Speaking up for our Police

I totally applaud the police for what they have to do to protect the public. Of course there are sometimes bad apples or even those who make errors of judgement but they do a very difficult job. I wonder how those that continually dish out criticism would manage in a similar situation.
I lived in a country for a number of years where the police were corrupt and it was better to avoid them at all costs. I would hate to see our police force changed. Be careful what you wish for.

Well said Gajahgran ?

V3ra congratulations on your sons determination. He made it in the end. Good on him!

trisher have you ever lived overseas or spent any length of time in a foreign country apart from short holidays?

You may find some appreciation for the style of policing in this country if you had.

Fennel

Maybe I shouldn't be surprised, but there are so many female police officers in our area. We had 2 of them come to speak to our old ladies group (Good old Days).
Both in full gear, drive a police car with all the gadgets etc. Definitely female. I hope they never have to restrain a big burly man.
I hope they've been taught self defence tactics.

I’m amazed that anyone would think that women officers are not trained in exactly the same way as their male colleagues. A few self defence tactics won’t get them far when they’re deployed single-crewed to an emergency call. If you’re surprised that women officers wear full gear, and drive a police car(!), it must astonish you to know that some also pilot helicopters and carry guns. The days are long gone when they kept their handcuffs in a shoulder bag, and were expected to make the tea for the lads and do the typing until there was a lost child to comfort!

I have several family members who are police officers. One is a 5’ 2” woman, who has dealt on the front line with many dangerous, even potentially life-threatening, situations, disarmed knifemen, been deployed in full riot gear, been attacked and spat at, and brought down and restrained many a big burly man. I’d have thought the list of female police officers who’ve been killed and injured in the line of duty bears testament to the fact that they are full and equal partners to their male colleagues.

You' are right Maggie I'm really out of touch about that.
I didn't realise.

I hope I didn’t sound sharp there, Fennel, I was just surprised by your post. I know my female officer wouldn’t want any special treatment, but I certainly wouldn’t want to do her job.

And it did surprise me the first time I saw her demonstrate how easily she could take down her partner. Not half as much as it surprised him though.

You may find some appreciation for the style of policing in this country if you had.
Callistemon would you like to tell that to the people who lost relatives at Hillsborough or the miners who are still fighting to get an inquiry into what actually happened at Orgreave. The same police force are connected with both incidents.
I have no doubt there are individual police officers who bravely and steadfastly behave impeccably and make great sacrifices. That actually makes it worse that there can be within the police a culture which sometimes oversteps the mark and triggers disrespect in ordinary people who would usually regard the police as their allies and totally support them. I'm surprised you don't realise that.

Like most people of my age I grew up with a healthy respect and appreciation of our police force. Two incidents that I was involved in, several years apart, gave me reason to disrespect the actions of some police officers and since those initial experiences I have come to a greater understanding that not all policing is without prejudice and some actions are taken to the detriment of the whole force.

Currently I have three close family members serving in the police, I run a charity that has incredibly helpful and committed police officers and PCSOs who participate in our liaison meetings and my wonderful colleague is a retired police superintendent. I know that there are many officers doing a fantastic job under difficult circumstances.

However, there is no room for complacency as there is still vast room for improvement. The incident recently that Futter mentioned is a case in point. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jun/28/black-teenager-on-family-cycle-ride-injured-during-aggressive-police-arrest

Did she use a rugby tackle Maggie ? .

Thank you Sparkling for this thread. I absolutely agree with the points you made; the police need far more appreciation and support.

Fennel

Did she use a rugby tackle Maggie ? .

She wouldn’t have had room for that in our front room, Fennel. It was very quick and neat. One minute he was standing, the next he was on his face on the floor with his arm up his back. I might ask for a quick tutorial, in case DH gets out of hand.

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Maybe they should use that in rugby (if they ever get back to playing matches.)
Sorry - getting off the point of the thread.