Tweet, Twittter to do

PC Andy Long

I've been tweeting PC Andy Long in the UK this evening about a raid on a suspected "nighthawk" as part of Operation Chronos and in particular the issue, in general, of how one can press charges on the basis of the documentation of an artefact hunter's activity, and what that documentation would have to look like. In the end, we were defeated by the 140-character limit, so:

Andy Long ‏@PcAndyLong 8 min.8 minut temu

@PortantIssues not continuing this on Twitter. My number is [...] ring me tomorrow and we can discuss this general subject further

Of course I could, and it is nice of him to invite me, but that is beside the point. Enlarging my own personal knowledge of the issues is only part of the mission of this blog. We live in the second decade of the 21st century and we've had social media for twenty years or more. I feel the potential of social media could be used much more effectively for the public debating of issues connected with the collection and sale of archaeological artefacts as "collectables". PC Long is at the forefront of the fight in the UK against a certain group of culture criminals, and it would be useful to see in the public domain his comments and reflection on what changes need to be made to the legislation to enable law enforcement to do the job. What changes need to be made to the law to ensure that the guilty do not escape justice?

Maybe if PC Long cannot bring himself to identify such, those "responsible detectorists" might like to add their thoughts. After all, do they not hate "nighthawks" to a man, and are not that nasty "minority" damaging the image of the hobby? How to reform the law on artefact  collecting in order to press charges and make them stick where needed?

UPDATE 9th June 1016
PC Long attempts to justify his reluctance to use social media to spread information about how the British police fight heritage crime given the current state of Polish law:

Andy Long ‏@PcAndyLong 7 godz.7 godzin temu

@PortantIssues you vet all replies so not rely a fair forum? Anyway give me a ring

Many blogs today moderate their comments, there are so many spammers and spam bots out there that it would be foolish not to. Writing about coin collectors and metal detectorists, one is exposed to all sorts of abusive, intimidatory and ill-focussed comment. Write anything mildly critical about detectorist "Deep Digger Dan" and see what happens to your inbox. I tend to pick and choose from the flood of abuse which I publish here, I feel just a taste is needed for the reader to see in what ways this ("responsible" sic)  milieu reacts.

For the record, as far as I recall, PC Andy Long has never posted a comment on this blog, and certainly has never had a comment he has sent here 'vetted' or blocked. I really do not know on what basis he accuses me of being in some way "unfair".

This is my blog, it presents my current views on the issues which are its subject. Its aim is to present my views and nobody else's. So it is not a "forum".

That does not mean, however, that if anyone can present an articulate response showing an alternative view, I will not allow them to post a comment here. On the contrary, I would be very pleased indeed to hear from these people. I'd be delighted to have a discussion here with the views of an archaeologist for example who thinks artefact hunting and collecting are spiffing. I'd be delighted to hear from an FLO who will tell me why Lenborough had to be dug with a carrier bag, or the policeman who'll tell me that British law is the best in the world for fighting the illicit acquisition of portable antiquities... and many more. The trouble is, there aren't any with the guts to come here and spout the opposing views in black and white. If they were honest they'd not hide behind made-up excuses but admit that the problems and issues which this blog highlights are real ones and ones we can ill-afford to continue to ignore. And there's the rub, having admitted that, in black and white, they'd really have to go away and do something other than their current drifting-along-with-the-tide shoulder shrugging.  So they continue to pretend they "do not read" this blog and dismissing the issues raised. Meanwhile the archaeology is disappearing into nameless pockets.