The UK Police are a laughing stock in today's Society.....

[bungeeman]

I must say following on from my wife's comments that as a police officer, from a personal point of view I do feel shackled. Whether it's the ongoing debate about our pay and pensions by the government throwing my moral compass out or the endless red tape you have to cut through to secure a charge to court only to find it being thrown out on a technicality. And whilst I knew that was the 'game' when I joined nearly 8 years ago, that wasn't what I wanted from being a copper. The burden of proof is very high to secure convictions so circumstantial evidence holds next to no weight on its own and unfortunately you have to pretty much see the offence taking place and know the offender in order to secure a conviction.

 

Having said that, I like to think there's still some -not many- but some old school policing being done out there- even by people as young in service as I am. After all, I joined because I wanted to catch the real bad guys and lock them up!

 

However, I have to admit that the standard of policing is in decline and in my experience the vast majority of younger officers seem somewhat afraid of dealing with local scumbags- even the 'yoof' and 'gangstars' who roam the streets here in the UK. Perhaps because of their gobbyness- some officers just seem afraid of confrontation. I don’t know why that is. If you ask me, if you don’t like confrontation, then Police Officer isn’t really an ideal choice of career.

[Guest AKA63029]

I must say following on from my wife's comments that as a police officer, from a personal point of view I do feel shackled. Whether it's the ongoing debate about our pay and pensions by the government throwing my moral compass out or the endless red tape you have to cut through to secure a charge to court only to find it being thrown out on a technicality. And whilst I knew that was the 'game' when I joined nearly 8 years ago, that wasn't what I wanted from being a copper. The burden of proof is very high to secure convictions so circumstantial evidence holds next to no weight on its own and unfortunately you have to pretty much see the offence taking place and know the offender in order to secure a conviction.

 

Having said that, I like to think there's still some -not many- but some old school policing being done out there- even by people as young in service as I am. After all, I joined because I wanted to catch the real bad guys and lock them up!

 

However, I have to admit that the standard of policing is in decline and in my experience the vast majority of younger officers seem somewhat afraid of dealing with local scumbags- even the 'yoof' and 'gangstars' who roam the streets here in the UK. Perhaps because of their gobbyness- some officers just seem afraid of confrontation. I don’t know why that is. If you ask me, if you don’t like confrontation, then Police Officer isn’t really an ideal choice of career.

 

 

Very honest appraisal Bungee,:yes:

 

Nice to hear 'first' hand from those on the front line.

 

Cheers Tony.

[bungeeman]

Very honest appraisal Bungee,:yes:

 

Nice to hear 'first' hand from those on the front line.

 

Cheers Tony.

 

Well it's just how I feel personally. For more honest opinions/views from the front line I throughly recommend this guy http://inspectorgadget.wordpress.com/ I wish I could write as well as him. But everything he says is the honest truth and an interesting read!

[Guest The Ropey HOFF]

I know i will get jumped on for this, but alot of my colleagues, myself and alot of police i talk to in my job feel that two major factors have caused a decline in the standard of policing and screws and its the move away from employing ex servicemen and the move to make both jobs an equal opportunities job, employing more females. Gosh .......... Should i have said that, well its not me talking exactly, i know plenty of good female officers, unfortunately they number about 1 in 10 and i also know alot of useless male officers, but they tend to be lacking in discipline. Its what the powers that be want and the result is chaos, when i started nearly 25 years ago, we all sang from the same hymn sheet, we backed each other up and we ran a zero tolerance service, nowadays no one knows what is the right way and you can only trust a handful of colleagues.

[Tappers2oz]

I know i will get jumped on for this, but alot of my colleagues, myself and alot of police i talk to in my job feel that two major factors have caused a decline in the standard of policing and screws and its the move away from employing ex servicemen and the move to make both jobs an equal opportunities job, employing more females. Gosh .......... Should i have said that, well its not me talking exactly, i know plenty of good female officers, unfortunately they number about 1 in 10 and i also know alot of useless male officers, but they tend to be lacking in discipline. Its what the powers that be want and the result is chaos, when i started nearly 25 years ago, we all sang from the same hymn sheet, we backed each other up and we ran a zero tolerance service, nowadays no one knows what is the right way and you can only trust a handful of colleagues.

 

Well i'm female and agree with you. Trouble started when they got rid of the height restrictions. I mean come on, a 5ft (or less copper) trying to arrest a 6ft something bricks**t house! Never happen. Also the strength/fitness tests were lowered. And once people are in that's it, you can let yourself go. It should go back to how it used to be, but it never will. Equal opportunities etc etc.

