuted for having a her feet on a seat. Second, here's a train guard sacked for telling a youth to get his feet off a seat (ok, so there's a bit more to it, but thats how it started). Bonkers eh?

Summer vs Winter

I have decided blogging is more of a winter lark, really.

I did have things I was going to write on here today, but rather than cooping myself up when it is glorious sunshine outside and for once I am not at work or preparing to go to work, I think I'd rather be out there, even if it is cleaning the car or the annual puzzle as to whether the green thing in the garden is something I planted last year or is a weed.

Further updates when the weather has changed......

Some tales of gore from recent shifts, I can tell you. Will probably post about them soon.

Stated Cases

Someone has posed a very interesting question on the comments on the previous posts. Shamelessly picking up on this theme............

Quite rightly, ignorance of a law is not a defence for contravening it. So with all sorts of different forces giving trials for different powers for PCSO's, will this cause problems.

Say: I live in area A, and know PCSO's have no power to do a certain something. I go to area B, and a PCSO wants to do something that I know in area A he can't. I refuse to let him, and I subsequently get charged with obstructing a designated officer (or whatever the technical wording is- my reference books are in my locker- but there's definitely a charge heading like that designed to deal with PCSO's).

Is that right? This is where my knowledge of legal things falls short. How is it possible to trial powers of detention, search etc only in one geographical area? Either it's law, or its not. Or would the law have to state it only applies to said geographical area? If anyone can help, leave a comment.

In the meantime, a while ago I asked if anyone had been contacted by a police magazine. It wasn't Police Review trying to get hold of me, it was the Sharp End. A Home Office funded magazine asking me to call them or drop in? Forgive me if my over suspicious and paranoid mind tells you to take a long walk off a short pier (actually, I said to them I'd only be prepared to contact them by email, and never got a response). The cloak of anonymity is the only thing that lets the logical part of my brain be overruled (because the logical part of my brain says "what are you writing a blog for you idiot").

But enough from me now. Still nothing of substance to talk about, I know. I'm clawing the walls of my office wanting to get back to response work. I'm trying to bribe and cajole the other skippers on old team to letting me go out (when I get back) and do stuff as a response officer, forget this stripes supervise this that blaaaaaaah marlarkey. I just want to get back out and stuck into things. Even griefy thankless jobs are currently appealing!

And Finally

I know, no updates in a week then 4 in a day. But I'm on late turn tomorrow (lie in......... aaaaah) and the missus isn't feeling too well, and was off to bed very early, so could spend a bit of time both on this and looking around the other job bloggers.

Very sad to say the Blogger's Graveyard is expanding. Sensible Policing has simply just disappeared off the face of the earth (never a good sign) and now even the PCSO blog has joined the ranks of those found out and has deleted every post he's ever written.

Every time I see that happen I ask myself- again- just why am I doing this, when all it will ever bring me is trouble.

Police review response

To jump on a bandwagon. Most of you who look at this look at other job blogs so you are probably aware of the article run in Police Review by a serving inspector. I've got hold of a copy, but for those of you who don't have it YorNicked has copied the article on his site.

As far as I can tell, the main point he makes that a important role of the police is to reduce the fear of crime. Police blogs, by presenting the reality of police work, and in particular highlighting the lack of response team officers, can reduce the effectiveness of this goal.

Yes, I can see his point.

But I disagree with his argument. He quotes a blog (anyone got any idea who?) which states there are only 3 officers to cover a borough of a 100,000 residents. Apparently, this is not helpful.

I would completely disagree! Ask Mr anti-social blogger man, who is incredibly frustrated with his local police, North Yorkshire. Do you think he believe the media releases from his force that things are improving? E.g. the following quote, direct from the North Yorkshire Police Home Page "....how we will be building on our considerable success to date...."
However, if he is aware that there are only a few officers covering hundreds of miles, whilst it might not make his situation any better, it might help ease his frustration, and more importantly he will know that the bedraggled officers who do turn up share his frustration. (Or at least, I hope they do)

(Note- any reference to Anti-Social blogger man should read anti-social blogger woman! Apologies!)

Police officers have found that their complaints about "inefficiency, shortage of resources or poor management" (to quote Mr Police Review's belief of the source of police blogger motivation) have fallen on deaf ears when done through official channels. I think the last aspect explains all- the fact that the management is poor and does not deal with our frustrations, but continues to present a rosy picture to the media, is the very reason we are forced to publish online.

I would argue that the public, who are our "customers" (to coin a favourite SMT phrase), our paymasters, and to whom we should be accountable to, have the right to know what isn't right with their police forces. But us blogging officers know they are not told that.

Yes, we are forced to be anonymous. And with that, there is no guarantee of credibility with any police blogger. How do you know I'm a police sergeant? Is another police blog actually written by the husband or wife of an officer? You, the reader, can never know for sure.

The purposes of these blogs, as far as I am concerned, is to provoke debate as to the reality of policing. I don't think anyone should ever take what is written here as gospel, no more than anyone should believe what they read in the news. The media can be shockingly inaccurate, believe me.

If I had to put a single reason as to why I do this, it is to proclaim this message: Don't believe what you are told. A bit like police work really. Whatever your politician or police force says, take it with a pinch of salt. Question it. Investigate it.

Enough from me for now.

Police Blogging Debate

To continue on the police blogging debate.

Tom Reynolds, a London Ambulance Service (LAS) paramedic , who heartily blogs away without having to be secretive, and without the threat of identification (in fact, his employers are quite okay with his blogging) has a posting regarding Inspector Gadget- see here to see it in its proper context.

A reader of Reynold’s site, going by the name of “Rory F” (just scroll down until you see an enormous tome of a comment) posts a very good set of questions as to why the “authorities” clamp down on police bloggers.

Rory states that when he joined the police service, he knew whatever political leanings had to be kept to himself, as indeed we are specifically prohibited from joining any political party. However, policing is intensely political. Most old common law has now been replaced by law passed through parliament. Witness the controversy brought in with anti-social behaviour orders; terrorism legislation etc.

Therefore by expressing our opinions, and despite the small print on every police bloggers website that states that this is not a police website, I bet a whole load of money that Dave Copperfield wouldn’t have a hundreth of his visitors if he was “PlumbersBlog”. Not many people would bother listening to me if I was “Electrician Says” or Inspector Gadget was “Tax Inspector Gadget”.

What is about police blogs that make people want to read them? I know sometimes it’s the entertainment, sometimes its curiosity, sometimes looking for controversy.
Is it because that whatever we write is political whether we intend it or not…. is it because these blogs cause waves that sometimes capsize their own author?


Tell me: Why are you reading this?