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Do the police make you feel safe, do you trust them?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
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  • AuroraAurora Posts: 11,722 An Original Mixlorian
    OMFG, wtf. Why would a cop do that? Thank god he diddn't get away witth it. I'm devod x
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    He DID get away with it.
  • AuroraAurora Posts: 11,722 An Original Mixlorian
    katralla wrote: »
    He DID get away with it.
    WTF, how thee heck did he get away with it! I bet if it was one of us we wouldn't!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I tend to trust the police a lot more than I do people who would consider the actions of one person as reflective of the whole police force.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    chuckle, as if it's just one police officer that acts like that.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It depends on the situation and the officer.

    Would I trust a police officer to return my lost wallet with the $80 still in it? Yes.

    Would I trust a police officer to be reasonable about not writing me a ticket for running a stop sign on my bicycle in a residential neighborhood? No.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    katralla wrote: »
    He DID get away with it.

    He had his criminal conviction overturned.

    Pamela Somerville could bring a civil action against him (or his employers) if she feels that she has suffered damage.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    So, how do you feel about this incident? And, about the police in general?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Like said above, yes its shocking and there have been reports of policemen attacking people but im not gonna base my whole opinion of the police force on it, and definately wouldnt hesitate in calling them if i ever needed to.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    katralla wrote: »
    So, how do you feel about this incident?

    I have followed this case for a little time. Interesting legally as there was more to it than what happened at the station.
    katralla wrote: »
    And, about the police in general?

    Generalisations ?

    Perhaps not such a good idea, especially if one was being critical, don't you agree ?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    katralla wrote: »
    chuckle, as if it's just one police officer that acts like that.

    Im not saying what this guy has done is any kind of right or wrong, but an interesting tangent to look at here. How can the police do what the public want and be tough on crime (within the law) when there is the generalisation that they are all violent thugs. Then what do the police do when people accuse them of not being tough on crime?

    She shouldn't have been dragged to the cell like that at all but I think the case has rested on the fact that the injuries she was claiming he caused, were infact caused by herself letting go of a door frame and slumping. Yes he shouldnt have been dragging her, but if she had been willing to walk calmly into a cell would this have still happened? Im not saying its right, or even agreeing with the police officer in question, but would this have happened if she had behaved herself, its a common misconception that you can't express your distain at something yet remain civil at all times.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Oh i thought this was about the policeman who 'raped' a woman in his police station who was found guilty of 'rape' by the IPCC and dismissed, but is not going to be charged/tried for rape.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Looking at this case it seems obvious that the policeman was in the wrong, why did'nt he just ask for help from his colleagues i am sure they are well trained in dealing with prisoners like her.
    Having said that he is only human and i guess we all do stupid things we regret when we are tired and pissed off.
    I still think he should be punished in some way as he did fail in his duties.

    In general though i think the police do a very difficult job with one hand tied behind their backs and i believe the vast majority of them do that job very well and really do care about the service they provide.

    Its interesting as i live out in the sticks and have very little contact with the police our local one seems to be popular around the villages and has a friendly way of keeping order, and yes i would trust him 100%
    Perhaps this is totally diffrent to the way they work and come across in big towns and city's
  • Indrid ColdIndrid Cold Posts: 16,688 Skive's The Limit
    Different country, different police, so I'm not sure if I'm included in the audience of this question. But you often hear stories like that about the police here too, so I'll answer it anyway.

    Let me put it this way: I feel a lot safer than I would feel if there was no police. Even if some of them (or, some would say, "most", though I don't believe this) are villains of one kind, they still chase and catch villains of other kinds.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Different country, different police

    Whereabouts you at?

    The police in the US nearly made me cry - bloomin' four-way stop signs. Them fuckers are angry, and they've got guns.
  • Indrid ColdIndrid Cold Posts: 16,688 Skive's The Limit
    Whereabouts you at?
    Greece.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The police in the US nearly made me cry - bloomin' four-way stop signs. Them fuckers are angry, and they've got guns.

