How can we trust the Police?

[icelolly12]

From the Daily Mail:

Other comments and content shared in the group referred to disabled people as 'mgs', travellers as 'ps' and people of east Asian heritage as 'c*s'.

Mr Hobbs further detailed comments Thomas made about Officer A, a junior female officer who was assigned to their team for a period of time, calling her 'f ugly'.

In a separate conversation, Thomas suggested to the WhatsApp group that he name his dog 'Auschwitz', 'Adolf' or 'Fred' or 'Ian' after 'my two favourite child sex killers'.

Elsewhere, Thomas referred to a black Police Sergeant being disciplined as 'the biggest threat of him ending up back in chains,' the hearing was told.

Referring to a 'blind man' who once boarded a train he was on, former Police Thomas wrote in the chat: 'Poor c*t I hate the thought of being blind. I would prefer being in a m*g scooter for the rest of my life.'Mr Hobbs explained that what Thomas meant in his reference to a 'm*g scooter' was a wheelchair."

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11776595/Met-police-sergeant-racist-jokes-Katie-Prices-disabled-son-Harvey.html

How many misogynistic nasty power wielding Police are out there? I feel sick reading some of that article.

It's taken decades for people to believe what black people, the disabled and working class women have been saying. The police have been shit for a long time and I was taught not to trust them and I have taught my kids the same.

WHY? Lots of evidence from people I know and talk to of how badly they have been treated. Lots of personal experience since the age of 8. Nearly everyone I know has some negative experience.

But until this avalanche of evidence recently and high profile murders and rape nothing real had been done before.

I'm sure most were like Comedycookand simply did not believe what minorities were saying. Some people still won't believe.

I try to think the best of people but they are making it jolly hard.

Good luck with whatever comes next for you

I have a family member who was pushed out the police 20 years ago, I never really understood why he left after a couple of years when he tried so hard to get in in tthe first place. As I grew up I learned he hated the culture and wouldn’t join in (were talking tough mining town) and got caught drink driving the morning after, which was weird because he never drank that much. Pieces have fallen into place since. He’s exactly who you would have wanted in the police. When I got myself into a difficult situation as a teenager, he reassured, helped and was a hell of a lot less judgemental than anyone else.

I have never fully trusted the Police because of the issues around stop and search/racist policing.

I now feel I have close to zero trust in them.

What has been uncovered is disgusting.

Not a lot of people would say this @Comedycook. Hopefully now that this is all coming to light, something may change within the toxic culture that is pervasive in the Police Force. I hope so.

My old colleague joined the police. She left after 9 months. She reported bullying from fellow officers who deliberately gave her bad advice when she asked a question. They refused to even acknowledge her when she said good morning because they hated all of the new recruits. She was told to hang on for a few more months and then she could ask to transfer to a different area. She decided holding on wasn't worth it. More than 3/4 of the people she went through training with decided to leave by the time she did.

I knew they were awful to people who aren't white. It wasn't until the Sarah Everard vigil that I realised how much they hate women in general. I've met some lovely male police officers, but as an institution we absolutely cannot trust them.

DH is a copper and despite knowing that NAPALT because I'm married to the gentlest man I know, even he would tell you it's misogynistic, racist etc at an institutional level. Like @Herewegowithanotherchange it's killing him. He's given 17yrs to it and can't bear it any longer. He knows what it's like firsthand. Yes, individual officers who are bloody brilliant and the ones you want on side, but at every level, you've also got people who should never, ever have been given the power to even do a paper round and that poison is insidious.

Worked with someone who was filling in time until he could apply to the police, having been rejected once before. He was one of the most idle, misogynistic, passive aggressive men I’ve ever had the misfortune to work with. The young people on the team refused to be rotaed alongside him. Us older women weren’t bullied, but hated shifts with him. I wouldn’t trust the police.

I knew someone who joined the met and boasted of racing round the M25 late at night (2000's) high on coke and speed. I wouldn't have wanted to meet him down a dark alley.

I was arrested for being drunk and disorderly in my youth. Had the clothes off my back cut off (because I resisted - I mean who wouldn't?) and left shivering and naked in the cell. There was no reason for that - I wasn't even that drunk, it was the girl that I was with who was the problem, she was chucked out of the club and I went with her as a good friend should. To add insult to injury they chucked an obviously unlaundered jumpsuit that was HUGE

at me to wear

(pressed too soon)

Its not confined to the UK either . My uncle joined an garda siochana (the Irish police force) and he left fairly quickly , he said it was corrupt and that he couldn't support the behaviour of his fellow officers. They have similar issues in the US too . People like that just seem drawn to positions of power .

This is one of those interesting posts.

Teachers and doctors don't have the level of licence police officers have. Could one of them get a women into a car late at night to rape and murder? I doubt it.

