state of british policing

[frankthring]

Just back from a quick trip to Blighty, where I usually spend the first 24
hours in a state of culture shock as I wander the streets of London.
Times definitely are a-changing in so many ways....Picking up a newspaper
I read with horror that to cut inflation the police are closing stations just
about everywhere. In particular I noted that Greater Manchester Police
have announced that only 1 station in the whole city will stay open for
the public....while Hampshire Police ask you to phone in and "discuss"
your crime problem while they decide if its worth investigating ! Dear God!
What a country to live in ! I am surprised you guys aren`t marching on
Whitehall ! No one loves the police until we need them, but sooner or
later we need them...I think this state of affairs in the UK is criminal ! Do
you agree ?

[frankthring]

I should add that in Manchester I meant to say only one station would
stay open for the public 24 hours !! Sorry for that error !

[BeestonBoy]

Hey

Sorry but what is the point of them being open at all,when the courts and the prison service are such a fucking joke.

Whilst back on these shores,spend a bit of time watching some of the two dozen or so 'Cops with cameras' style shows that are on. At the end of them all,they give you a run down of the so called punishment the culprit has recieved. After you have watched a few of these you will notice one alarming fact. Hardly any sod goes to jail. Always seems the same,suspended jail sentance,ASBO or community service.

Fuck knows how most Plod can get out of bed most mornings. Must be bad enough spending your days knee deep in the scum of the Earth but to seem the constantly walking free from court must be soul destroying....well if it wasn't for index linked Pension of course.

Then when some one does actually get sent down,we get storys like these





The whole thing is a fucking joke mate. Next time you fly out of here,do your self a massive favour. NEVER come back

Cheers

BB

[wayne]

While it would be helpful to have more police the problem is far deeper, its the the system have to work witihn.

[David Johnson]

I'm not sure when it happened, but we seem to have moved from the concept of preventatitive policing with police highly visible out on the street to one in which for theft cases, for example, the main role of the police is to provide information supporting your insurance claim.

As a result of the current government's "efficiency savings" (cuts in spending to you and me), a lot of counter staffing at police stations has closed down. This is a very retrograde step because if nothing else, being able to go along and speak to police allowed you to give them some hassle if they were dragging their feet.

The replacement system seems to involve a phone call to someone based god knows where in which it is your responsibility to provide all the info so they can fill their forms in.

Cheers
D

[Von Boy]

Th British police "problems" are really just a case of lack of movement in evolution.. working on the county lines is so dated... it adds costs to just the basic bottom line...the duplication of costs around the nation is unbelievable...mini empires for the chief constables etc. add then a federation that defends bad officers as well as good ones... ACPO and all that stuff really is an "old boys" club which no government can or dare break up.

The British public wanted a police SERVICE... NOT a police FORCE....that was changed in 1999 by Mr Blair etc.

Here in Switzerland (arise David Johnson) most of the federal police are ex army and don't really get involved with the community but boy when they turn up you know some serious shit has happened or is about to!! The local police chat, help people across the streets etc. and build up a re pour with locals. The British would not want a military style national force ... or would they???

[Jonone]

How about this ?

[RoddersUK]

Well I want a police force back, not a police service.

[Ned]

The only time you ever see police in numbers in my city, is when there's a football match on. I travelled to London yesterday around the time away fans were due to be arriving here by train and there were dozens of police around the station and its approaches. Usually you're lucky to see one or two, usually with a PCSO in tow.

There's actually a police station right beside the rail station and yet I've never seen a copper around there before yesterday

[planeterotica]

At the recent students protest in London 4,000 old bill policed 1,000 protestors, it was well over policed as they got caught out on the previous students protest, they just bring in reinforcements from other forces which is ok but what if riots break out in every major town and city in the country, the thin blue line would then become very thin...