    Their training includes learning how to intimidate you, even if its just a routine traffic stop. But they're armed because most of the population is as well.
  • AuroraAurora Posts: 11,722 An Original Mixlorian
    My unkles a police officer. I would always trust the police they have saved my life :) x
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Personally, I have no respect for the police force as a whole. Yeah, I'm sure there are some officers who are decent people.. but considering what the feds have done to me? I don't trust them one tiny bit. x
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Personally, I have no respect for the police force as a whole. Yeah, I'm sure there are some officers who are decent people.. but considering what the feds have done to me? I don't trust them one tiny bit. x

    The feds? I thought you lived in the UK :confused:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The police might as well not exist in my neighbourhood. Ive never once seen a police car or officer on the streets. Its not exactly a nice neighbourhood either, Our local shop gets broken into at almost every week. And the younger kids round here are awfull, One of my friends ended up in hospital after she got jumped by a gang of 10 year olds. The police did nothing. They never even interviewed her. And a boy at my school was killed by a police man, I wont go into the whole story here cus its quite a long one. So no, I dont trust the police at at all.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The feds? I thought you lived in the UK :confused:

    I do? why? x
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I do? why? x

    What do you mean by "The Feds" then?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    What do you mean by "The Feds" then?

    It's just the police where I'm from.. there are a lot of other names I prefer to use, but I don't think they'd go down to well :L Why what is it for you? x
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's just the police where I'm from.. there are a lot of other names I prefer to use, but I don't think they'd go down to well :L Why what is it for you? x

    I thought "the feds" was an American term for the federal police they have over there that investigate crimes outside the remit of the state police. I didn't know it was a term anywhere else.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think it's a term for the FBI yeah..

    but, it's also used here.. amongst the youtthhhh :P x
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think it's a term for the FBI yeah..

    but, it's also used here.. amongst the youtthhhh :P x

    Damn youth! :yeees:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Damn youth! :yeees:

    :d
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I thought "the feds" was an American term for the federal police they have over there that investigate crimes outside the remit of the state police. I didn't know it was a term anywhere else.

    It's what kids call us. Along with 5-0 e.t.c. despite nobody under the age of 18 knowing what 5-0 actually means.....


    A nation gets the police force it demands and the police force it deserves. And it seems we can't win. If we let someone off with a warning, we're soft on crime. If we stand back and let the drunkards fight in the street we're cowards.

    But when we actually do enforce the law? Well fuck me, every arm-chair cop and lawyer just comes flooding out the wood work to tell us how we should have done this or we should have done that despite having absolutely zero clue about what the job really entails.

    Yes there are arseholes in the police who let the rest of us down. They normally get weeded out during training. Some, unfortunately slip through and you end up with incidents like the above.

    As for the original question, do I feel safer with the police around? Well if it was a choice between a professional police force that for the most part adheres to procedure and genuinely has my best interests at heart, or a mob of vigilantes who beat up paediatricians because they're idiots? Well I think I know who I'm calling if my house gets burgled.

    And that's the crux of it. For every bully who is on some sort of ego-fuelled power trip there are ten of us who actually care about you, and your community. When you do ring us up at 5 minutes before our shift is supposed to end we'll put our coats back on and come back out. We're the ones who wade into fights to pull you out of them despite being out numbered and unarmed. Yes no doubt at some point we'll piss you off because unfortunately some laws, in your eyes are petty but we need to enforce them. But if you think we're bad, then the solution is simple. Fuck off to Russia, China, Zimbabwe, Iran or any other country where the police swan about doing whatever the fuck they want and see what the alternative is. Where instead of lining up in front of you during protests, they just shoot you. Where you're left to defend yourselves and your own interests, because the police are there to keep you in line and to look out for the government and nothing else. Where there is no such thing as PACE, or due process where interviews become interrogations, places where you're guilty, period.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    What does 5-0 actually mean btw? I wondered :L

    And... yeah, I guess I do have a bias view of the cops. But it's from experience. I'm sure, being in the police, you have had good experiences. So, you have to understand that people are going to go by what they know personally.
    It does seem though, that a lot of officer's have it in for teenagers or people on estates etc. When the real criminals are still free! All the major drug lords, henchmen, and fraudsters are all still out on the streets. Where as, a teenager drinking a can of strongbow gets in a load of shit! x
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