"The police are a group of people, often they hang around in large groups and can often be seen sitting around in their cars waiting for the innocent motorist to come past. When they are called they inform us that it is not a police matter, or if we are lucky they will come out if we mention the words "knife" "gun" "sex" or "fight" and may even come with some of their collegues.
When they turn up and realise that none of the mentioned words are infact present, they piss off. They like to abuse and target the innocent motorist. An innocent motorist is a car which is being driven with the driver failing to wear a seat belt, on their mobile phone, driving with fog lights on or committing other moving traffic offences. When the police cause the innocent motorist to stop, they do not politely discuss the issue, but rip into a huge wave of abuse and profanities and are rude to the innocent motorist.
When the innocent motorist has a chance to get a word in edgeways, and ask the question "shouldnt you be out catching real criminals" the officer will reply with a tone of importance about himself "people like you are crminals and thus I will treat you as one matey boy" The police will then give the motorist a fine for whatever they fancy without informing them of the dangers of what they have done. The motorist will then drive off with a feeling of joy as they have come across an officer of the great british police service."
Sincerely, Joe Public
What has happened to the police today. Gone are the days when the ordinary citizen will respect the police, and the polie would be polite and courteous back. The public feel that they are being targetted and that we are failing them on other areas. What is Joe Public more concerned about, someone driving at speed or big groups of kids being intimidating? Someone who is wearing no seat belt or people breaking into houses? Its obvious! By no means am I saying one crime is worse than the other, but the public want something doing about certain issues and that is the fear of youths and being broken into. Surely this is what needs focussing on more, or at least enable the public to see that this is what we are doing, but sadly, its the motoring offences for which we are most likely to come across ordinary citizens and it is here that their view of the police will occur.
This is where a problem starts for there are some officers who are rude but dont realise it and first impressions are very very important. When this member of the public goes off on their way, they will forever have this experience in their mind, and most of the time if the police officer was rude, it will stick in the mind more.
So Joe Public, I apologise for how the police seems to be now days and that we are not all bad!
On another note I soon have an attachment to a proactive squad which targets prolific offenders and those who break into peoples houses and nick cars!
Oh and once again the weather is crap yet it was lovely yesterday! Wish it would make up its mind!
7 comments:
Excuse me but I happen to take a very dim view of motoring offences, being that I know exactly what not wearing a seatbelt and drink driving can do not to mention how anoying fog lights are when not needed and how many people speeding kills. You should know exactly what the detection rate for burglaries is, and the fact that we as police can't really increase that unless we sit outside each house in our division and watch it to see if anyone tries to break in. (And no, I'm not from Traffic, I'm a general sh*t kicker.. sorry, patrol officer)
As a special you have the luxury of dipping your toes into the crock of s*** that regulars live each and every day before going back to your normal every day life. As such you are not in a position to apologise to the public for your impression of how the police "seem to be" nowadays, because you simply dont know how that is. Maybe if you were a traffic officer and had been to multiple road deaths involving children it would be a bit harder to be polite and offer tea and biscuits to the next ignorant moron you see who is failing to wear a seat belt.
I take the view that a member of the public would never dream of telling a brain surgeon how he wants his head cut open because its obvious the member of the public has no clue what he is talking about.
With the police, its more difficult because the powers that be insist on giving the public control. However, policing is a specialist skill and like the analogy with brain surgery, the average member of the public doesnt know what he is talking about. Whats more, most of the excuses such people as "innocent motorists" who fail to wear seat belts come up with are not reasoned and logical arguments, but attempts to save their own skin.
So ticket away and stuff the public. If they want me to listen to their opinions let them do a few courses or come out with us for a year or so and then I will consider them worthwhile listening to.
Anonymous thats cold bro but I can see where your coming from, surley SPC is just offering a mixed view?
I feel your schpiel.
The public (lead by the tabloids) feel victimized, and they are. Laws penalise the law abiding. Thats well known. As SPCs we have the luxury of being on both sides of the coin. We hold high morals and values whilst balancing them with reality. Reality isn't perfect. People will always die from stupidity regardless of how many people we stop for drink driving or not wearing a seat belt.
So why do we focus on the minor problems that are perpatrated by the majority? Simple. The Labour government are pulling the wool over the publics eyes with faked statistics impressing on us "Tough on crime, Tough on the causes of crime". Bollocks.
You want to solve seat belt offences and drink driving? Install mandatory metal spikes onto stearing wheels.
You want to solve burglary and drugs? Take out the trash without having one hand cuffed behind your back.
Every public service is fucked at the moment. None of them can do their job properly because they are all saddled with beaurocracy and tied to attaining goverment set targets that do nothing for quality.
anon:
"you are not in a position to apologise to the public for your impression of how the police "seem to be" nowadays, because you simply dont know how that is."
Fortunately you don't have a monopoly of woes. We do share your day to day anguish. We are not saddled with the same targets and pressures that you are and are able to see both sides of the coin. Don't assume you "know how it is", because everyones point of view is different and no ones is righteous.
apologies if I confused people - the first part with the ""'s is NOT my view but seems to be that of an MoP . . . I had problems with Blogger not wanting to have it as a quote on my page!
thanks for your replies none the less i appreciate everyone :)
besides, what the world be like if everyone agreed with everyone else! :)
Lennie - I did not mean to imply that only I know how it is. I do however believe a fundamental change in thinking occurs when you police every day as opposed to when you are new or a special constable.
New people and special constables mainly have a positive attitude towards humanity and faith that people are deep down decent sorts. Alot of regulars (and when I say alot, I may just mean me) dislike the vast majority of people, distrust even more and have absolutely no faith in any of it. My only belief is the majority of people are bad, weak and inherently stupid. When I am occasionally proven wrong its like a breath of fresh air. But the occasions when I am proven wrong are excruciatingly rare.
Therefore when I hear of an officer talking to a boy racer and believing he is a decent sort, or the latest talk of how seat belt offences dont matter so much and we should be concentrating on real criminals, it makes me want to scream! Traffic laws are there for a reason. Thats why I took issue with the officer apologising to people for how the police come across when they stop them for such offences. Personally, I stop them sternly. I tell them of some of the dead people I know of who havent worn seat belts, or were speeding, or were on their phones when they crashed. I tell them to buck their ideas up and I mostly then give them a ticket. I hope they remember me and the serious stance I took next time they decide to be lazy and egotistical, for that is all it is.
Therefore, when the officer apologised for how some police come across, he was not apologising for me.
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