Rant Cops in the UK - useless!

Half an hour for the simplest job. Then at least an hour at the station building the file. Otherwise you're absolutely right.

Atomic - Don't worry, I think most of us called ******** on his story a while ago.

 

Fishlock Your full of it dont you know IT did happen and no one cares what you think anyway.

Edit And you just prooved the point that it would have been a waste of time reporting because the police just stick together dont they.

 

Although I was asked to stay out of this I feel I have to say Teelzebub is telling the truth I know this as a fact.

There's plenty of coppers that shouldn't be in the police force like the one's that did a big drugs bust and the drugs was back on the streets within a couple of weeks and the one's that defend the police like it don't happen

 

If that's their attitude towards people breaking the law, then it explains why so many crimes are committed! = Nobody Cares or it takes too much time to complete!

Yeah, if I said that to my boss he'd say jog on!

 

Police are stuck between a rock and a hard place these days. Most people are more likely to have their phone nicked than get murdered. I'd prefer that situation to the reverse, frankly. Yet, if the police try to focus on serious crime then people complain that petty crime goes unpunished. If they focus on petty crime, people complain that they're spending all their time pulling over people on mobile's and arresting kids for nicking sweeties from corner shops when murderers and rapists are on the loose.

They can't do everything, at least not with the resources we allocate to them. If you want it all, you have to pay for it all, and that's something that the British public aren't very much into at this point in time.

 

Complaints about a Police Officer are not handled by the Officer or anyone directly connected to them. Each Police Force has a Professional Standards Department who deal with this type of complaint.

http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/en/Pages/police_professional_standards.aspx

PSD do not deal with day to day policing matters and (along with other matters) deal with the integrity and professionalism of the Officers within the force as detailed here: http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/en/Pages/standofprofbehaviour.aspx

Your complaint would not have been ignored and would have been investigated independently and fairly.

I suggest you familiarise yourself with the 'Chain of custody' regarding seized evidence before making such claims without any form of evidence.

Policing is not like you see in films, Police don't just chuck a drugs seizure in any old container/bag and check it in/out of evidence stores at any opportunity they like without being challenged. Every single item is catalogued and accounted for throughout the investigation. The procedures for storing drugs are even more strict than normal evidence due to the nature of the substances and only specially trained officers can access the special secure evidence stores they are kept in.

 

Yeah, but these are not people who let facts get in the way of their opinion.

 

Whoever edited the thread title gets rep from me if they make themselves known... I'm looking in your direction, Nexxo

 

Of course the Police stick together, just like any other corporation or sector. The protests are a perfect example of that. There is nothing wrong with that at all. Try coming up with something useful and relevant in this debate or don't bother at all.

Any further information on this drugs bust at all? Something other than a link to the Daily Mail would be appreciated. Being trained in drugs field testing, I struggle to see how you can prove that drugs found on the street can be linked back to drugs that were previously in Police possession. I'm not saying your talking rubbish, I'd just like you to elaborate on your accusation.

It's impossibly difficult to manage. With roughly 140,000 sworn Police Officers in the UK, and a population of around 62 million, it leaves us completely incapable of dealing with everything we see. I'm sure your boss doesn't have that many people to deal with so is probably more apathetic if you were to say that.

Very well said.

^ This.

 

Not that anyone did, but Teelzebub is taking way too much **** here if you ask me.

Pigs wear their number on the tops of their shoulders. If you're sat in your car with a donut-swiller stood over you then there's a good chance you get no view of his epaulettes.

And I would also agree that the chances of a complaint being heard, fully investigated and the responsible officers getting dismissed, all based on the anecdotal account of one or two people in a car, do not quite stack up against the chances of the officers not getting dismissed and bearing a grudge against him in the future.

Welcome to Institutionalised, I hope you enjoy your stay.

I do agree though that there's like a bazillion times more crime committed than is ever reported or could ever be investigated. Most of us are at it in one way or another most of the time - not all crimes enforced by the police necessarily, but more than enough that are.

 

The point is that Teelzebub's passive acceptance of the situation is (probably rightly) justified by the futility of trying to do anything about it, but he does not accept such a response to certain events from the police. He expects them to always act, even when it is futile or unproductive.

 

Irony maybe, but not hypocrisy. He's made three main, specific criticisms:

i) Police officer failed to record a report of crime - Crime Statistics fudging 101?
ii) Crime happens right outside police station, but he joked about this as much as complained, due to the irony
iii) Police racism witnessed

Whilst I support the idea that mobile phone theft is bound to get little attention, in Teel's examples I think he could be forgiven for expecting a bit more.

Re-read Teel's posts in this thread - he's posted with light-heartedness and even some balance and yet he's been rounded on, quite unjustifiably in my eyes. On page 4 Atomic even quotes him, by putting something he never said in quotation marks.

