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 moves around here,” I was…
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 them?” “Yes, it’s cooked through.”…
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 of the NYPD. Fact is,…
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: September 29, 1829.—Police Constables should…
Bad Day at the Office
Come on, walking up to somebody you’ve penned up (for not moving?!), macing them, and walking away? Of course it’s indefensible. And it’s not fair to the officers trying to deal with the situation… the officers who weredealing with the situation, acting professionally in a stressful situation. This guy had a very bad day at the office. But if that’s…
We’re Going to Rock Down to, Electric Avenue…
…And then we’ll take it higher. I was in Brixton, London, today and stumbled across… Electric Avenue. There’s a market there. I had no idea Electric Avenue was a real place. Nor that the song was even “set” in London. As a fan of 80’s hip hop, I felt the same way I felt in my early days in New…
The Principles That Never Were
It turns out the Peel’s famous “Principles of Policing” are a fraud. I kind of always suspected that… but not so much that I didn’t quote them at length in the afterward to the paperback edition of Cop in the Hood. I should have known better because Susan Lentz and Robert Chaires had already published an article stating as much…