Officer's New Year's Eve tweets show human side of policing

I spent my New Year's Eve surrounded by pregnant women (and some not pregnant men) trying to work out how to best mime Jack Reacher (the new Tom Cruise film, for those who don't know).

But while I was doing that (and making my own cocktails - which is a BAD idea) some people were working. Many of them were in bars and restaurants, but others were on the 'front line' - the emergency services for whom there is no such thing as a bank holiday.

Superintendent James Tozer from West Mercia Police decided that it was about time everyone else realised what the men and women of Her Majesty's Constabulary put up with on December 31 and kept a very public log via social media site Twitter.

It painted quite a picture.

But this wasn't a harsh, judgmental missive from one of the county's top cops, sprinkled, as it was, with a fair share of tongue in cheek humour.

Take this one on the attire of some of the young ladies out and about on New Year's Eve -

Or this -

Or this -

Even amongst the humour, there was a serious point to what Mr Tozer was doing, relating first hand and (almost) as it happened just what a challenge the festive period can be.

For example -

And -

Two tweets summed up the night nicely.

And -

What Mr Tozer did in taking the decision to tweet from the streets was not only give people an insight into the work of the local bobbies, but also present a human side to policing - something that many complain has been lost with fewer bobbies on the beat than in the golden days of the 1950s and 60s.

Those days may have gone, but by engaging in social media in such a way, Mr Tozer has provided a valuable link to the boys and girls in blue.

This is one time when it's good to be followed by the police....