My post could be aimed at males or females but it's true, guys are generally stronger then females. I'm not saying get rid of females, i'm saying train everyone better!

[bungeeman]

Trust is a big thing missing nowadays for sure. Both within the force (I hate the word service) and from the public. There's a lot of young progression into the ranks of sargeant and above through fast promotion schemes. Again personally, I think 5 years experience is the minimum you should have before being allowed to apply to be promoted. And they should scrap the exams needed as well as a 'board' interview as I know several people who have studied and passed the exam and have said the right 'buzz words' to pass the board. Ok so they know their law definitions enough to pass the exam and can please the brass by speaking politically correct, but on the street as a supervisor of officers, they are completely useless.

 

The government have a lot to answer to about morale and efficency within the force. Give us the tools to do the job properly and it will be done.

Gene Hunt anyone?

[bungeeman]

My post could be aimed at males or females but it's true, guys are generally stronger then females. I'm not saying get rid of females, i'm saying train everyone better!

 

And equip them better.

[Love Shoes]

A few years o my OH was assaulted by a patient, we called the police and they suggested we press charges.

We went to court the perp did not turn up, he was fined £200 and ordered to stay away from us.

We went away for a weekend with a couple of friends, whilst we were way my son rang to say that at 3 am in the morning our porch window, frond door window, front lounge window plus my rear car windscreen plus my sons windscreen too had all been smashed.

 

We rushed home, called the police who incidentally interviewed my boys and asked them who had they pissed off, no one they said, but mentioned the toe rag who my OH had had problems with recently. Oh they said ......

To say the police were useless is an understatement, I was disgusted with how they treated my sons and assumed they were to blame, they are only any good when they hav a speed camera in their

 

 

hands :arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have another incident, one Saturday afternoon we were out, three no marks turned up on bikes, no Mark no one, got off his bike, looked straight at our newly installed CCTV camera, then started to route in a plant pot, rang th bell, scratched his arse (honest true) thank goodness that the boys next door saw them, no Mark one ran to his bike, and I told they rode off empty handed. On a bike they had no come for my television no it was the keys to the sports car on the drive no doubt for their boss who probably had a buyer for it, for all I know the boss was probably the perp who smashed the front of our house in.

 

We called plod, even gave them the video out of the CCTV camera, were they interested NO not in the slightest, it makes my blood oil, we are told to report crime, the police say if you don report it how do we know about it? what is the point in reporting it the only crimes they seem to b interested in are motorist crimes as we don't give them hassle, just write checks :policeman::policeman::arghh::arghh:

[bungeeman]

A few years o my OH was assaulted by a patient, we called the police and they suggested we press charges.

We went to court the perp did not turn up, he was fined £200 and ordered to stay away from us.

We went away for a weekend with a couple of friends, whilst we were way my son rang to say that at 3 am in the morning our porch window, frond door window, front lounge window plus my rear car windscreen plus my sons windscreen too had all been smashed.

 

We rushed home, called the police who incidentally interviewed my boys and asked them who had they pissed off, no one they said, but mentioned the toe rag who my OH had had problems with recently. Oh they said ......

To say the police were useless is an understatement, I was disgusted with how they treated my sons and assumed they were to blame, they are only any good when they hav a speed camera in their hands :arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh:

 

I have another incident, one Saturday afternoon we were out, three no marks turned up on bikes, no Mark no one, got off his bike, looked straight at our newly installed CCTV camera, then started to route in a plant pot, rang th bell, scratched his arse (honest true) thank goodness that the boys next door saw them, no Mark one ran to his bike, and I told they rode off empty handed. On a bike they had no come for my television no it was the keys to the sports car on the drive no doubt for their boss who probably had a buyer for it, for all I know the boss was probably the perp who smashed the front of our house in.

 

We called plod, even gave them the video out of the CCTV camera, were they interested NO not in the slightest, it makes my blood oil, we are told to report crime, the police say if you don report it how do we know about it? what is the point in reporting it the only crimes they seem to b interested in are motorist crimes as we don't give them hassle, just write checks :policeman::policeman::arghh::arghh:

 

Hey LS!

