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What is happening with the police?

(18 Posts)
Foxygloves Fri 19-May-23 10:54:49

Phillip Schofield’s brother worked for Avon and Somerset Police (12 years for child abuse)
Wayne Couzens - Met officer guilty of murdering a young woman alone at night
Colleague in the Met Samantha Lee made appalling mistakes on his flashing case - which could have got him off the streets
And now this

A 95-year old Australian woman with dementia is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after being Tasered by police at a care home.
Have we not progressed since somebody said
quis custodiet ipsos custodes - who is in charge of those (supposedly) in charge?

maddyone Fri 19-May-23 10:58:47

Quite worrying isn’t it? Although the police in Australia have no bearing on British police. On the whole though, I think our police are pretty good.

Theexwife Fri 19-May-23 10:59:44

There are over 200,000 people employed in the police force, you will get a small percentage of criminals in any large number of people.

Only criminal or inappropriate behaviour is reported in the press, not the majority that does a good job.

Foxygloves Fri 19-May-23 11:03:32

maddyone

Quite worrying isn’t it? Although the police in Australia have no bearing on British police. On the whole though, I think our police are pretty good.

That’s why I didn’t specify “our” police - there are rotten apples everywhere but I also wonder about training, maturity and common sense.

NanaDana Fri 19-May-23 11:11:53

Not wishing to minimise the individual, horrific betrayals of public trust, but I honestly feel that the vast majority of our police force will be equally if not more appalled than we are by what a small minority of their colleagues have done. Nevertheless, some recent revelations by undercover investigators have shown that there is still fairly widespread and apparently accepted misogyny in certain areas, and the link between this attitude and subsequent sex crimes against women cannot be discounted. Inquiries/investigations are ongoing, and we need to see a positive outcome from them.

Shelflife Fri 19-May-23 11:32:45

I am appalled at what happened to the 95 year old in Australia!! Of course I recognize this is no reflection on the British Police. However to taser a 95 year old who was using a walking frame and carrying a steak knife beggers belief. Obviously I don't have the full story but such an extreme measure was unnecessary.!!! No one could possibly believe that a police officer could not ' disarm' this woman with one hand behind his back! Her family must be so distressed, full investigation on had I hope.

Shelflife Fri 19-May-23 11:33:22

In hand !

AGAA4 Fri 19-May-23 14:12:25

I think the few bad apples are being brought to the top of the barrel now and we are hearing more about them. I believe they have always been there hiding in plain sight.
There are many good police men and women and maybe their only mistake has been not drawing attention to these mysoginists.

AGAA4 Fri 19-May-23 14:14:29

Misogynists!

TillyTrotter Fri 19-May-23 14:24:42

There are indeed a minority of bad apples in any barrel but I agree with AGA.
How we attract anyone into our police force puzzles me when they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t in lots of cases.
I believe most want to serve the public and make a difference.

3nanny6 Fri 19-May-23 14:37:15

I certainly think the police have their work cut out for them these days. You only have to look at the news these days and every single morning there is another stabbing or gun crime that has happened. It is a dangerous job to be in many officers have been injured.

In regard of the serving officers that have been caught doing terrible crime for instance Wayne Couzens and he is only one of many although his crime was horrific however several of his fellow officers knew or at least had some idea that Wayne Couzens was certainly someone that should have been investigated even before the murder of Sarah Everard.
It seems that things are certainly going wrong within the police force.

I watched a clip on the news several days ago about an 11 year old boy and he was on some playing fields but there was a tip off he had a knife. At least half a dozen officers or more surrounded him and told him to drop the knife but he would not. In the end the officers told him they would taser him if he did not comply. He was just standing alone and an officer released the taser on him to take him down.
I think policing has come to a serious place where officers could find no other way to get this boy, tasers are debilitating and painful and I have heard of several people being tasered
and ending up with some sort of paralysis surely some other tactics could be used.

TillyTrotter Fri 19-May-23 14:44:13

If that boy with the knife had got away and stabbed say 6 people willy nilly as some have done when the state of their mind is unbalanced, would you still be of the same opinion 3nanny?
The police have to make split-second decisions as an incident unfolds.

3nanny6 Fri 19-May-23 15:29:57

I know what you mean Tilly and like I said the stabbings these days are terrible, only this morning I was listening to how young men are waiting outside schools and stabbings have happened before police arrive.

In regard of the eleven year old boy I mentioned he would never have got away as there was already about 12 officers slowly surrounding him but a taser was released possibly to save time and get him into custody.

In the past I would never have believed that the police could never be at fault but too much true and factual information lately has come to light of the wrong-doings by police and we know there has been problems. In the end that is why Cressida Dick resigned she knew the Met needed a complete overhaul and she was not up for the job.

TillyTrotter Fri 19-May-23 17:34:49

It does seem over-zealous of the police in the case of the 11 year old. It seems our schools are no longer safe spaces for children and how do we change that?
The Met has to redeem itself in the eyes of the country as something there is very, very wrong.

3nanny6 Fri 19-May-23 18:04:22

Yes I agree totally with that.

BlueBelle Fri 19-May-23 18:20:44

I m afraid after the Tories decimated the police force then in a panic had to try and get the numbers up all the usual standards were dropped and the police force is now a much more motley crew than it used to be when it was run almost on military lines
Standards have dropped hugely, police call youngsters ‘mate’
I ve seen a pc with tattoos up his neck/ big bushy beards/some overweight and not that fit None of these physical things makes them bad people or bad officers but you should have higher standards so they stand out as a body of authority not
a ‘mate’ I think in desperation they have let all standards drop and that may well be life style standards as well as honesty and proper living standards and it’s a shame as I m sure there are many honest upright officers doing a hugely difficult job
I do wonder about the training too

Jaxjacky Fri 19-May-23 19:20:13

I don’t see anything wrong with beards or tattoos BlueBelle if the police are to relate to the public, a large number of whom have both?

Callistemon21 Wed 24-May-23 23:38:39

A 95-year old Australian woman with dementia is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after being Tasered by police at a care home

I have just heard that she has died from her injuries.