Policing Issues Discussion

[crd]

I think the frightening thing to come out of this is the statement that not enough police officers are trained to use riot equipment Because we don’t have the money to pay for it!!
We all know that cuts are essential but not enough thought has gone into where they should fall as always things that look good on paper don’t often work in practise.
 why these overpaid politicians can’t for once do what they are elected for listen to the public

[Yorkie]

I think the best idea is for us to bring ALL our troops home from trying to sort out other peoples thugs and get them to deal with our own.  A decent sum of our money would be saved at the same time.

Someone suggested to me that we should bring back conscription, then with all the thugs in the Forces they could Police themselves!   Somehow I don't think that would work.   L0L

I love the picture Trojan.  Was it taken around Hammersmith?   

[Parry]

Had a very interesting walkabout with Mr Verburg on Tuesday afternoon. We discussed riots, littering and OF COURSE  dog fouling!  Interesting that some of our officers from the district have been sent to London to reinforce.

[Hugo]

Had a very interesting walkabout with Mr Verburg on Tuesday afternoon. We discussed riots, littering and OF COURSE  dog fouling!  Interesting that some of our officers from the district have been sent to London to reinforce.

Did he say what he was going to do about the local issues?   

[Yorkie]

It is obvious that I didn't shout loud enough!  Or is it once again a question to be dodged rather than dealt with?   

[Micox]

Sociological Parable.

I was born and brought up in a council flat - one of a street in which which many were allocated to the lowest of the low income groups. In that street we lived in a different dimension to those in the classes above us. The culture was rough with regular fights (both kids and adults) and one of the pastimes was two groups of warring kids throwing stones at each other as weapons. Sometime a group would single out an individual kid and chase him with stones.

So there evolved characters who were 'hard knocks' leaders of small gangs - cocks of the street. Violent characters.

Most of us ordinary kids tried out petty theft from shops like Woolworths. It wasn't wrong; they could well afford it. Shopkeepers and businesses were part of a different world to us. We just popped out into that world sometimes an snatched just a little of what they had.

Three or four slid into more serious criminal activities. They were caught and savagely beaten up by the police. It happened more than once. There were two detectives in particular who had a reputation of brutality. Even  though most of us grew up with a strong internal moral sense and code, learning to hate the police became ingrained as did wariness of public authorities. I didn't understand this until I later read Kant.

In a long career of close work with public authorities and close work, sometimes arm in arm with the police, very little has changed in terms of trusting the police. Mistrust has, if anything, been reinforced by inside knowledge of their 'back room' tactics and behaviour - including that of one or two individual coppers, whatever their behaviour is supposed to be.

To see things first hand is to be enlightened. Very little, bar scale, changes - does it.   

[Yorkie]

Back in my day the number of prisoners who appeared in court with injuries was unreal and virtually everyone of them had "fallen up (or down) the Charge Room steps."   

[crd]

I was disgusted to hear MPs making political gain by saying they had put measures in place to quell the riots.
We have got to support the police for the job they did they handled a dangerous situation and make no mistake they put their lives on the line in taking back the streets maybe next time it happens we could mobilize all our elected members and let them put their money were there mouth is

[DaveR]

I agree with what you say, but the Police surely do have to answer to the Home Secretary and Prime Minister and, indeed, Parliament in general.

[Micox]

Police surely do have to answer to the Home Secretary and Prime Minister and, indeed, Parliament in general.

Come off it Dave - even some individual coppers are a law unto themselves. 

Heddwch.

Mike.

[dwsi]

Syniadau :: The Blog: Welsh lessons for the Met http://bit.ly/nM9jlX

 

[DaveR]

...and here's another one:
http://londonist.com/2011/08/photo-of-the-day-heddlu.php

[Fester]

Tonight, I witnessed at first hand, the bloody hard job that a police officer has in this, or any other area of the UK.

After I toddled off to get a taxi on Gloddaeth St tonight, a big, hooded bloke barged past me and proceeded to kick the windows in of Vollams Shop.  I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and several people just stood around and watched.
Anyhow, he smashed his way inside and the alarm went off.

Within 30 seconds or so, a police car with a solitary officer arrived and he immediately tackled this much bigger (and very violent) bloke as he burst back out of the shattered window.
The tussle continued for a couple of minutes, until other officers (our own PC Mike included) arrived on the scene to subdue and arrest him.

Not a job for the faint hearted... well done to all.

[DaveR]

No doubt another loser claiming incapacity benefit but able to kick in shop windows - we shall see! 

[Trojan]

The tussle continued for a couple of minutes, until other officers (our own PC Mike included) arrived on the scene to subdue and arrest him.

You didn't give the solitary officer a helping hand?