This is an honest question to all serving police officers.
What do you want from us?
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but from my dealings with the police, and from the anecdotal knowledge I have gained through the media and blogosphere (what a bloody awful phrase) it appears that the police want the following from us plebs:
- That we stop bothering you with daft and insignificant things like being burgled or mugged, or stupid minor stuff like having our cars broken in to.
- That we freely, openly, and respectfully accept that you are our betters.
- That every driver should automatically pay you £30 every time they start their engine.
- That we give you absolute catre blanch to use violence on whomever, whenever, you want. Any questioning of this should be met with a charge of treason.
- That it is our civic duty to accept a PND for whatever you decide to issue it for, in order for you to notch up sufficient detections that you get tea and medals at the lodge, and a promotion at the station.
- To wind our collective necks in, and not expect you to deal with real crime that might entail you leaving the station and going after nasty, dangerous criminals that make life a misery for us.
If I have missed anything, please let me know.
Ah - well actually I was a little more plain in my wishes - I genuinely wondered what the police would like from us...
ReplyDeleteStill, many of the points you have raised could start a productive conversation if someone from the police would care to start?
1) For a start I don't class everyoner who isn't a police officer in the same group. I don;t use the term 'underclass'. I do use the term 'scum' but this is not interchangable with the terms 'MOPs' & 'civilians'.
ReplyDelete2) being burgled or mugged or having your car broken into is not 'stupid minor stuff', where have you gotten the impression that we refer to it as that (I know, it makes the police look worse if you go around saying things like that) No, that is the stuff we ought to be dealing with instead of the stupid minor stuff.
3) I'm happpy to accept that you are inferior to me. I don't believe this of everyone.
4) You don't pay me nothing when you start your engine, you pay the government.
5) Almost right, that you give us carte blanche to use violence on anyone who uses violence against us or anyone else.
6) Almost right, it's your civic duty to accept a PND whenever you get caught.
7) Hmmmm... not sure I've seen any police officer asking to spend more time in the police station. And as for dealign with dangerous, violent criminals, whenever we do you shout 'police brutality'. You can't have it both ways.
For someone who appears to have been around the police blogs you sure do misrepresent what you've read.
I am less certain than 200 weeks, of wisdom dying with him. If you will excuse my frankness, Hibbo, a lack of respect in your posting fails to secure the more important views of smart and better natured police. You have substituted an exclusive invitation to the arrogant.
ReplyDeleteDr M T Gray
Concern4Justice
Thanks for the informative reply 200, I do not agree with all your points though (what a surprise!);
ReplyDelete1) I was not aware that the terms were not seen as interchangeable, as I often see police refering to "the scum on the street" or "the MOPS on the street". If some officers DO differentiate then that's excellent.
2) In my personal experience, the police do all they can to avoid this type of crime being reported.
3) Am I still inferior to you now you are no longer a sworn officer?
4) It is the police who have setup the world-beating network of speed camera that collect money from a motorist doing a few MPH over the limit on an empty road at 2am, but happily ignore the drunkard weaving all over the shop or the arse drving 2" away from your bumper.
5) I agree completely with your assertion, I of course think the police should be able to use violence (at whatever level) when necessary. (please see this post and its comments)
6) Ah yes, put only if one has committed a crime; we should not have to take one just to make the police's job easier.
7) I have seen no evidence to the contrary.
This is the link for 5)
ReplyDeletehttp://heropoliceandtoughjudges.blogspot.com/2009/06/hero-police-tackle-dangerous-thugs.html
Still getting the hang of this, didn't realise I there was no hyperlink button on the comments page...
I didn't say you were inferior to me, I said I was happy to accept that you are, and my superiority to anyone has nothing to do with being a police officer or ex-cop
ReplyDeleteIt's not the police who have setip the network of speed cameras, it's the speed camera partnerships, a quango set up by the govt to increase revenue through local councils/community 'partnerships', but it's the police who take all the stick. Note the council somwhere over Swindon way who have decided to do away with them, that's because their placement there is their remit not the police.
who's getting tickets for not doing anything then?
I have no problem with bad, dangerous drivers getting tickets. However, the police ignore these types and instead simply go for safe drivers doing 75mph on a deserted dual carriageway. (Yes, I do think it is perfectly safe to drive a modern car at 75mph on an empty road)
ReplyDeleteI really wish the police would go after the huge amount of uninsured drivers that plaque our road, but that's a different story...
Thanks for your comments though 200, I really do appreciate serving (or until recently serving!) officers views on this. I have posted a less negatively charged post on the police vs public topic...
ReplyDeletehmmm... depends on what the speed limit is I suppose, there are some dual carriageways with limits of 30 or 40mph but many with limits of 70mph & I doubt you'll find many cases of people getting done for 75 in a 70, ACPO guidelines are 10% plus 2 over the limit which would mean the bare minimum ticket would be 78mph & I never heard of any of my colleagues giving tickets out at the ACPO minimum, most would caution if they bothered to stop them at all, after all there are plenty of people doing 90 plus why would you need bother at 75?
ReplyDeleteDo a Freedom of Information request to your local force & find out how many uninsured cars have been seized in the last 12 months, you might be pleasantly surprised.
How can you possibly know that dangerous drivers are ignored, this is to assume, surely, that you witness all the drivers being stopped & know what they are stopped for. Are you sure it's not just a case of reading all the anti-speeding ticket hype? Do you have any evidence the police are ignoring this behaviour? Just because there are lots of ****es on the road this isn't evidence of police neglecting the problem.
(however, forces depleting traffic departments might decrease the capability to deal with the problem, but this is not the same thing)