Should female coppers be expected to patrol alone?

[booklooker]

I'm watching far too much daytime telly.

Most offenders are young male, a lot of them will easily be able to (or feel that they are easily able) overpower a female copper, doesn't that put them in a position of danger.

[HeyMacWey]

I don't think male or female coppers should patrol alone.

[TheCrowFromBelow]

Came to say exactly what Hey said. PCs should patrol in pairs regardless of whether they are men or women.
It's a dangerous job.

[MsMermaid]

I have a friend in the police. She would be very offended if she was treated differently to her male colleagues. I think most police officers patrol in pairs anyway, which are sometimes mixed sex pairs and sometimes same sex pairs. Police officers are trained to deal with criminals, and are aware of any dangers, so it would be patronising in the extreme to say female police officers can't patrol alone if their male colleagues can.

[Xenophile]

Police should patrol in pairs a) because it's a dangerous job and b) to prevent miscarriages of justice.

[booklooker]

As I mentioned, I am watching too much day time telly.

I have no 'stats' to talk of. But it was stated on the prog I am watching

[Pestilence13610]

Our local police only patrol in pairs.

[Floggingmolly]

Surely they're all supposed to patrol in pairs? Nothing "feminist" about it; they all have partners, it's how it works.

[gillybeanz]

I think if they need to be in pairs it should be irrespective of sex.
So 2 men or two women together or mixed etc.
I don't think it's fair to pair them up just because they are women, it can be dangerous but we are equal and no special requirements should be needed.
It would end up employing 2 people to do one job then and not a good use of resources.
So yes, if usually paired, no if they aren't.

[SpeakNoWords]

They should be in pairs regardless of sex. I have a family member who is a police officer and they are regularly patrolling on their own which makes me very nervous for their safety. I know they don't like it either and would rather be in a pair, but they don't have the numbers to do so all the time.

[MrsJayy]

Dd patrols in a pair sometimes with a man or woman surely they all do it is a safety thing you really have been watching to much TV

[sausageeggbacon111]

I recently had to deal with two police officers, the lovely Sargent who knew exactly what she was doing and a thick as two planks PCO who had to be told how do a simple task allowing the sarge to put a tire straight on a wheelchair. The PCO tried to tip great aunt forward out of chair rather than tipping back. This highlights an issue I have with PCOs who seem to think they are real officers.

[SpeakNoWords]

Because all PCSOs are the same?! On the basis of one that you've witnessed. And what has this got to do with whether police officers should be single or double crewed?

[Xenophile]

PSCOs here are fucking lovely, and help to run one of the most awesome Twitter feeds of any police force ever.

[NowSissyThatWalk]

I'm a proud feminist female police officer and agree with a pp about being a bit offended at the idea of having to be crewed with another officer at all times.
Of course many males that I come across are stronger than me but the fact is it's not a fair fight, thank goodness. We have PAVA ('CS') spray, full PPE, batons and if all else fails the good old panic button on our airwaves which guarantees any officers in a 5 mile radius will be at your side in 5 minutes flat.
Female PC's (or WPC's as they used to be and sometimes i still get called and pisses me off no end) weren't armed until the 70's despite being sent to the exact same jobs as male officers. Luckily the home office realised this and we are now as armed as anyone else in the job.
Of course in an ideal world we would always be double crewed, and most of the time we are, not just for protection but because one officer may lack a certain crime skill that the other has and vice versa.
Sadly with the cuts at the moment and how thin the numbers are on the ground it doesn't always happen.
We all have to pass the same fitness tests (bleep test, strength, push/pull tests) so so long as you can pass those you are deemed fit and strong enough for patrol and I actually scored higher in my strength test than two blokes but I won't mention that

[MrsJayy]

Dd is strong mentally and physically there is no reason she couldnt do her job because she is a woman it is ridiculous to think women need protected at work just because she is a she.

[SomeDaysIDontGiveAMonkeys]

Was going to say what Hey said as well.

[booklooker]

NowSissyThatWalk Wed 03-Aug-16 22:12:27

I have a heck of lot of respect for you and your colleagues of any gender. Please do not think that my OP was in anyway doubting your ability. I really was just fielding opinions

[NowSissyThatWalk]

Not at all Book, thank you for your support