Police officer behind international publishing sensation reveals identity

A BEAT officer whose internet diaries laid bare the endless paperwork and maddening political correctness of his daily police work is joining a foreign force.

PC Stuart Davidson, 36, became an international publishing sensation writing under the pseudonym “David Copperfield”.

The Staffordshire police officer attracted an audience of thousands as he outlined his frustrations with red tape and the target-driven police culture.

The book of his daily blogs — Wasting Police Time — sold more than 50,000 copies.

He revealed his true identity for the first time yesterday as he announced he would join Edmonton Police Service in Canada next month.

PC Davidson said he has already travelled across the Atlantic to experience working with Canadian officers.

He said he was impressed that officers spend more time on the beat and do not have to return to the office to file paperwork on every incident.

He said: “In the UK, a few people go out and patrol. Everyone else stays in and does paperwork.

“In Canada, after the briefing we went out all day. That simply does not happen in the UK because there is so much paperwork to do.

“Somewhere along the line we seem to have forgotten in the UK that to actually make a difference you have to be out of the office,” he said.

An interview with PC Davidson was broadcast during a BBC Panorama programme last night that focused on police bureaucracy.

The programme also features other officers who are highly critical of time-consuming paperwork and unnecessary procedures.

One said that dealing with the theft of a chocolate bar from a shop could take up to four hours once all the paperwork is completed.