[quote ohfourfoxache]@RIPIgglePiggle I’ve got a theory and I’d really appreciate your thoughts on it if you don’t mind
The police, like so many else in the public sector, have been treated like shit over the years. Not enough funding, not enough support, too much work. My theory is that the vast majority who are good at their jobs are leaving, so the concentration of “bad apples” - those who want power, or those who have managed to find a slightly cushy position, or those who couldn’t find a job anywhere else - is actually increasing
Therefore the reputation of the organisation spirals downwards, which leads to more good people leaving
It might be naivety but I can’t remember ever being scared of the police as a kid. But that might be white privilege.
What do you think? Could there be any truth in this?[/quote]
I think it’s more simple than that. I think it’s the availability of information now. Everyone is walking around with a camera in their pockets and they can film you and there is nothing you can do about it.
There’s probably always been wronguns. Only now you can film them and have it online straight away. Within hours it can be national news with millions viewing it.
And whilst I don’t mean this specific video sometimes things are taken out of context. I remember running down the street and jumping on a 12 year old boy. It would have looked awful if you’d filmed it. But he had jumped out of an upstairs window after threatening a family member with a weapon. We never hear about the context afterwards though, you just remember that clip.
There’s less deference to the establishment too, people are more willing to challenge and quite rightly. We should be doing a good job and we should be doing better in many areas. Yes cuts are a huge issue but they’re not the whole story.
There’s loads of specific issues but what joins them on violence towards women is that like the rest of society our attitude needs to change. Violence against women should be at the centre of our priorities. Not just lip service. That covers the not-rights in the police who hurt women and also the not-rights who are doing a rubbish job and letting them down as victims of crime. I could get on my soap box about what we can do better all day. But with recent issues in mind it’s our attitude about the place of women and girls in society that underpins many of the changes we need to make.