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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think the police are useless?

353 replies

RainbowsAndCrystals · 01/10/2017 22:43

In my 20s I've been around many people that have had bad experiences with them and say how useless they are.

Something happened to me a month ago and it was caught on cctv.

Firstly the police said I had to get the evidence myself. So I had to ask around for cctv ... very difficult when people don't want to be involved and you're someone with zero authority.

Now a month later and they still haven't bothered to look at the footage.

It's so disheartening and almost like they have sided with the criminals.

OP posts:
zippyswife · 03/10/2017 18:59

Karma indeed.

I worked in child protection for years doing things that would make you heave and frankly give you nightmares. All with the best intention to keep children safe. I’ve never treated a victim of crime with anything other than respect- even under the toughest of circumstances. But yeah I deserve to be treated like crapConfused.

You’re entitled to your opinion. Here’s a Biscuit to go with your cake.

grannytomine · 03/10/2017 19:32

So why are so many serving officers - good ones I assume - in this thread dismissing everyone's experience of some of their crappier colleagues or screaming 'cuts' as an excuae. Cuts have not made individual officers, rude, racist, lazy, sexist or corrupt.

Well I'm retired so I suppose I have perfect 20/20 vision like most of us do in hindsight. Cuts haven't helped though have they? I have to be honest though and say lots of people get bolshy with the police, like when they are stopped for speeding or drunk driving. They get mouthy and the officer may or may not reply in kind, either way he is likely to get complained about. Of course the driver never understands that people like them kill people so it isn't at all unreasonable that they are stopped. I like to be fair and there are two sides to every story, personally I have seen many, many officers going out of their way to help people.

It rather depressingly confirms what I've always suspected, given the stark choice between protecting the public or covering for one of their own, most cops even so called good ones would prioritise the latter.

Not my experience if I am honest. I got investigated by the complaints department once, full on under caution with a DI. My offence, well a convicted criminal got out of prison and came back for the property that was taken off him when he was arrested. When we went though the items there was a piece of string missing so he complained and I was investigated the same as any officer would be. Didn't feel like anyone was covering up anything for me. I so wished I had checked his property bag before I handed it over and just found a bit of string. I actually think a ridiculous amount of senior officer time is wasted investigating equally ridiculous matter. I worked with officers who were turned in by colleagues and off the top of my head I know two who went to prison. No one covered up for them.

grannytomine · 03/10/2017 19:34

Of course one saying is that society gets the police it deserves. Maybe something to think about?

BoysofMelody · 04/10/2017 08:33

Of course one saying is that society gets the police it deserves. Maybe something to think about?

And that is buck passing and a gross abdication of responsibility by the police and a crap excuse for not getting their house in order.

Still not a single officer can explain why the cuts, whilst obviously impacting on staffing levels, have made individual officers corrupt, racist and lazy?

Pop24 · 04/10/2017 08:50

Well those who voted Tory may deserve no public services but the rest of us don't. What I've taken from this thread is that the police seem universally crap but cutting them to the bone is terrible for public safety, law and order. They deserve to be funded properly to do the job they need to do, like schools, the NHS ect. How come the police are not more vocal about the cuts? They really should be shouting about it as it puts the public at risk!

doubleshotespresso · 04/10/2017 08:58

^^
THIS in spades

SleepingInYourFlowerbed · 04/10/2017 09:39

They are shouting about it. No one is listening or hearing (apparently). The media don't care about it, they'd rather slag the police off like everyone else. Google "Cuts have Consequences".

Oh and they can't strike unlike the NHS and teachers so it's not reported on.

grannytomine · 04/10/2017 10:10

They have been shouting about it for years, anyone remember Theresa May giving the Federation a cringeworthy lecture a few years back when she was Home Secretary?

