Quality Policing Podcast and Blog

White Shirts

They’re on my mind, but probably because I’m reading Melville’s excellent White-Jacket: The World in a Man-of-War. But with regards to the protests and the NYPD… I don’t see the problem of the “white shirts.” (And before you go there, Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna has been taken off the street.) This is one of the…
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Burglary, Guns, and the UK

One of the thing 2nd-Amendment advocates love pointing out is the England has a much higher burglary rate than the US. Best I can tell this is due the mostly to the publications of one professor. The subtext (or main text) of the more guns equals fewer burglaries argument, of course, is that if the…
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The view from my pub

I don’t know why, but he looked kind of angry.   Lot’s of gun shots around here in rural England. Reminded me of Baltimore, except they’re shooting at pheasants. Pheasant hunting season started today. There are actually a lot of guns here, but they’re for hunting, not “protection.” There’s a big hunting culture: “If it…
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Dude!

  [I’m on break. Regular blogging will resume in February.]

Absurdly cute

It really is like this in rural Hampshire.   [I’m on break. Regular blogging will resume in February.]

Like no crab I’ve ever seen

“Can I take a picture?” “No,” said the old fish monger. “But I’ve never seen a crab like this.” “What do you mean? You never seen a crab?” “I’ve seen lots of crabs. But not like this.” “How can you not have seen a crab?” “How do you cook them? Do you boil or steam…
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The old days

A nineteenth-century police rattle. Just twirl if you need backup. This was before the radio, before the callbox, and even before the police whistle.   [I’m on break. Regular blogging will resume in February.]

Cop Think

A pretty fabulous op-ed from a retired NYPD Captain on ticket fixing and police culture. Like any other profession, police work is subject to evolution. This situation is just the latest in a never-ending world of transition. I accept that. But let’s not pretend we’ve suddenly discovered some major moral rot deep in the heart…
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The more things change… September 29, 1829

Here’s the very first new rule, just a few months into London’s experiment with the New Police (and London perhaps was beaten by Edinburgh). Apparently, back in the good old days, officers were drinking, had a bit of a temper, carried umbrellas and other weapons, engaging in idle chit chat, and hide their identification numbers:…
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