Page 1 of POLL: What do you think to the service the Police provides?

Prior to joining the Police, I did wonder 'WHERE'S THERE A POLICE OFFICER WHEN YOU NEED ONE?''

Well … I have been a Police Officer (on patrol) for the last three years. I joined for the job, because of the variety it provides and to hopefully make a difference in my neighbourhood.

All officers represent a cross section of the community, and are in need of more officers from different ethnic minorities in the Police.

The pay isn't brilliant, you join the job in most cases to make a difference … I took a big pay cut when I joined. I was working as a boring accountant and auditor.

What people don't seem to realise are the numbers of Officers there are to patrol a town/city. Where I work is extremely high in crime and parade on with between 10 and 14 officers with a population near/over 100,000. In our county, other areas only have a few officers covering a massive area. Many of the London Boroughs benefit from high funding and can almost double the number of officers.

On the job box there are always an average of 100 jobs outstanding, with a new job coming in at least every five minutes. It's always a battle, and every job is important to the person who called it in.

The way the Police service works today, is that everything is recorded and it is almost impossible to let things slip with a warning.

I won't deny there will always be a bad apple in any organisation. The Police service is the one you read in the paper or on the news, not say Argos for example. If you make a complaint to the station or by writing, the regulations state that all must be investigated.

The one thing I always say to people, is that many Police Forces, will allow members of the public to go on observation to see what the Police do. Why not consider it?

I am sorry for the long post, but there is a lot of ill feeling towards the Police, and often its not the Police that is often the problem, but the lack of laws we have to work with in a modern society.

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I took a big pay cut when I joined me too over £5k a year...

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On the job box there are always an average of 100 jobs outstanding, with a new job coming in at least every five minutes. It's always a battle, and every job is important to the person who called it in. i know that swimming against the tide feeling...
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I won't deny there will always be a bad apple in any organisation. i cant disagree with that...

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I am sorry for the long post, but there is a lot of ill feeling towards the Police, and often its not the Police that is often the problem, but the lack of laws we have to work with in a modern society. well said that man...


`i am going to live forever or die trying`

If you post negative score on poll ... please if you wouldn`t mind, please put your experience on the post as well.

Positive remarks also welcome.

Thanks.

I have, and have always held police officers in the highest regard, and have always treated them with respect. Nothing disgusts me more than to see a little snot give an unprovoked obscene hand gesture to a passing police car.

I didn`t have this mentality drummed into me, It`s just what I feel. By that same token, i wonder what the parents of these little s***s are telling their kids...

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I took a big pay cut when I joined


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me too over £5k a year...

And me, £49.5K... (and wouldn`t ever change back!) - On that note isn`t about time "London Weighting" was abolished or the rest of the country was brought into line - a friend of mine in the Met is exactly the same length of service and rank as me and is on 6 or 7 grand a year more than me!

It might sound corny but I also joined to "make a difference/help people/contribute to the community I live in/enjoy my work"


julianf

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This item was edited on Sunday, 5th November 2006, 20:42

You serioiusly took a pay cut of 49.5K :o

Hello, I have posted `poor`, based on my own experiences. Here are my reasons...

My only dealings with the police have been based around driving incidents. 1)Stopped for faulty headlamp 2)Driving above `advised` speed limits 3)Stopped because my Tax was not visible. 4)Handing in documents for points 1 & 2 5)Stopped for routine tyre check.

Without exception, in all of the above cases I found the officers to have a demeaning tone, a patronising attitude and a superiority complex. It was as if they had all been taught by the same teacher.
I remained polite, submissive and respectful throughout each embarrassing ordeal, so I it wasn`t like I was `winding them up` to cause this reaction from them.

I have no problem being stopped for whatever reason, but I do object being spoken to like that.

I assume not all officers have this overly officious tone.

Neil.

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I know its a hard job, and most of the Police officers work hard, but it just seems that when you need them they aren`t there. I`m sure that these officers feel deflated that they can`t help everyone in the way that they want to, but something has to be done.
Wherea if I am stopped by the Police, I would go back to being a schoolboy in terms of my atttude towards them - timid and polite, but nowadays little toerags just give them crap and swear at them because they know the Police can`t do anything to them. This is being passed down from parents to kids, and is evident everywhere in society at the moment. I see it with the kids at school, and I`m sorry to say its exactly why you just walk on when you see a gang of youths up to no good - it simply isn`t worth the hassle that you are going to get!

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but nowadays little toerags just give them crap and swear at them because they know the Police can`t do anything to them

True - but you should see their faces when we give them the same language back, it`s as if they`re thinking "Hang on, he just swore at me - he can`t do that"...

The fact is: Yes I can - if I`m faced with anyone, juvenile or otherwise, whose attitude towards me, coupled with their lack of social skills, manners and respect towards authority figures means that remaining courteous is a futile exercise then I use language that they are familiar with (within reason and depending on the surroundings)... Being belittled in front of their friends often shuts the mouthy ones up (and when it doesn`t my gang is usually bigger than theirs anyway).

I feel that this is completely acceptable and in fact this is re-enforced in Conflict Management models - it`s a bit like the pre-emptive strike that we are allowed to use if we can justify it!

Please feel free to post if you think any differently, e.g. that I should be above that sort of thing/more professional than that or that I`m only lowering myself to their level etc etc.

P.S. Don`t get me wrong, I`m not a thug and this is only when it`s obvious normal modes of communication aren`t going to work or already haven`t.

julianf

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