 

The problem, as with any job, is they're only as good as the people they employ. From a police point of view anything we do wrong is always at the front end of any ones mind because it's plastered all over the news/ in the papers etc etc

 

The analagy we're always told- if as a copper you do something right then the recipeint will tell maybe 4 or 5 friends. Do something wrong and they'll tell 20! And it sounds like these were particularly bad officers you had contact with.

 

That's the downside being in a public service you're at the mercy of the public opinion which is always heavily influenced by the press.

Take the London riots for example. I was there front line as a riot officer. Initially police were praised for what they did with the resources they had. But soon enough the press had turned their opinion because so-called experts said the police didn't act quickly enough. More could've and should've been done. The public (not all I know) then turned their opinions agreeing with those opinions. From my perspective on the front line, fireworks being thrown, bottles, knives, petrol bombs and even swords were seen. If the police had turned and said "nah we haven't the backing or the proper resources or equipment to deal with this' and gone home then I'm convinced London would've burned.

That's not to say I or anyone out there is a hero- it's what we signed up to and for me personally, enjoy. But I think that the public/ press and media as a whole are too quick to point the finger of blame at the police in situations they really have no control over.

 

That said it really sounds like you were done a diservice. Twice. And that reflects badly on all of us.

[Guest The Ropey HOFF]

Well i'm female and agree with you. Trouble started when they got rid of the height restrictions. I mean come on, a 5ft (or less copper) trying to arrest a 6ft something bricks**t house! Never happen. Also the strength/fitness tests were lowered. And once people are in that's it, you can let yourself go. It should go back to how it used to be, but it never will. Equal opportunities etc etc.

My post could be aimed at males or females but it's true, guys are generally stronger then females. I'm not saying get rid of females, i'm saying train everyone better!

 

 

The job is a very physical job, demanding a certain amount of strength, its similar to what is required in the fire service, but as you say it has been relaxed over the years, mainly to break up the brutality side of the job, but it has gone too far the other way. Some female colleagues are really up for hands on experience, but most are not and to be perfectly honest, they can't do it. The result is that the men take up the slack and do most of the removals and deal with the worst prisoners, but theres less and less male staff wanting to do this, the standard of male officers has declined over the years and just why some join the service is beyond me.

[Love Shoes]

My OH worked in the government sector .... And I know only too well that it is the peopl who run the NHS and the Police force that are to blame, it is a shame.

I get so upset when I read all the bad things read about my husbands profession, it is the politicians who are to blame.

 

Wasn't having. Go t you, but we were treated poorly, and as you say this gives all police a bad name, not fair,

[bungeeman]

My OH worked in the government sector .... And I know only too well that it is the peopl who run the NHS and the Police force that are to blame, it is a shame.

I get so upset when I read all the bad things read about my husbands profession, it is the politicians who are to blame.

 

Wasn't having. Go t you, but we were treated poorly, and as you say this gives all police a bad name, not fair,

 

Not at all. I hear and agree with you. Some people just aren't cut out for the job and scumbags like that go free because of the lack of experience/knowledge/confidence

[Love Shoes]

Not at all. I hear and agree with you. Some people just aren't cut out for the job and scumbags like that go free because of the lack of experience/knowledge/confidence

 

It stinks ..... I was a local councillor and tbh knowing who ran our local police force filled me with confidence (not):arghh::biglaugh:

[Love Shoes]

I wanted to join the Police force ....... But I realised I was

A) too small

B) not strong enough

c) and no good at getting up in the middle of the night

 

However though I was a good driver, as a boyfriend of a friend asked me once if I had ever driven getaway cars or taxis ...... I was not amused as they were both puddled and I was sober, as I was yet again on driving duty.

 

I took my Advanced driving test which got me into thinking about joining he force, but OH was worried about me getting beaten up with me being so small.

[flybyknight]

seeing the military from the inside i assume that the police and NHS are ran the same, and the evidence supports this.

 

5 people to do 1 persons job, to maintain promotion.

 

blowing a budget in feb on complete crap, because if its not spent its less next time.

 

an absolute reluctance throughout the whole personnel structure to 'rock the boat' in fear of an adverse write up and slow promotion (self serving culture)

 

its comedy, but its the public sector.

 

i just wish id noticed it earlier, i might have done better. im reluctant to sell my soul though.

[Love Shoes]

My OH left the Nash as it was killing him ........ The stress was unbelievable, I agree fly with blowing budgets, my sister worked for a local health authority and she has told me many a horror story .....

