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I was having a discussion with a relative the other day and discovered they had a real attitude towards the police. Absolutely detested their very existence.
Once I'd dug into the reasons, it was simply that this idiot wanted to ride his motor bikes and drive his cars as fast as he bloody well liked and these guys were spoiling his fun.
So the question I asked was, 'what if you want the police for some reason, will you call them?'.
So do you think the police represent us, or do you think they are just some sort of gang?
🙂
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Comments
MY OH is a policeman.
There are good ones and not so good ones. Most are just trying to do a decent job in difficult circumstances while dealing with some very nasty people.
People who have a real problem with coppers are either those that are like your mate, or who those think that they should hate them because they somehow represent the visible face of "the state" - without ever considering what the world would be like without them.
Many people like to pick and choose which laws they think are important.
So they see it as being picked on when they are caught and they believe police should spend their time catching the real criminals.
Probably the majority of police work hard at their job and serve society as best they can do so.
Sometimes the hierarchy and regulations seriously let people down, and deny them justice and fairness. Sometimes the individual behaves in a discriminatory manner. Such is life.
There is of course people that have had bad experiences with them.
My first experience was when I was about ten. I heard loads of screaming outside my bedroom window and saw 6-7 coppers kicking hell out of a person crawled up in a ball on the floor for what seemed ages.
When I told my dad and he complained the police tried to make out it was all my imagination.
They do have a difficult job ( like many others ) but its wrong to judge people who have a problem with them and put them in a certain bracket.
That bracket is stereotype.
I also noted that police complaints in 2013-2014 reached a record high of 34,863
which basically means it is easier than ever to complain.
No. The procedure has not changed since 2004.
Silly me. I thought the procedure of filling in an online complaint form would be easier in 2015, an age of 24/7 connectivity and ever increasing amount of mobile devices.
Or unless they are also imagining things. All 34,863
I think Skotty has a fair point - how much social media generated outrage has come from grievances that in the past would have been dealt with in person or confined to a grumble with mates over a pint or a cup of tea?
It follows that more people complain when it's easier to do so - especially when it avoids face-to- face confrontation.
The whole Netty woman furore is an example.
Society can not cope without them yet certain sections of society vilify them for reasons of political and personal insecurity.
Police are no more likely to be good or bad people than anyone in another ordinary job is. They are just human.
I actually remember a story of a West Country constabulary trying to recruit would be officers from a prison for low level offenders...About 10 years ago.
The one thing that bugs me about the police in general is quite petty. It is the fact that they park incredibly badly and inconsiderately at all times and always seem to park illegally when they want to get a sandwich from greggs. If they are not attending an incident then they should have to park legally and properly like everybody else.
Rant over
Getting to the heart of the matter, assuming the alternative was anarchy, I don't think that would work particularly well.
yes, far better that it takes them an hour to get a sandwich from greggs rather than 5 minutes. public money well spent. perhaps they should pay at the meter as well.
Skotty
Not that it makes any difference but I always thought you had to make a complaint by addressing it to the inspector. A view shared by many im sure.
The point I was making is that it seems to me that if you make a complaint then you are regarded as some sort of societies misfit.
You have proved my point. I gave you the statistic. This comes from people from all walks of life and you greeted it with " Its so easy to complain attitude "
skotty.
to be fair they should be getting their lunch in their own lunch hour like everyone else.and if they havent time to queue should make their own at home.like everyone else......#
But yes the majority of policemen are good just like any other job....there i=will always be some crap ones.and when the crap ones are in powert then you get a fall in standard in those below...
but i wouldnt want to live without them thats for sure..
There was also a recent (Nov 2012) change in the complaints procedure which led to an increased number of complaints.
Changes made to the police complaints system under PRSRA 2011 came into effect for complaint cases received on or after 22 November 2012 . 2013/14 was the first year the IPCC was able to collect data from police forces for direction and control complaints and appeals dealt with by chief officers.And 49% were upheld - if that's just over 17,000 in all the interactions every police officer (of which there are 209,000) has with every suspect and member of the public over the course of a year that's actually quite low.
