Police

[Lindylou]

Where have all these police persons come from - the ones in the London tube stations etc.  Are they the ones who usually chase motorists?!!

[jno]

according to the papers, some of them would normally be out looking for murderers; so regular crime solving is taking a hit. Some will just be transport police - never sure what they normally do with their time.

[mullein1]

they will ban all leave and days off to put extra on the streets..and all able officers in desk jobs will also find themselves out on the streets..yesterday i was on a train and an idiot threw a large brick at the window..it went with such a thud i nearly jumped out of my skin..fortunately no harm was done..

[Loosehead]

The ones "chasing motorists" are the Traffic division, they would still be out there regardless.

[outaboutnowt]

That�s awful mullen1 they should put that policeman back behind his desk, throwing bricks!  That�s old fashioned policing for you!

[georgit79]

officers have been drafted in from outside the capital, and more have been persuaded to come out of retirement and back on the beat. Honestly! It's in BBC News. I wonder how they've persuaded them?

[acw]

Maybe - We'll stop your pension if you don't get back on the beat!

Or maybe many cries of PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE, pretty PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE, oh go onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn, you look so nice in your uniform and you know you miss wearing the silly hat, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!!!

Seriously though, my friend is a CSO in London and she now gets one day rest after 14 days of work.  All her colleagues have the same basically.  Although a lot of people think CSOs are a waste of space, they certainly help to add to the presence of uniforms at stations etc.  Or perhaps helping to fill the gaps in the suburbs where the "real" police have moved further into the centre. 

[MargeB]

Thank you outaboutnowt, that had me in stitches. (The joke did).

[Andy008]

Nice to see the police doing something useful.

[georgit79]

what, bricking train windows? I'm getting confused...

[bazwillrun]

A few month ago on the Jeremy Vine Radio Programme on BBC Radio2, Sir John Condon i think it was, said that out of 12 months a constable is actually "on the beat" for only 2 months. On the basis that he is the boss and should know about these things, myself like Jeremy Vine and all the people that subsequently conrtacted the show, were stunned to hear this. No suprises, but most of the time is taken up by paperwork, court,leave of one sort or another, sickness. Theres gonna be a lot of paperwork to catch up on, not to mention the forces that now have arrest targets to meet, having to play catch up. For a lot of constibules its a gravy train, this from a friend who used to be in the force, book off Wednesday morning as leave , on tuesday evening pick up a vagrant or something else nice and easy that will require a court appearance the next morning. You have to be in court as the arresting officer, but wait a minute i booked off tomorrow morning as leave sarge ! Never mind turn up in court and thats classed as overtime ! Nice little earner 

 

 

  

[shaneystar]

I do wish people would stop knocking the police.My brother was a police officer for 32 years .O.K. he joined in 1958 but they were a different breed then.He spent a lot longer than two months on the beat.Mind you even he is now ashamed to say sometimes that he was a policeman.By the time he retired he said that they were at the stage of having to fill a form out in triplicate to go for a p**s.They really do have to do some awful things.I wonder how any of us would feel if they had to go and see a little four old girl who had been raped and murdered and left in a ditch or break into a house where a dead person has lain for six weeks .They are not all in it for the money.There are a lot of dedicated officers out there.Unfortunately the media only seems to give attention to the "bent" ones.

[acw]

True - and what's also a shame is the lack of funding.  My friend (the CSO) is DESPERATE to be a police office but she faced a NINE MONTH waiting list just to APPLY to the MET and of course then there will be a wait to go to Hendon.  They're saying we need more police, but they're not letting good people join. 

Mind you there's a nasty rumour that if my friend were not white and middle class she might be through the waiting list a bit quicker.  But then I suppose we have to make up for years of discrimination against non-whites.  I just hope that in so-doing the standards are not dropping. 

Otherwise though - I think the police are doing a great job overall.  I'm sure there are individual instances of c0ck ups, and there must be bad tales to tell.  But when you consider the cr*p they put up with from the public, and for not fantastic pay, I think they all deserve 3 stars! :-)

[mullein1]

i wish people would stop knocking the police..and get their facts right..first of all if someone gets arrested say on monday and the oficer has tuesday as his leave day no he doesnt have to take him to court its passed on..and secondly sometimes if they have to go in on their day off all they get in replace is a day off on another day..they have had major cutbacks and the overtime pot of money is not never ending..occasionally they get extra funds pumped in to their pot of money if its anything out of the ordinary..sometimes they get their leave cancelled and sometimes its not overtime as if they are given 7 days notice of leave being cancelled they are not obliged to pay overtime..they do have a lot of paperwork but thats how it is till someone changes the system..and as for sick well my other half is a police officer he has never had a day sick in 26 years..if he got injured at work of course then he would need time off..some of the officers face dreadfull situations when they are dealing with people a friend of ours went to arrest a drunk and had his ear bitten off.another female pc was thrown down a flight of stairs ..and then as some have said their are the abuse cases the deaths ..people now carrying guns and knifes and not afraid to use them..and some of the new recruits if they have a family their wages are so low they are on income support..who else would face what they have to for low wages..the wages are not as great as some may think for what has to be done..and as for the comment of a black officer lowering the standards well let me tell you my other half is black and has many qualifications including he holds a advanced training qualification where he trains the trainers that train the new recruits..and if any officer does not come up to the required standard they are out regardless of colour..and things have tightend up and all bad pennys are found out eventually..

[mullein1]

and secondly black officers do not lower the standards that is offensive..and my other half brings lonely old people home and gives them a meal and helps the elderly in his spare time..so that is a lot more than some of the scroungers around do..neither us or my husbands parents have ever had any benefits at all..and neither has our daughter she works and pays for everything she owns..also sometimes we have arranged to do something or go somewhere and my husbands leave has been cancelled..so its not exactly the nicest job with the shifts that are antisocial..and not knowing if you are coming home on time..its not as much fun as people think..and people are counting the days till they retire..we are also in that situation counting days..and as for the pension well let me tell you we pay about �300 a month into that sometimes more..so its not as though you get something you havnt paid in for..and then their are all the insurances..i think people think its paradise being an officer..my other half missed his grandsons christening as he couldnt get the day off..so dont tell me its a great job..

[acw]

I wasn't suggesting that black officers lower standards.  I'm just saying that if you get two applicants for the same job, and they are both equally qualified, then I don't care if the green person or the blue person gets it.  If they are not equally capable, then the more csapable one should get it. 

But it IS true that at the moment it's harder for white people to get a job in the police at the moment. 

I'm really not meaning to be racist, I assure you. 

I'm getting out of this - I've had enough crap this week for my views on racism,. 

[acw]

PS - If of those two candidates, the black person (or Asian, or any race at all in fact) would be a better police officer than the white one then OF COURSE they should get the job, 

Quotas, however, are insulting to whites, and totally patronising to non-whites and are very dangerous for that reason. 

It's the same in many areas outside policing and it leaves people resentful. 

[mullein1]

i agree with you that it should be equal for people of all races..unfortunately they have a recruitment target to meet of ethnic minoritys which they rarely meet as ethnic minority either dont want to join or if they do a large percentage leave early..it can be difficult for police officers from ethnic backgrounds as their own people dont wish to know them..in our case we are ex raf so we are used to mixing and living with all sorts of people so when my other half gets ignored or racially abused by the west indian community he just ignores them..i believe their are good and bad amongst all races and all proffesions..doctors ..dentists..priests..vicars..politicians..police..solicitors..you get bad pennys all over the place..their are waiting lists all over the country to join the police..they are only allowed to recruit what the home office says they can.and they certainly could do with some extra..but it comes down to finance..