 

So it's unjustifiable to disagree or doubt the validity of what someone says on what is effectively a discussion board? And do you not think Atomic could have quoted him before he edited the post? Good job you're not a moderator!

Also, why is there the need to be offensive? I've two young kids, I go to the gym before every shift, had a medical background before joining the Police, and greet everyone with a smile, treating everyone fairly and equally. I also never stick on an honest motorist unless they've done something seriously wrong. Does that make me a donught-swilling Pig?

 

Yes, very light-hearted:

But fair's fair: he did not say "God-damn useless and lazy" as Atomic quoted; just "over weight lazy mentally backward idiots". It's all in the details, I guess...

Kovoet was having a rant, basically, and Teel joined him. Neither considered that there might be police officers amongst the other members of this forum. When this thread did not turn into the little pig-bashing circle jerk that they had expected but an actual discussion about what can be reasonably expected from the police, dismay ensued.

Nobody is rounding on Teelzebub any more than members of this forum who happen to be police officers feel rounded on. If you make extreme and sweeping comments here, you are better prepared to rationally defend them.

 

... and there's the rub I guess. I don't think anyone was seriously trying to suggest ALL cops are useless etc as scientific fact, hence the Rant flag in General rather than anything else, but it seems no-one's allowed to vent in here without a hypothesis, method, diagram, results, conclusion and peer evaluation.

Well it seems Teel's personal credibility is getting questioned, as opposed to some nameless officers (although Atomic's ability to make a false statement in broad daylight is a little concerning ) - seems unbalanced to me.

Well I don't know whether it's possible to overcome the board's timing system etc. but if you look at the time that Atomic posted the misquote and compare it to the times of Teel's posts and edits, then it appears Atomic's misquote was posted well clear of any edits Teel made. I don't know, is it possible to get round the system in such a way, and would Teel have much motive to bother? If not, then it's a good job you're not a polic... oh, whoops


And Fishlock, if you honestly find references to pigs and donuts offensive then I'm guessing your Public Order hit-rate is above average

 

I'm not offended personally, I merely questioned its necessity.

What on earth is my 'public order hit-rate'? I don't really get involved in proper public order so your statement doesn't really apply.

Also, Teel is just as 'nameless' as the rest of us, what's your point? Oh the joys of anonymity. You'll quite easilly find out who I am based upon my forum name; hardly nameless.

 

Basically (the RANT flag was added by Krikkit, by the way. Seemed appropriate).

Personally I'd prefer if people kept their rants off this forum altogether. They are by their nature an irrational, subjective, self-centered and ultimately unproductive activity. If you decide to share strong opinions about a group of people on a public forum you have to be prepared for equally strong reactions (especially from members of said group).

To the forum members who happen to be police officers it apparently felt kind of personal too. As I said before: rants are unhelpfully subjective like that.

What you seem to be suggesting is that other people should be moderate, objective and reasonable in their response to a sweeping, subjective and irrational rant because hey, it's just a rant. Not how it works, I'm afraid. People are not always going to be wise just because you are not. You cannot expect other people to take responsibility for containing themselves and you, when you won't take responsibility for containing yourself. That is the same child-like expectation people often have towards the police.

 

I did mean to not misquote, mealy referred to the wrong person as I quoted from the OP by accident. Genuine mistake.

A single complaint against an officer without reliable evidence would most likely not result in the officer being dismissed, but the complaint would go on file and any repeated incidents would be noticed and investigated.

If there is clear evidence of the Officer making racist remarks, action does get taken and officers are sacked for a breach of professional conduct.

I feel it broadly unjustified to refer to all Police Officers as "pigs", this is as unfair as referring to Office workers as 'mindless clones' or to shop staff as 'failed graduates' (neither of which are my personal views btw). To tarnish an entire organisation with a truly insulting statement shows you do not have the faintest clue about what modern policing involves, please leave the derogatory attitude out of this.

These Officers put their lives on the line every shift they do, they deal with horrific incidents involving distress, harm, injury and often death - that the general public would not want to see once let alone on a repeated basis.

These crimes are committed against hard-working honest people who do not understand the minefield that is the British Justice system. I would bet most Police Officers would like to see everyone they arrest for a crime charged, but the CPS has strict guidelines about what can go to court (for many reasons I will not go into here) and these are beyond the scope of the Police Force.

edit: Here's a rant of my own:

The amount of times I see people having a go at Police Officers (not necessary on this forum) when they see them in a 'food outlet' having a coffee, and maybe even say a donut, then saying they are lazy and should be out catching criminals really annoys me. Police are not desk bound and are out on patrol so do not have a nice warm office with a staff room or 'break area' available like most people, their office is their car and they are entitled to breaks by Law like anyone else. The government does not pay the Police Officers for their break time - the same any other private or public employer.

 

Couldn't agree more there tbh, applying the US stereotype about Poleez that sit in doughnut shops all day is totally the wrong end of the stick for bobbies.