Blogging Duplication

I was thinking the other day about content for the blog and, whilst scanning around the net and reading the blogs of other police officers, I noticed a lot of similar threads. Content and comment was very similar in a lot of respects and, in some cases more or less identical... Why is this? Do we all sit and plagiarise each others work? Can't anyone think of something original?

Cops generally have a similar outlook on life so I suppose we get despondent about the same things. Talking to colleagues I know that cops get frustrated about not being able to do the job they joined the force to do, because of someone else's input. Mismanagement, political interference, police reform, modernisation or simply lack of financial investment all have an bearing.Unfortunately, when some aspect of this 'input' doesn't work, it's not the govt or Chiefs that get the blame! The cop on the street gets the blame and is accused of being incompetent and/or resistant to change. The cop on the street gets the earache from the member of public who has waited for days to get a police response! So are police officers resistant to change?

The police service has been evolving from the day it was founded in its modern form over 150 years ago and, as we deliver policing by consent in this Country, we continually have to review our response to crime and disorder and always need to work with partners and other agencies. At most rank levels in the service officers believe in providing the best possible service they can to the people they serve and, will use all tools at their disposal to do it.

So no, I don't believe the police service is resistant to change. Jan Berry, Chairman of the Police Federation said on Police Reform: "We believe it is vital if reform is to take place that it is carried out on a basis of service effectiveness not just financial efficiency. The public must be left with an improved, more effective force that is able to provide a better service".

Politicians and senior officers continue to build up public expectations, over-promise and then under-deliver, despite cooking the statistics books! Ultimately the community will judge the government and police service on their own experience. Policing must be geared towards what we do and how we do it - not a catalogue of targets and indicators. So the reason for the Blogging Duplication is We Feel & Think the Same and have the same frustrations, Simple!

More eloquent and succinct views about how police officers feel and their opinions on life can be found in the numerous blogs appearing on the net, this in itself would suggest a product of sheer frustration. You can also obtain the 'official' line about how we feel at www.polfed.org