Ermm guys... do you feel that you are generalising a little bit here and quite possibly being a tad harsh?
I don't really know the full background of the incident(s) you are basing your comments on, but I work for the police and I know for a fact that there are some brilliant officers out there that bend over backwards to do everything they can in their powers to help members of public, no matter how rich they are or their colour, creed etc.
You have to bear in mind, as some have already said, that each incident reported is graded and naturally, the most serious one will be attended first and foremost (obviously depending on the Police resources that evening/day).
Unfortunately dark_shadow, on a Saturday night there tends to be an overwhelming amount of calls reporting loud music and people being drunk and disorderly. Generally, if it's a report of someone being a nuisance during a busy period, but there are no serious threats of physical harm etc, then the incident will be put to the bottom of a very long list. If numerous amounts of people call reporting the same guy though, then they will do their best to dispatch someone to the area to check it over, but once again that would all depend on the risk assessment of the situation and Police resources.
I do not know what you said exactly to the police on the phone, but if it was reporting loud music then they should have recommended you call the EHO to deal with the situation. Once again, I don't know what was said and therefore cannot really assess the situation fully.
chris_r said:
Yeah i love the police too, around the area they put kids in the back of cars for standing in gangs.
Ok so sometimes theres gangs with bats, scanners etc and there is police cameras on every street watching life, but they intimidate and harass.
In Southampton, I would say that 70% of crime/incidents reported are all to do with juvenile nuisance. Many of the "gangs" of kids we have around here are really intimidating to the public and, to be honest, a right pain in the backside as their past times seem to include driving scooters around pavements, knocking down walls, starting on people, thefts from vehicles and stealing from local shops. These "gangs" have therefore been given ASBOs (anti-social behaviour orders) which can restrict what areas they go into/how many people they hang out with and so on. So I wouldn't really feel that sorry for kids that get put in back or cars... the Police aren't doing it for a laugh, they will have a very good reason to do so.
Also, you have to bear in mind there is only so much you can do against these kids. They can be right terrors and the Police can arrest them time and time again and despite their best efforts, they will be back on the streets in seconds laughing. This is not fault of the Police. It's fault of the system, which allows kids to get away with murder. I've seen brilliant Officers break down to tears because they do everything they can to stop these muppets and the system lets them down every time.
mejinks said:
You're fogetting they are out chasing the real criminals, the people who drive!
Three o'clock in the morning and they are still ticketing people parking on double yellows down side streets. Maybe Im wrong and all the murderers and violent people have all been locked up and the only criminal act left is parking?
Once again, I don't know the full situation etc etc, but very rarely do I hear about Officers issuing vehicle tickets. Maybe it was a quiet night (there aren't murders here every Saturday night), maybe they were on the beat and were walking past, maybe it was a Special Constable as opposed to an Officer. I don't know. But I would certainly give them the benefit of the doubt prior to leaping on them.
As for traffic Officers... I'm not too fond of them either! I've never worked in their department and never will so I'm not quite sure how they tick!
danrok said:
I guess it depends on where you live. The cops would turn up in no time at all if you were a company director living in a posh area.
Ok, you may have a point but there possibly is a sensible reason for it. Each area is split into sectors. These sectors are allocated x amount of Police Officers. Naturally, the sectors with the highest crime rate/high risk areas would try to be allocated more Officers.
So imagine, you have one sector (Sector One say) with two Police Officers in a high crime area and another sector (Sector Two) with one Officer in a low crime area.
A call comes in to Sector One about a noisy drunk and disorderly person. The chances are the two Officers probably have a fair bit going on and may not be able to attend straight off, or at all.
A call comes in to Sector Two reference a person being drunk and disorderly with loud music. Chances are, that one Officer would be available, meaning they can attend straight away. (This is if that Officer has been able to remain in that Sector and has not been ordered to attend as back up to Sector One for a massive violent disorder).
Catch my drift?
The Police on the street are told where things are happening and at what grade the incident has been recorded as, and depending on what’s happening, they'll do their best to attend even if it means dropping an incident they're at. It's not their fault if they can't make it and they certainly don't cherry pick areas. Infact, most Police Officers I know like to be in the "problem" areas as opposed to the "rich" areas.
atpbx said:
Police are lazy and what effort they do make is misdirected by the incompetance and greed of the labour government.
I cant remember the last time i saw a "real" police man doing anything other than pulling motorists.
I've seen people being beaten up, stuff being vandalised and not a cozzer in sight.
Its not that long ago (1990) we were getting turfed out of the rose and crown by the pigs for playing pool instead of going to school in the afternoon.
Wow, you sound like you really love the work many very dedicated, hardworking people put their heart and soul into!
Firstly, can I advise, if you see someone having the pants kicked out of them, call the Police and I can assure you they will attend pronto. If you witnessed this and didn't call, other people might have done the same. The Police aren't from the Minority Report - they cannot predict when or where something’s going to happen. Once again, I don't know the full story so apologies if you called them a million times and they didn't attend - no excuse.
As for you being turfed out because you weren't at school... you deserved it! You should have been at school!
Ok. Well I know I'm going to get so much stick for all of this, but can I just reiterate that I do not know each individual situation, I'm only commenting from experience. Yes, some of you are probably 100% correct - I have dealt with many cases where I have seen Police Officers do the shoddiest investigation ever, if any. Some Police Officers are lazy. Some don't really give a flying monkeys how the public feel. Some are slopey shouldered. However, I would suggest that the vast majority of them are fantastic people who are constantly battling to help the public, fighting against the system which seems to frequently let them down. They always have people, very much like some of you, constantly giving them grief for all their efforts, and yet they still find a way to try and battle on. Until you work with them and see what they have to put up with and do, you should perhaps appreciate them a little bit more and realise that most of them are good and do everything they are able to do.
