Meet Christa M. Miller who has worked with the law enforcement community for close to 20 years. As a freelance writer, she has written articles for Law Enforcement Technology, Police & Security News, The Informant, Digital Forensics Magazine, and Law Officer on topics ranging from public information and communications, interoperability, and high tech crimes.
Now a public relations and communication strategist, she works with vendors who serve the law enforcement community, particularly in the realm of digital forensics. You can follow her on Twitter.
For DCC, Christa took a break from unpacking her moving boxes and answered the following questions:
1: What is your most favourite part of the day?
The very early morning, before anyone else gets up, when the day is full of potential and before all the stress sets in. That said it’s very rare for me to beat the kids in waking up!
2: What is the worst kind of person you ever sat next to on a flight?
Shoulder surfers. I always feel claustrophobic anyway when people watch me doing stuff, and also: MYOB!
3: Were you ever in a situation where you came up short with a good come back? You can give it now!
That’s a normal state of mind for me, sadly… and I still can’t come up with anything good! 😛
4: Which trials/cases still haunts you till today?
The really heinous child abuse/murder cases (think James Bulger and Baby P in the UK ) … I have two little ones and while they have driven me crazy at times, I can’t imagine taking out so much rage on such helpless small people who are only looking to be loved (even if at times they don’t express it in ways we would prefer).
5: If you have a blog or website, how did you get started? Who or what inspired you to blog?
I have blogged since about 2004. At first another mommy blogger inspired me (Dooce had just gotten popular) and I wanted to write about being a writing mother, but there was never very much to say because I was too busy either writing stories, or mothering! So mommy blogging wasn’t for me, but in 2008 when I went full-time with my business, I wanted blogging to be a part of it.
Cops 2.0 started as a way to write about what no one else was writing about in late 2008: the use of social media in law enforcement. That has evolved over time to police use of high tech in general, though social media is still an important part of it. I also have a blog at my business website, which is more focused on PR/marketing for digital forensics companies and people.
At the moment I’m in a bit of “an ebb” due to work demands, but there are some interesting new projects on the horizon. I co-authored a chapter for a book that was just recently released (“Dancing with Digital Natives“), and I’m always seeking new collaborations with smart people who care about how police (or investigators of any stripe) use social media.
6: Did you end up in the profession of your childhood dreams?
Yes. I always did want to be a writer.
7: Something you always wanted to learn but never did?
Dancing, especially of the salsa variety!