Fenellapitstop · 04/10/2017 10:10

Currently morale in the force I work in is so bad at one station an entire shift has resigned. Professional standards do come after us, and hard for any misdemeanour. I am a response officer, I love the job, the most important thing is to try and make a traumatic incident less painful for people. Cuts are having severe consequences. When I started a decade ago we would turn out 16 a shift, 12 on a short one, now we are lucky if there's 5 of us. We are trying so hard. The call centre staff who used to do the crime recording have been reduced too, so we do it, soco has been reduced by 2/3, crime is becoming more high tech, so much involves the internet but we've had no actual training on how to deal with it. No one I work with I would consider corrupt or racist but there is a kind of 'brotherhood' that you will have each others back because on occasion people do actually want to kill you. I've been there it's scary and with these cuts your back up is far away.

thecakefairy · 04/10/2017 10:13

Of course one saying is that society gets the police it deserves. Maybe something to think about?

What does this even mean?
So if I go to the police with a chance of injury or even death to myself and my lovely children, and they don't help me, preferring to be rude to me, belittle me and threaten me, I'm getting what I deserve?!

WOW! Yes, certainly something to think about!

grannytomine · 04/10/2017 10:14

Still not a single officer can explain why the cuts, whilst obviously impacting on staffing levels, have made individual officers corrupt, racist and lazy?

The cuts haven't made anyone corrupt, racist and lazy but they have made it harder for the good officers to deliver the service they want to deliver.

People in all walks of life are corrupt, racist and lazy so it is hardly surprising that you will find this in the Police. Some doctors are the same, some social workers, some teachers.

I can say hand on heart I have worked with officers who were corrupt (both in prison) racist and lazy but they were vastly outnumbered by the ones who were hard working, not corrupt, not racist and committed to delivering a good service.

grannytomine · 04/10/2017 10:20

What does this even mean? It means as a society we have to be prepared to pay for the level of service we want, we can't do it on a shoestring. If you want intelligent, dedicated, physically fit officers then don't offer them poor pay and poor conditions and understaffing.

Starting salaries are just over £20k a year obviously more in places like London, remember no unsocial hours payments and the public spitting, swearing throwing punches at you.

BoysofMelody · 04/10/2017 10:52

If you want intelligent, dedicated, physically fit officers then don't offer them poor pay and poor conditions and understaffing.

Okay, so not paying enough is now an excuse to be rude, racist, corrupt, sexist etc? More abdication of responsibility. If they whacked another 5k on the starting salary these problems would disappear?

Starting salaries are just over £20k a year obviously more in places like London, remember no unsocial hours payments and the public spitting, swearing throwing punches at you.

Really? Criminals don't knock off at 5pm and that if you work in a law enforcement agency, you have to deal with people breaking the law? Who'd have thunk it? Next you'll be telling me vets have to deal with animals.

For what it is worth 20k for a trainee level post with no formal qualifications needed and with the prospect of progression, a pension and security isn't that stingy.

SleepingInYourFlowerbed · 04/10/2017 11:29

If anyone really wants to see what it's like, you don't need to join or become a special. Just ask for a ride along. A lot of police offer this and it can be eye opening.

thecakefairy · 04/10/2017 12:09

Why would we need to do a ride along or join the specials?

I took the decision NOT to join the police force but I have still experienced appalling treatment by them.
I don't need to ride along or be involved in any way to know that is wrong!

I'm seriously wondering what you think the rest of us do for work? It's not the only job.

My eyes were well and truly opened the day I called the police for the first time and realised that they were well and truly against me (as a victim of crime). At this point, they hadn't even had to do anything apart from talk to me!

SleepingInYourFlowerbed · 04/10/2017 12:16

I was clearly meaning what the cuts have done if you read my previous post. And it was aimed at those asking how cuts have affected the police. Read the rest of my posts before you get angry at me. I have clearly stated some of the police are shit.

zippyswife · 04/10/2017 12:26

sleeping Cake isn’t going to change her/his mind about the police being shit. So I wouldn’t waste your energy on it.

Fortunately I have found this opinion to be a minority. I actually commented to a colleague the other day how the general public seem to have been really empathetic and understanding when we tell them we are unable to progress investigations.