 

Funny thing is they seem to have this idea that money just grows on trees, we were contracted out to them, it was you need this, you need that, they were always moving the goal posts, and the more I cost the bigger their grin was

 

I have respect for anyone working for the police, Nash, military, prison service, most government workers tbh, but not the idiot politicians

[belaroy]

I have always said -If the Police were run as a business we would have went bankrupt years ago. Police officers are not accountants but nor are accounts police officers. There will be waste - I see it often - poor management of resourses and people allowed to stay in the job when quite frankly they should never have got past the interview. I am leaving the job after 7 years as I have had enough of people with obviously nothing better to do than whine that someone called them a bitch on facebook - seriously if that is all you have to worry about then you need a bullet. I kid you not people call 999 for that and yes an officer must attend more often than not to sort it out - otherwise they will complain which will take longer to sort out than the facebook issue. That is why they aren't out catching criminals.

 

I joined to catch criminals - however I'm too busy catching kids who don't want to go home on time amongst other things. I am fed up of being verbally and physically abused with no repurcussions from the courts and my management. I worry if if get heavy handed with someone then I will lose my job, get charged then sent to court and dealt with far worse than someone who has burgled more than 20 houses. Don't think it doesn't happen it does. I didn't join to be thanked everyday but I do expect to be treated fairly and with respect.

 

I do feel for the people that get a poor service especially when they are your average jane or joe going about their own business - but to be fair to some Boobies when they may be a little short with you - you have no idea what they have just been to - it could be a child dying, someone thrown themselves in front of a train, a drunk trying to cause them serious harm, an accident with serious casualties - the list is long and lets be honest under the uniform we are human - not a complete excuse but worth a pause for thought. I can't speak for other forces but the force I work for will send an officer out to every burglary with 2 or 3 follow up visits - without fail, anything less in my book is abismal.

People complain that they get a ticket for speeding or using a mobile phone - did you know it costs over £1 million to investigate and deal with a road death ?? Have you ever had to tell a family they no longer have a son/ daughter / mum/ dad because someone was texting or speeding and caused an accident. It devistates whole families.

 

I do hate people who cause ASB in communities - it can and does ruin peopls lives. there is no excuse apart from poor discipline in the home and there are only their parents to blame to some extent, then its the offenders who are to blame ( along with defence solicitors) and the courts for handing out pathietic sentences - if you can call them sentences.

Take hate preacher Abu Qatada - why is he not sent directly back to jordan ??? too scared someone from another country might say Britain is for torture - no we aren't - we are against terrorism. end of . If we can't get it right on the big things - we won't get it right on the little things.

[bungeeman]

I have always said -If the Police were run as a business we would have went bankrupt years ago. Police officers are not accountants but nor are accounts police officers. There will be waste - I see it often - poor management of resourses and people allowed to stay in the job when quite frankly they should never have got past the interview. I am leaving the job after 7 years as I have had enough of people with obviously nothing better to do than whine that someone called them a bitch on facebook - seriously if that is all you have to worry about then you need a bullet. I kid you not people call 999 for that and yes an officer must attend more often than not to sort it out - otherwise they will complain which will take longer to sort out than the facebook issue. That is why they aren't out catching criminals.

 

I joined to catch criminals - however I'm too busy catching kids who don't want to go home on time amongst other things. I am fed up of being verbally and physically abused with no repurcussions from the courts and my management. I worry if if get heavy handed with someone then I will lose my job, get charged then sent to court and dealt with far worse than someone who has burgled more than 20 houses. Don't think it doesn't happen it does. I didn't join to be thanked everyday but I do expect to be treated fairly and with respect.

 

I do feel for the people that get a poor service especially when they are your average jane or joe going about their own business - but to be fair to some Boobies when they may be a little short with you - you have no idea what they have just been to - it could be a child dying, someone thrown themselves in front of a train, a drunk trying to cause them serious harm, an accident with serious casualties - the list is long and lets be honest under the uniform we are human - not a complete excuse but worth a pause for thought. I can't speak for other forces but the force I work for will send an officer out to every burglary with 2 or 3 follow up visits - without fail, anything less in my book is abismal.

People complain that they get a ticket for speeding or using a mobile phone - did you know it costs over £1 million to investigate and deal with a road death ?? Have you ever had to tell a family they no longer have a son/ daughter / mum/ dad because someone was texting or speeding and caused an accident. It devistates whole families.

 

I do hate people who cause ASB in communities - it can and does ruin peopls lives. there is no excuse apart from poor discipline in the home and there are only their parents to blame to some extent, then its the offenders who are to blame ( along with defence solicitors) and the courts for handing out pathietic sentences - if you can call them sentences.

