Another step closer to MC1

[Queen Firey-Bou]

so JB, would you say your collegues dealt with this by becomeing hardened , or is everyone demoralised?
how do you deal with shite like policing a protest if you agree with the protesters? or do you ever? don't you get really angry that you could be spending the time chasing the reall bad guys? how do you keep going?

[Matt Timson]

"...under an ever increasing load of paper work, media abuse and erosion of any respect we were once held in..."

I have to agree.  I find it unbelievable the way a lot of kids today are brought up to virtually take the piss out of the system and those that are there to enforce it.

It won't be long before the Police won't be ABLE to make an arrest without violating somebody's rights.  It's a shit job with fewer and fewer rewards, and I for one simply couldn't do it.  Some spotty youth spitting at me and telling me to f*ck off?

I'd knock the little bastard's teeth in and weather the storm afterwards...

[Devons Daddy]

i dont live in the Uk anymore. but from what little i know. i must ask , what happened?

we now have a growing gun culuture.
increased violent crime,drugs and drug related crime.
for all the lack of liberty here in singapore. i know my son will not find a crack dealer near his school.that my wife can walk home at night, and i can wear a decent watch every day.things i can not gaurantee in many parts of the uk anymore.

would zero tolarance work in the UK, who knows,but its got to be worth considering.

but something i think is important is this.
i teach my son to respect the person in a police uniform.
its important.

[Bolt-01]

I just want to say that this thread is one of the most intelligent discussions I have read in a good while.

The issues at hand ARE important. The police, unfortunately are overstretched and underfunded, as are all public services.

I am in the support for health care business myself and my wife is an A/E nurse. On the whole, she regards the police as people who sometimes have to do a crappy job, for not much pay (in relation to the crap dealt with). The same can be said for millions of people in the UK today. I haven't got much of an opinion myself, never having more than the barest contact with the police, but I thought that even if I am not contributing directly, I should let you know I am following.

Note for DD: How old is Devon?

rotts

[JimBob]

 Zero Tolerance won't work in the UK for a couple of reasons. The main one is number of officers and tiem to proccess prisoners. New York is often used by lazy politicians to hit Brit Forces over the head with saying, they reduced criem significantly by having officers walking the streets and using zero tolerance. What they don't mention is the massive increase in Police numbers that allowed a coppper on every corner and that Giulliani supported the Police union to the hilt (possibly too far at times). What the Daily Mail and its ilk are demanding is we replicate the New York success despite the handycap of a home office who can't decide whether they hate us or want us as storm troopers to deal with which ever group they've pissed off this week and comparatively low numbers of operational units.

[Devons Daddy]

My son DEVON is six this month.and he is the most important thing in my world, it makes me feel good to just say that.

the new york style.i have a fair point of reference here.
i used to go to NY,very regular.with QE2.
over those years i saw huge improvements in the standards of street crime, as a tourist it was very plain to see.
in my first year 90. it was as scarry as you can imagine,lots of seedy bars,sex shows and theatres in the 42nd street area up to times square and around empire state.dont even consider central park.by the time i left the ship 94 it had totally changed. cops on every corner. almost.but generally a lesser feeling of fear.cops walk the street. a true deterent.

to be honest i think the former mayor got it right.its not perfect,i know.but it improved massively under his term of office.
i agree more cops on the beat.it works.we have it out here it works.
i would not see any wrong in it being replicated in the UK.

 

[Buddy]

"If you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear. "

Ok, point taken there.

What I was refering to was street level crime, armed robbery, assult, intimidation, car theft etc.. If the police know the villins involved in these crimes then they should get in there.

What happened to that mother is disgusting. It seems that the criminal system is more concerned about getting a conviction rather than convicting the right person.

The doctor involved in the original trial withheld vital information and gave misleading figures to the original jury. Why in gods name did he do this???

Who advised him on what to say?

Because of his information this woman spent three years in prison.

Can she now sue the government (or whoever is to be held accountable)?

And who much do you think something like this is worth?

The mind boggels.

[Generally Contrary]

++What happened to that mother is disgusting.++

And she was a white, wealthy, middle-class lawyer.

Imagine being a poor black man with a record...

[Trout]

(1) "What happened to that mother is disgusting"

It's a judicial process, and not policing matter, and frankly it's all still very confusing.

Yes, she can claim compensation and if I was her I would. She'll get lost earnings, compo for her lost reputation, plus lots more for her mental and any physical suffering.
It's come to somewhere in the middle of the six-figure bracket, I'd say, at a (fairly) educated guess.

(2) JimBob: For the record, I want to add I would never criticise the police.
Actually, I would, but only in specific instances where there's a story in it and they've actually stuffed up.

I'm aware how difficult a job it is. I know a lot of policemen (remember I'm a reporter on a local paper) and even socialise with a couple of inspectors, so I get all the stories and don't envy you all sometimes.

However, I stick to my guns on public agencies and the potential for mistakes. We cannot allow our police forces, or any other kind of authorities, too much power, and that's why I welcome the full introduction (since Labour came to power) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

It now has direct effect in all legal systems in the UK, and is the most important of those checks and balances I mentioned.

If David Blunkett continues to insist on derogation (suspension) of large parts of it, as he has post-911, people will continue to suffer.

Being Muslim and radical is NOT a crime. Yes, we must guard against terrorism, but having unpopular views - yes, even to the extent of liking Bin Laden better than Bush - is not yet against the law in this country.

That's what it's all about. If someone is caught with Semtex, or saying he wants to blow up Parliament, fair enough, lock him up.
But right now we are imprisoning people without trial (Guantanamo Bay), and judging minorities on their views rather than their intentions and generally being a bit panicky.

Being found with a picture of an admiral or a map of London does not automatically make you a terrorist, even if you are arrested with good reason.

This is not to say I don't believe the police need far more support than they get, but, summing up, my message is:

careful, now.

- Trout