In general, I don't like their shoes. You can tell a lot about a person by their shoes.
I have two close neighbours who are coppers, one is just a really nice bloke, firearms officer, salt of the earth.
The other is a motorcycle traffic cop and sometimes works motorcycle security detail in when there's a dignitary that needs outriders or when civil unrest occurs. He enjoys a scrap and likes nicking people.
Takes all sorts.
Anyone seen 'Filth'? Not as good as 'Trainspotting', but better than 'Ecstacy' - provides an interesting view on police life, true or not.
Where I live we used to get a really rough time from traffic cops. Apparently it was the place all the 'in training' officers came to do traffic duty. We used to get pulled over all the time, usually for driving too fast. Where are they now? I haven't been pulled over in years. I miss it, and I'm pretty certain they miss a ton of criminals.
It is like the councils who give wardens the right to park illegally so that they can do their job of punishing others who park illegally. It is a nonsense.
Strangley enough, Lots of people assume that I am a policeman despite my excellent parking and using a parking meter. I have no idea why, but me and my mate often get approached by pub landlords and asked if we are working or just socialising.... Never got a free pint yet- though not sure I'd drink one if I did, not without sending some of it for testing for bodily excretions first.
They aren't allowed to accept freebies - it could be interpreted as bribery or coercion.
Beth.
Now who is being serious Beth. I was at Hillsborough standing next to many law abiding citizens only to witness year upon year of many police cover ups. Families where completely shat upon.
Only yesterday it was announced that the child abuse scandal was neglected by the police because they redirected their resources into robberies and other crimes to give a good performance figure. These was law abiding children that made these claims and had to endure years of abuse because they was ignored.
I can go on and on.
You are the one who is ridiculous believing that.
Beth...If they are out on the beat and are walking around then they will not be parking their cars on double yellows to pop into a shop will they.....
If they have a car then they have a glove compartment for lunch simple..
I'm sure that police like everyone else have time set aside for lunch as per the law.......I' will also accept that at certain times they will be busy and have their breaks delayed due to circumstances....
but dont try and tell me that they are working 24/7 without a break...
i support the police but find what you feel is ridiculous.
It seems to me the police forces increasing rely on unpaid minimally trained volunteers, with a core of full-time police who are directed toward making sure crime stats don't embarrass the politicians.
Some interesting replies.
Must say I've had something of a level of respect for the police since; as a 20 year old, I caught sight of blue flashing lights behind me early one morning.
I stopped and was out of the car waiting as they pulled up; I knew it was me they were after.
A brief discussion, I was going fishing, they had me doing 47 mph in a 30 mph limit zone, I confessed to actually doing a bloody stupid 63 mph and deserved a good beating.
They disagreed, Ok, it was 5:00am of an August morning and there's no one around, but maybe go a little easier. 'Yes sir'. Got the message.
I was let off.
My relative said, it was only because they couldn't prove it you numpty. You should have told them to sod off.
That's the attitude that gets you nowhere. And his starting position.
In fact, after a mistake last year, turning right at a no right turn, the police officer was genuinely pained to hand out a ticket after I suggested he must. The presence of a number of motorists kicking off nearby had sort of forced his hand. At least he apologised.
Just received the results of me being a witness of a hit and run. About £600 plus in fines and costs and a six month ban.
Clearly on the side of the police. I might have been one. But at 5' 4" tall, I ask you, the very idea.
🙂
In law, yes they will have set breaks, in reality they have to take them when they can. If a serious incident happens they will have to forego them. it's just the reality of the job.
In the two weeks after 7/7 the police in London had their leave cancelled and were working their rest days in order maintain security and a high profile. I think my OH worked about 11 days on the trot, some of them 10 hour shifts. One of them was a late followed by an early with just enough time to sleep before going back in again.