The Weekly Dig uncovered the Boston Police Department's relatively new blog, BPDNews.com. Many regulars in the Boston blogosphere have been aware of the site reporting daily incidents and special announcements since the site went live, print media faithful and those who are occasional surfers are now realizing the site exists and the information it delivers on a daily basis. Many of the items posted on BPDNews don't make it into the local papers – but a regular read will give you a jump on the morning paper when you read it first blog-style.
BPDNews isn't the only effort the Boston Police are making to gain transparency and fight crime using the power of the internets. They've tapped craigslist to run several sting operations on sex for sale operations in the Hub and starting on June 1st Menino announced the city's endorsement of Citizen Observer. Citizen Observer alerts users of the site to current open cases, warnings, and crime watch initiatives. Bostonist has been signed up all month and received a mere half-dozen warnings and updates, compared to the several daily updates of the BPDNews website. Dig readers, internet aficionados, and residents of Boston are better served by the blog. It's curious why the Commissioner's office and City Hall haven't come out with a full fledged endorsement of the site. Well, curious unless you believe occasional assertion that Target has a tight grip on the Mayor resulting in the official backing of the Citizen Observer site over BPDNews.
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