Disappearing bloggers

Because I've had two long periods without blogging, with just a short return in between, there seem to be so many police blogs that I used to read that have either disappeared completely or haven't been updated for months. It's just kinda depressing.

I know that there are lots of cases where officers have been found out and forced to stop blogging or worse. Particularly when the whole blog has disappeared it is as though it belittles that officer's experiences and their account of them. Those officers have invested a lot of time to let us know how hard they work in their jobs, the emotional effects of this and how they are attacked from both sides for and because they are doing their job and for and because they are not permitted to do it through constraints of accountability and paperwork. These are insightful and illuminating pieces of writing, written under freedom of speech and protected by copyright. Under these rights the individuals in question should be free to have their writing published wherever they wish under their pseudonym. Just like my disgust if ever I see the burning of books, the forced disappearance of these posts is a oppressive way of preventing the reader from choosing what they know and learn.

Its about time management (SMT/ACPO/Government) read these blogs with a view to seeing what the problems their (often frontline) officers are facing, and start to come up with real solutions, not brushing their issues under the carpet and moving those officers on who try to explain why everyone is tripping up over the huge mound in the middle of it.

When I say real solutions I mean long-term planned out answers to problems, not quick-fix keep the peace for five minutes patch-ups.

Anyway I don't know where that rant came from and to anyone who has just not blogged for a while because they're busy I know the feeling! But I just hope that those who are forced to stop blogging know there's a community of people online who feel for them and will miss them.