12.11.07

Police cutbacks in the blogosphere.

Sergeant Simon says...

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.

Inspector Gadget says...

My usually impeccable sources at PSNI have gone very quiet about the demise of Belfast Peeler. No one seems to know anything.

Having patrolled the streets with officers from The Royal Ulster Constabulary (George Cross) I can confirm that these are not people who are bullied easily. I am assuming that he has been threatened with his job and pension.

But I used to read Belfast Peeler and I can’t remember seeing anything except common-sense, humour and commitment. Clearly these qualities are the modern enemy.

I hope Belfast Peeler continues to comment on this Blog, even if he uses a psuedonym.
The Sunday Life reported...

Over and out for PC blog

There are fears that the long arm of the law has felt the collar of Ulster's plain talking internet copper - Belfast Peeler.

For the man whose stories of day to day life as a PSNI officer have been an internet hit since July 2006 - seems to have written his last 'blog'.

Cop blogs across the UK have been buzzing with speculation that 'Belfast Peeler' has been gagged by his bosses since he typed his entry, ominously called 'The Last Interview', last month.

In it, the PSNI man revealed that he was being disciplined although he did not say exactly what he was being accused of doing wrong.

However, his backlog of entries has been deleted.

.............. .............. ..............

A PSNI spokeswoman said that the service did not comment on such matters.

But in a statement, she outlined the position of the PSNI on police bloggers, saying: "In terms of the general issue of police officers publishing their own websites, officers doing so would be expected to ensure that their actions do not contravene the PSNI code of ethics.

"Any identified breach of the code of ethics would be dealt with appropriately."


I hope that we haven't seen the end of The Belfast Peeler's presence on the blogosphere. It was interesting to get an insight into the life of a member of the PSNI. I'm sure a lot of people don't have the opportunity to talk to the police regularly and his blog gave the public that opportunity. Let's hope he's just taking a break from blogging.

In the meantime...

Good Luck The Belfast Peeler!

2 comments:

Nelly said...

I'm sorry to see that one go. It was well written and insightful. There was nothing that I could see that was detrimental to the image of the PSNI. Quite the opposite. I wish him luck and hope that he will keep writing somewhere, some place.

David Todd said...

Yea, I'd like to see him back again, somewhere.