The Florence Reporter: Police blotters are an important tool for keeping communities safe and informed. In addition to promoting transparency and accountability, they help build trust between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve. They can also ensure that residents are aware of crime trends and what steps they can take to protect themselves and their property. Unfortunately for the citizens of Florence, the City of Florence unceremoniously stopped publishing a police blotter at some point between 2017 and 2018, ultimately leaving the community in the dark on the issues of crime and law enforcement activity.  

Considering the newspaper regularly receives inquiries about crime and other situations that involve law enforcement officers, and the City of Florence’s inability to inform its citizens on these matters, I decided to reach out to Fremont County Sheriff Allen Copper to get a better understanding of the important role police blotters play in community policing. With almost 40 years of experience in law enforcement, Sheriff Cooper is not only the top law enforcement official for Fremont County, he’s also the only elected law enforcement officer in the county.  

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