And I don't actually know that the vast majority are OK. For this amount of racism, sexism, violence and hateful speech to be going on, many more people must be sitting back and doing nothing. If someone in a hospital or school repeatedly called people those names, someone would report it and it would be dealt with. In the police, it appears nothing has been done for decades. In my work, people don't say anything approaching this.

There's something rotten in the culture, not the specific individuals. I mean FFS it's been known for decades that DV was really high in the police. That speaks to something we are doing wrong in recruitment and training.

I've met wonderful officers. But do I think they apply the standards I would to my colleagues? No, I don't think so.

I've never had good experiences where the police are concerned.

An older retired police officer admitted to me that in the old days, they used to manipulate the evidence if they knew with certainty that someone was guilty of a crime, but the evidence they had would not stand up in court.

A younger police officer (semi-friend) who boasted to me about arresting a guy one night and placing him in the police van, where they kicked the shit out of him, just for the fun of it.

I was once driving along a road, and unbeknown to me, my 5-year-old niece in the back of my car was laughing and pointing to a police officer driving behind me. I got pulled over for apparently speeding, even though I was driving the same speed as everyone else. It then became clear he had stopped me because he did not like my niece's behaviour and accused me of encouraging her actions as a sign of disrespect. When I disagreed with him, he threatened me with a speeding ticket unless I apologised. TWAT.

Horrific some of the incidents on here - glad they are now being weeded out of the force.

I've had 20+ years and our force must be doing something right - our team is sound, no issues at all with bullying, misogyny - if there was I'd be happy to call it out. I've called out other issues with procedures in the past regardless of rank and it would do it again.

Our whatsapp group mainly concerns who's bringing the milk in. We don't have rainbow cars, lanyards. We don't wear pin badges, Ukraine badges, poppies etc We don't align ourselves to any charities

It’s really refreshing in a way to hear things like this from police officers/ their spouses. It gives me some hope that things could possibly change. One of the biggest issues with the police is their refusal as an organisation to admit there is an issue at an institutional level.

There was another thread recently in which 3 or 4 rather aggressive posters went at anyone criticising the police, giving it the whole it’s one or two bad apples stuff and kept going on about bad doctors and teachers and refusing to see why the police is a more concerning issue.

I also agree with the poster who said it’s affecting white people now so it’s become more of an issue. I admit I am guilty of that. It’s one thing to know that non-white people are treated differently by the police, and another to understand some of that fear.

@Felix125 - Out of interest, are you a white man?

Sadly not surprising that a male dominated job like this harbours and allows these despicable attitudes and behaviour from some to be tolerated which is unacceptable but will take a hell of a lot of unpicking and fundamental change. That said I dont think it applies to all police officers, I've had to engage with them following sexual assault and they were all lovely, supportive and took me seriously. But I more than believe others negative experiences and everyone of course deserves to be treated like I was but sadly aren't and again that's in no way acceptable and until it is the case then it is hard to trust them.

@Herewegowithanotherchange ex cop here too. Agree with everything you say. Good luck with your next move.

I flipping dislike them, only a small minority of them aren't power hungry narcissistic bully's, I have been assaulted by police 'simply doing their job' when I was going through some personal difficulty. So I'm glad people are starting to wake to them and their bully tactics.

It's such a shame all the decent police can't stand together and get rid of the arsehole ones.

There are too many officers not willing to inform on their colleagues for whatever reason. Even staying silent whilst wrong things are being said is part of the problem.

I’m a cop. Over twenty years and until recently proud to be one.
I now work in the department responsible for investigating cops.
Ive seen a massive change in the last year, months and weeks.
Individuals no longer accepting misogynistic behaviour, sexism and a whole host of other abhorrent behaviour, we have seen a wave of reporting by colleagues and the public.
And thank goodness, it is going to get a lot worse before it gets better, as we kick those stones over and drag those undeserving of holding the privilege of office out once and for all.
I can only say I’m embarrassed, but determined to double down and hunt them out.

Statistics are highly dependent on the integrity and accuracy of collection, analysis and reporting. It is very clear their is a culture of turning bind eyes, burying complaints and forcing out anyone who dares challenge the culture. So you may trust the statistics but I don't, nor do I see how anyone with even a modicum of critical thinking ability can either.

I am also stunned beyond belief at the recent revelations about the lack of proper background checks, either as part of the recruitment process or periodically during service. How can they possibly allow people to hold a role with so much power and potential for abuse or corruption without proper screening? They can hardly argue they aren't equipped for it either! That is incompetence on a jaw-dropping scale and is simply inexcusable.

I feel sorry for those decent officers who are being tainted by the actions of the bad apples. However, as the police themselves like to remind us, they police by consent. If they truly believe in that principle, they should not only expect but welcome public scrutiny, and swingeing criticism/sanctions when merited. Without that scrutiny, and meaningful corrective actions, the whole concept of policing by consent is a farce.