Take hate preacher Abu Qatada - why is he not sent directly back to jordan ??? too scared someone from another country might say Britain is for torture - no we aren't - we are against terrorism. end of . If we can't get it right on the big things - we won't get it right on the little things.

 

Here Here! It's true what you're saying. Each and everytime we allow something big to be wrong like the Abu Qatada thing, the UK will never get things right. And I'm sure Australia has it's own problems- but surely their government wouldn't stand for someone who is a KNOWN AND PLAUSIBLE THREAT stay in their country- correct me if I'm wrong?

[Guest The Ropey HOFF]

Just to say, there are alot of good coppers and just where would we be without them, the police i work with are brilliant, a scroat assaulted me and when i slammed him to the floor, he made a bogus complaint that i had assaulted him. The copper investigating said forget it, we aren't interested in his complaint, he attacked me first, which is clearly a common sense approach, so there are still good coppers out there.

[bungeeman]

Interesting read from Inspector Gadgets Blog....

 

'There is a lot of talk about policing at the moment. It is hard to remember that most policing is routine work. It has nothing to do with the big political stories from London. Most police officers hardly recognise the organisation they read about. It is probably worth re-visiting the fundamentals of policing in this country.

Here are some basics:

We are accountable to five separate organisations

We have 200,000 fewer police than in Italy

We have 150,000 fewer police than in France

A British police officer is assaulted every 20 minutes

Yet, at the same time:

We are unarmed

We lock up more criminals than any other European country

The prisons are full

It is tempting to get involved in the discussions about how sentencing works, why the courts do what they do, what the police have or have not done at a particular incident, and to debate how things could be done better. And we should be involved. Police men and women are not just coppers. We are citizens and tax payers and we have a right to our opinions.

That said, lets get back to the basics. Despite the best efforts of our senior management team, we continue to deliver a fresh set of bodies to the courts and prisons on a daily basis, more than anyone else in Europe.'

[Harpodom]

Interesting read from Inspector Gadgets Blog....

 

'There is a lot of talk about policing at the moment. It is hard to remember that most policing is routine work. It has nothing to do with the big political stories from London. Most police officers hardly recognise the organisation they read about. It is probably worth re-visiting the fundamentals of policing in this country.

Here are some basics:

We are accountable to five separate organisations

We have 200,000 fewer police than in Italy

We have 150,000 fewer police than in France

A British police officer is assaulted every 20 minutes

Yet, at the same time:

We are unarmed

We lock up more criminals than any other European country

The prisons are full

It is tempting to get involved in the discussions about how sentencing works, why the courts do what they do, what the police have or have not done at a particular incident, and to debate how things could be done better. And we should be involved. Police men and women are not just coppers. We are citizens and tax payers and we have a right to our opinions.

That said, lets get back to the basics. Despite the best efforts of our senior management team, we continue to deliver a fresh set of bodies to the courts and prisons on a daily basis, more than anyone else in Europe.'

 

This is a disgrace! Who is this poor bugger and how does he make it through a whole shift?

[bungeeman]

This is a disgrace! Who is this poor bugger and how does he make it through a whole shift?

 

Hahaha!

[Missus B]

So.......yet another incident last night. I was on nightshift and my partner was at home with one of his mates that was visiting. 4 guys came to our door and attempted to kick it in. The grandad next door came out to try and stop them and ended up getting assaulted by the thugs. He is 64 years old. The police arrived in droves, riot van, police dogs etc. The police ended up standing around, instead of looking for the thugs. My partner and his mate went looking for them and found them and alerted the police, who then got to where my partner was and arrested the thugs. I got home to hear about all of this today. I called the police station to get some information. They wouldn't give me the name's of the men who were arrested, as the crime didn't affect us?!?!? These guys intended to get into our house and cause damage and harm but this crime didn't affect us??

 

I am livid!! If I had been in the house on my own, I was powerless to do anything, had they got in. I now absolutely cannot put tenants up in this house, as it is not safe. I can only hope for a sale. If not, I am going to have to walk away from the house.:cry:

[Love Shoes]

Mrs Brennan ....... Gave you a like, not because I like what has happened to you, it disgusts me, it is really sad that in this day and age we are not safe in our own homes, this scum should be looked up in prisons like Alcatraz not the Hilton :arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh:....... Good luck with finding a buyer, :hug::hug::hug: