PC Plod

[Cronkilla]

I was speaking to a PC yesterday who i see a fair bit just plodding around the estate. Speaking with him it seemed being on the 'beat' is of no real use. He spends much of his time doing nothing but walking and talking to old dears. It just seems a waste of man power to help keep people at ease when really they could be put to much better use investigating real crimes and not trying to prevent. This just may be my area of course but its still something to think about.

Also i had a strange thought of putting asylum seekers in the role of a PC getting them to patrol instead. They could have little powers to arrest and call for help(much like the civilian volunteer police force). Just my 2 cents.

[spitz]

Beat police are an anachronism, to be able to prevent crime there has to be some degree of respect for what plod stands for and a level of fear of what the beak is going to hand down.

Police react to crime they don’t prevent it.

[Tab]

Walking the beat is mainly a public relation exercise, but they can just by chatting to people pick up a lot of information.

[Blue Streak]

Each year the government sets national priorities set on Police performance from the previous year and obvious strategies to combat crime and increase public confidence. Last year there was a national pole to see what the public most wanted from the Police. The overwhelming result was a high visable Police presense. Thus the reason why the Police are trying to return to foot patrols in order to reassure the public and prevent crime.
Simple really but like with all things we rob peter to pay paul and often high vis patrols do not achieve results that you can put on a graph!

[Jason The Argonaut]

He spends much of his time doing nothing but walking and talking to old dears. It just seems a waste of man power to help keep people at ease when really they could be put to much better use investigating real crimes and not trying to prevent.

As Tab said it's public relation's, which these day's is lacking, I think the police need to cut down on the paper work. Then they would have more time on there hands to investigating real crimes. I think that more police men need to be put back on the beat, then instead of solving the crime they can prevent it. Just my 2 penny's worth.

[nbforrest]

forgive my lack of knowledge, but you have different types of policemen over there? and, are they all still unarmed?

Sorry about not knowing.

[Sticky Blue]

NBF, we don't have town and county and state police like you do. Each county (read state in the US) has its own police force. They are all the same but a differnt cap badge... I'm sure Blue Streak or Black Rat will correct me if I am wrong. Some police are armed but the majority are unarmed. I'll leave it to the plod to explain it properly but this is how the public see the police structure I suppose.

[Whitey]

Sticky,
Are your police rough? I mean here some of ours are and some aren't, depends on the area, but I guess what I'm saying is do your cops beat people often with their night sticks? In California before Rodney King, everyone feared the cops. Now places like Houston are places you don't want to run into a cop on a bad day.

[kwew]

whitey if you believe the press over here you are sometimes lead to believe that our police are rough and do hand out there fair share of beatings but again if you believe the press its mainly ethnics and blacks on the end of their boot. I think its a case of if they resist arrest or have injured a police man or a vile crime (peadophile) then your going to get a few well placed kicks in the kidneys.
I dont know what the police are seen as in other areas of the country but in the birmingham area they are not feared or respected, they are just there, if you understand what i mean.

[Blue Streak]

To answer some of the posed questions there are 54 Police Forces and officers are all unarmed bar specialist units. All forces have there own insignia with ER 11 in there somewhere. To answer the last couple of points its not actually a question with a definative answer. Police officers mirror the public unsuprisingly in that ever officer is different in there own way. To a point officers will fight fire with fire so if someone plays up they get hurt (pain compliance, technical saying) but even though it would give great satisfaction sex offenders rarely get touched as they aren't normally big and brave and don't want to fight the world. The advent of CCTV has made it hard for officers to get away with public assaults so in the maon they have stopped. Its amazing how some officers will take abuse all day where as some will plant you across the bonnet of their car and arrest you for even the slightest disrespect. In my opinion forces tend to be rougher the further north you go. Notts Police l know are particually straight with people where as smaller rural forces tend to like talking about things and tend to be a bit pink and fluffy. I know a few West Mids officers and l wouldn't want to fall out with them, l don't think unless you have upset them you quite know what they are capable of doing.

[Sticky Blue]

Whitey, some of the police will hand cuff you and beat you with a rubber hose... if you ask them nicely Well, I knew one who did and she was a right cracker as well.
The police over here, on the whole, are good eggs and doing a job (as with everything there are good and bad apples though). They have to deal with some of the dregs of society (junkies, pervs etc). They are always wrong because most people who have anything to do with them are offenders or would have been offenders had the police not shown up, therefore the police are wrong. I was pulled by the police in a random stop, I didn't have my papers on me and a young 'Special' started giving me a hard time. I tried to explain why I didn't carry my papers and then she started to lay into me big time. I put up my hand and said "excuse me" and walked over to a full time copper. I explained to him that our car had been broken into 3 times and that was why I didn't carry my documents... she came over and started the "Oy, I'm dealing with you", the senior officer took her aside. When she came back she had been given a large dose of attitude adjustment and actually called me sir for the first time. I asked the senior officer if he could deal with me and that I would produce my documents at the local nick, he cracked on and off I went. Before I left I explained to him that I did not like the 'special's' attitude and he said he would be having a few more words and be watching her.
What I suppose I am trying to say is that it is about attitude. If you jump out of the car and start giving it "Why are you stopping me, you should be out catching real criminals!" they are going to get upset and rip the car to pieces, wouldn't you? I know I would.
Our police, at times, are as frustrated as we are. When we got burgled the copper told the Mrs (I was away in London on duty) exactly what to do and said "We won't catch them and if we do they deny pinching almost everything apart from the things they are caught with. I'm sorry love, we know who it is but by now they will be out of town and have passed the stuff on already. We can't just go round there and search without good reason. Make sure you claim for everything, no matter how small because there will still be things you miss off the list and won't remember until a couple of years time". He was right as well; I went to put a CD on the other night and it was not in it's case... it was still in the stereo the baskets pinched and I forgot about it. I never liked that CD all that much anyway!

[Whitey]

Our cops aren't too bad. Our Highway Patrol is tough, but restrained, but our local cops in the town will beat you silly if you give them an excuse.
I saw a cop in Oklahoma Rodney King beat a guy for pissing in the parking lot. It was funny because the guy he beat was running and pissing in himself.

[Wholley]

I can only speak for the Sheriff's Dept in which I served.
County Sheriff's are elected every four years,which keeps them accountable.I served under a remarkable man who has been re-elected three times.As for the Old Bill on the Street in the UK,I believe more and more are armed.
No,I'm not getting into Second Amendment things here.
I believe that there are"Horses for Courses"and an armed British population would possibly be a bad idea."ear Nigel did that 'urt much then?"No? OK let's try the 357.
Wholley.