A policeman in the supermarket ,would you do this?

If the good outweighed the bad, there would have been the recent MET sackings, before the panorama investigation. The Nowak case wouldn't have happened. Couzins would have been suspended. Hillsborough wouldn't have happened. All of the incidents that have led to barring wouldn't have got that far, the bad apples would have been got rid of sooner. That's without the ridiculously high rate of DV by serving officers. The Police are doing a essential (at times) job, but they aren't to be fully trusted.

Where do you live that misbehaving in the supermarket is a prison offence?

Some people are just thick, it's no more complicated than that

Well people should be able to see police as someone they can turn to for help.
I was always bought up to believe it, but when we needed help from the police they were beyond useless.
I’ll never trust the police to help again.

I wouldn't bother. It seems everybody is determined to ignore the first bit of what he said and act like he actually said 'Look, a policeman, AKA 'the filth'. They go around nicking people at random for no reason so never trust them. Come on, let's go and get you that ACAB tattoo on your forehead I promised'.

They didn't, the explained the consequences people can face when "naughty", which is a word they can currently comprehend.

its like saying if you dont behave the Baba Yaga will find you etc

It's a stupid thing to say to a child.

A lot of posters are saying that children shouldn't be told such things as they should be encouraged to see police officers as safe adults.

Whilst I'm not entirely sure that is the case in certain police forces any more, I'm more concerned that parents are telling their child that if they are 'naughty' some completely random stranger is going to take them away from their parents and family and lock them up in a strange, scary place called 'prison'.

I was a shy, sensitive child. If my parents had told me such rubbish, which they never would have because they were neither stupid nor cruel, it would have haunted me for months.

I'm assuming the child the OP saw in the supermarket was quite young and maybe children nowadays are more worldly than I was, they probably are, but surely that's a very cruel thing to tell a small child you're supposed to love.

I think the police are absolutely amazing and fantastic.

If you fear the police that says more about you than them, and quite honestly, your paranoia and anxiety about the police is not healthy or normal.

There are bad apples in every profession.

no I would not do this

this was often used as a threat in the 70's. my friend (she does not have children) said it to ds once I had to turn it into a silly joke and tell my friend to no be so stupid

100% this. Don’t bring up your kids to be scared of the police. They may need help one day.

Ok??? The parents aren’t worried about their children committing crimes though. They are wanting them to not run about or mess about or whatever child behaviour they find “wrong”

”naughty” is such an outdated word. Most kids aren’t naughty. They just act like kids. Hence why majority of kids all act the same!

You seem surprised by this, havent you heard it before?

Quote routine for chavvy patents

I think it’s quite sad. I’m not a fan of police as an overall force however, children should know who to go to if they’re scared/lost etc.

When we saw a police officer in wandering around a shop we explained to DS that the uniform meant she was police. He immediately started talking about bad guys and getting arrested (he was 3) so we made a point of talking about how they can help if you’re lost etc.

I saw a post from one of the police forces online telling parents not to do this. Kids should not grow up fearing the police, they should know that they’re there to call whenever something bad happens and they need a friendly helpful face.

Parent was probably feral in a vest

I had that when I was on tills at Sainsbury's ("the lady will tell you off!") I was tempted to point out im soft as shite and won't be telling anyone off

Ask an older lady for help

Is there no nuance in the world? Do you really give kids zero credit for having a day-to-day relationship with their parents and having a mite more understanding of what they say to each other? Maybe your kids are a bit slow, but I agree with @dizzydizzydizzy that kids are generally sharp enough to understand this stuff without being as OTT as some people here. It reminds me of Douglas Adams' advice about writing for Doctor Who - "make it simple enough for the adults to understand but complicated enough to hold the children's attention."

Me too - ooo look we will have to behave ourselves 😄 then give a cheery hello to the officer

Cases like that are rare and unforgiveable which is why they make such big news. What would you tell your child to do if they were lost?

Sadly they were not safe adults if you were (are?) a working class girl being serially raped by a majorly Pakistani rape gang.
Otherwise, yes, they are a safe adult as long as they are in uniform.

I've said stuff like that to my 7YO and we have a laugh about it. Maybe this parent has a similar relationship. I'd never say it to genuinely worry her though - she sees the police as trusted people to go to if she needs help and loves waving to them.

trusting the police worked super well for Sarah Everard didnt it?

I hate this stuff. I've seen parents saying it about waiters and shop staff too. One woman told her 3 year old son that the waiter would put him in a cupboard if he misbehaved.