I’m in the midst of leaving the police anyway. So at least that’s one more shit officer got rid of eh?Wink

Kazzyhoward · 04/10/2017 12:32

If anyone really wants to see what it's like, you don't need to join or become a special. Just ask for a ride along. A lot of police offer this and it can be eye opening.

As said upthread, I was a special for 5 years. I had intended to join the police force full time and did the specials to see what it was like. The regulars I had to work with put me off very quickly but I kept on doing it as a hobby, but after 5 years and having to work with some pretty lazy, horrible people, I resigned in digust!

SleepingInYourFlowerbed · 04/10/2017 13:14

zippy yes, I got that impression!

People may note that I said "if you want to..." so clearly I'm not talking to people who have no interest in doing so (or already have).

thecakefairy · 04/10/2017 14:42

Is this opinion a minority though?
It may be if you take into account the whole of the UK but it wouldn't be if you only asked people who had been victims of crime and had reason to call the police to support them.

When my ex local force used to post on Facebook their latest news, there was a group of people that you could guarantee would be there kissing butt saying 'ooo, you're so great' and 'we appreciate everything you do' and it was obvious they had never had never been a victim of crime and had needed the assistance of the police.

Even if there was an outside chance that they had been a victim of crime and had received exemplary service, how come they had and other victims hadn't?
Do the police pick and choose who they are going to be nice to?
What criteria do they use to decide?
I don't know why you can't understand why I'm so angry about this?
My home, my car, my mental health were all destroyed by a lack of support from the police.
Absolutely no reason for it.
It wasn't as if I was a criminal or I'd done anything to provoke what had happened.
I just asked for them to please make someone leave me, my family and my neighbours alone.
People got hurt, lost their homes and were made extremely ill from the situation.
Despite there being enough evidence, witnesses and enough laws which covered the behaviour, the police just decided to make the victims feel like shit.
They only stopped when they got found out and someone extremely high profile got involved.
Like I mentioned previously, it wasn't just one or two officers. It was one after another, after another.

JustHope · 04/10/2017 15:11

I’ve had 3 occasions where I needed to call the police. On each occasion they arrived in minutes and dealt with the situations amazingly. They were courteous and reassuring and I really couldn’t ask for anything more. Having heard all the negativity I had quite low expectations and each time I’ve thought, perhaps I was just lucky but 3/3 I cant fault them.

NeedsAsockamnesty · 04/10/2017 15:18

I haven’t read the whole thread. But I did want to post before doing so.

In 2011 9 police officers saved my life. Without them I have no doubt at all that I would be dead.

Following that they also went to great lengths to gather enough evidence in order for me to use our court system to protect myself and do so for the rest of my life.

I also have daily contact with other officers who spend their days protecting other women from exactly the same thing and they also do there best each and every time to assist with further protection.

So no I don’t agree with you

Jux · 04/10/2017 16:53

THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOME BAD APPLES. Whether it's the police, nurses, teachers, doctos, civil servants, social workers, shopasistants, plmbers, electricians, carpenters..........whatever sector you're in there will be some people who simply shouldn't be there doing whatever.

In the past, the good ones outnumbere the crap ones, so whatever it was we generally got a good service. Now we don't. In some sectors that's because the bad ones know a good thing when they see t and don't move on, while the good ones et demoralised and stressed and end up leaving. Then there are more bad ones left - who are sticking with it because they don't much care about giving good service, but do care about getting the dosh and the pension and the other secondary gains (bigging it up down the pub, for instance).

That is why we get the service we deserve. If we cut staffing levels down and complain about the loss of service, we lose more and more staff. If we retained the salary but increased funding so that more staff can be employed, we would get a better service.

Kazzyhoward · 04/10/2017 17:00

If we retained the salary but increased funding so that more staff can be employed, we would get a better service.

Or the slackers and corrupt could be sacked and the money spent on honest, hard workers instead.