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Anybody here had a problem with the police ?
blueblade
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I ask because a report out today suggests that a number of Officers have had 3 or more complaints registered against them over the last year, most for rudeness or assault. click here
The dealings I've had with the police have certainly reflected a lack of common courtesy, and more a tendency to bark out orders.They tend to forget that most of the public are decent law abiding citizens, who are not out looking for trouble.
Any thoughts/experiences ?
The dealings I've had with the police have certainly reflected a lack of common courtesy, and more a tendency to bark out orders.They tend to forget that most of the public are decent law abiding citizens, who are not out looking for trouble.
At least 2,000 police officers were subject to three or more complaints by members of the public in the last year, figures obtained by the BBC have shown.
The statistics from 43 out of 52 UK forces show more than 5,000 complaints made against officers in 2009-10.
The forces with the most multiple complaints per officer were in Northern Ireland, West Mercia and Lincolnshire.
The Police Federation, which represents 140,000 officers in England and Wales, said many cases were unsubstantiated.
Continue reading the main story
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Failure of duty
The figures obtained from a Freedom of Information request by the BBC show 2,073 officers had three or more complaints against them, and there were a total of 5,069 allegations against officers.
Most complaints were about rudeness, assault or failure of duty.
Any thoughts/experiences ?
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Most police I've spoken to are as you describe. However I've met one copper that was the polar opposite, that was about 15 years ago though.
By definition the police service is going to attract people who like power. So it's not surprising that a lot of police are as you describe. Also the last government compounded the problem by giving the police powers that allowed them to 'harass' innocent people without evidence or even suspicion of any wrongdoing, which hasn't helped.
Most troubling thing reported by that article, is of those forces which bothered to report outcomes, over half took no further action - and that's for officers with multiple complaints against them. There's still no accountability in the police.
I'm sure that if a 15 year old boy had to be handcuffed he'd been doing something wrong.
Bad was when I was 15 and I'd had an argument with a bouncer. The police came over, arrested me and smashed my face into the wall. I wasn't fighting them or anything and it wasn't an accident.
The second was when I was walking home from the shop with my friend a few years ago. We were on quite a bad council estate and it was about 10pm at night. There were some chav girls on the other side of the road and they decided they wanted to fight us. We obviously didn't want to fight but just wanted to go back to her house but they kept surrounding us and having a go. The police were up the road so came over, told the kids to '**** off' then started having a go at us. He was swearing and ranting and calling us liars as we tried to explain that we didn't want any trouble. That was really annoying.
Another time I'd had my new bike nicked and burned out and reported it to the police. The policeman noticed I was very nervous when he was round and asked me about it. I told him that I have panic attacks and stuff and he sat and talked to me about it for ages.
The public sometimes get a bad experience with some Police officers and Police officers sometimes get a bad experience with members of the public.
With regard to some coppers being brash and aggressive - it takes someone with a bit of attitude to chase a suspect into a dark car park under an inner city tower block. I suppose if we want them to be protectors of us as well as upholders of the law then we have to sometimes expect that tough side of their job to spill out in other ways.
The problems I have with the modern Police services is the unending red tape, bureaucracy and their obsession with political correctness.
I think this puts enormous pressure on the front line officers and they are policies which often alienate the public.
They don't need that attitude, and it doesn't help them keep our streets safe. If anything, it is counter-productive as it increases distrust and reduces their ability to police with consent.
I've never understood how people can have so many dealings with the police - I have never been involved in any trouble ro been anywhere where things kick off - must either have a very boring life or just go to nice places
Try standing up for your rights. You're no criminal, but there's no shortage of police ready to kick you down for daring to protest. Take the G20 for instance - and Tomlinson wasn't even protesting.
They bully and harass.
They accuse you of things you don't do.
When you correct them they say you have an attitude problem.
They don't like people who are cleverer than they are.
I have no problem with proper "bobbies on the beat" though. Very fair & civil.
A pity you weren't locked up and given a hefty fine since it sounds to me like you were already 'out of line'.
Next time try drinking within your limits and going home quietly. That's what responsible, well brought up people do.
If it happened (which I doubt, frankly) then most likely the police stopped to have a word and the lad (probably half off his face on alcohol) kicked off. It's a classic story and all too common these days. I'm not surprised the police find it hard to remain polite and cordial considering the kind of idiocy and belligerence they encounter.