following today's news...to say police should not be allowed to arrest women when operating solo

[RBKB]

Just that.... what tragic and terrifying news regarding Sarah Everard's murder. I am so angry as I gather the force minimised earlier reports of sexually deviant behaviour by this appalling man.

I have seen that she hadn’t and this vile monster used so called breaking of Covid rules as an excuse. Nobody on this thread is saying that women should not be arrested but if they do, they deserve more protection from predatory male police officers.

Even if she was breaking the law at the time (she wasn’t), it would have entitled a police officer to issue her with an on-the-spot fine. Not arrest her. Or rape her, strangle her and burn her body for that matter.

@Kindleswitchface

Are domino's drivers also not allowed to deliver single crewed to females?

What a ridiculous comment. Do Domino drivers have authority to arrest and detain people. Probably not.

Apparently in Scotland they are double crewed. Funny how many women seem to trust the police implicitly when their record suggests you shouldn't.

@Wannakisstheteacher

But Sarah Everard was breaking the law, was she not? So an honest police officer, on his own, would have had to let her go? We can’t have a situation where people breaking the law are allowed to go free because a police officer is alone, surely? Whilst one man is a monster we cannot limit the powers of the police on the assumption that all men are waiting on the chance to murder woman, out on their own.

She was walking on a road. Yes she had been to a friends house but no police officer would've known that. There were also a couple walking but nobody is suggesting they did anything wrong.

@YouMeandtheSpew

Even if she was breaking the law at the time (she wasn’t), it would have entitled a police officer to issue her with an on-the-spot fine. Not arrest her. Or rape her, strangle her and burn her body for that matter.

No I mean that whatever a woman has or hasn’t done wrong, there should be absolutely no reason why her safety should be compromised by being arrested by a lone male police officer. Whatever she did or whatever she’s a suspect of, she deserves that protection, no exceptions.

@LaBellina

Oh I 100% agree. I was just pointing out that the poster talking about arrests in the context of minor lockdown breaches is talking nonsense in any case. Even if she HAD been breaking the law (which as you say she wasn’t), a non-criminal police officer would have issued her with an on the spot fine. There’s no question of needing to ‘let her go’.

Some months ago a female officer in our police area attempted to arrest a woman. She ended up in hospital with serious injuries. Not every woman who is arrested is going to say “It’s a fair cop Guv’ you’ve got me bang to rights”. In the Sarah Everard case the question of the arrest protocol is irrelevant as I don’t imagine the criminal was consulting a volume on police law.

@Wannakisstheteacher

I’ve seen it reported that she had broken the COVID laws as it was during lockdown. Clearly I’m not saying that she deserved to be murdered (bloody Hell), what I’m saying is that you cannot take away the fundamental ability of the police to arrest someone whom they see breaking the law.

Where is anyone suggesting that? The suggestions are a) police get your house in order and b)have double crews.

We don’t have enough police on the streets as it is.

@Wannakisstheteacher

But Sarah Everard was breaking the law, was she not? So an honest police officer, on his own, would have had to let her go? We can’t have a situation where people breaking the law are allowed to go free because a police officer is alone, surely? Whilst one man is a monster we cannot limit the powers of the police on the assumption that all men are waiting on the chance to murder woman, out on their own.

This is one of the stupidest comments I’ve seen. The (off duty) policeman was not attempting to enforce COVID law, he was using it as a pretext for committing a dreadful criminal act against an innocent woman.

Yesterday 23:42 jcyclops

If I may add to the half-baked ideas - Police horses would have to be very strong if each had to carry two officers. Motorcycle officers could also ride 2up - which might also work for pizza deliveries“

Never seen a solitary mounted officer?

[quote YouMeandtheSpew]@LaBellina

Oh I 100% agree. I was just pointing out that the poster talking about arrests in the context of minor lockdown breaches is talking nonsense in any case. Even if she HAD been breaking the law (which as you say she wasn’t), a non-criminal police officer would have issued her with an on the spot fine. There’s no question of needing to ‘let her go’.[/quote]
My apologies if I reacted too harshly to your post. Glad we agree on this one

Do I want women and girls - vulnerable men and boys too - to have the caution and confidence to refuse to be handcuffed and put into an unmarked car by an unknown, possibly even plain clothed, lone male? To say 'I'm not resisting arrest but I am not going alone with you until I know for sure you are on official police business. I insist you radio for assistance'. To make a fuss, shout for help, attract the attention of passers-by or nearby shopkeepers or passing vehicles? Yes, I really do. This still might not have saved Sarah but I think the days of most of us trusting the police are over.

Sue Fish (previous chief constable for Nottinghamshire) on Sky News saying resisting arrest is an offence, but you should ask to see ID and ask them to call the control room in front of you.

It’s also reasonable to film the police and call someone to help you.

She was asked how often do police misuse their powers? Sue says it’s very common, we have a misogynistic police culture that attracts people like WC because of the power to be able to detain someone’s liberty from them. Officers using their powers on a daily basis.

Says every force should adopt misogyny as a hate crime. Low level concerns should be reported, as they currently aren’t. Colleagues realised something wasn’t right but it wasn’t acknowledged, so a wilful blindness.

Whistle blowers are isolated and marginalised.

Officers MIS-using their powers on a daily basis.

@BoredZelda

You want to change an entire nation's policing strategy because of one case?

It is important to remember this case, whilst shocking and tragic, represents one off duty police officer.

Cos people don't really care about women being murdered. They just want to attack police.

Women murdered several a week by domestic violence but people don't care and they not asking for things needed for that to stop.

Police saved my life. If I get murdered and why other women murdered usually is cos of abusive councils breaking the law and not enough money for domestic violence organisations and then cos not enough money some let women down.

People don't really care about women being murdered.

Apparently in Scotland they are double crewed. Funny how many women seem to trust the police implicitly when their record suggests you shouldn't.

Absolutely. Frankly, I didn’t know that before this hideous case and it’s been an eye opener. One of the things I’m taking away from this vile murder is that a male police officer is just a strange man with a car. A strange man with a car, who’s part of an chronically misogynistic organisation, and has a extraordinary amount of power.

Of course NAPOALT (Not All Police Officers Are Like That) but I’m certainly not trusting any male police officer implicitly from now on. I’ll treat them with the same caution I treat any other strange man.

In my old response team, on Nights we were all double crewed but Earlies and Lates always single crewed with exceptions for training/injury/wellbeing reasons.

did you have any who were nicknamed "the rapist" and had been done for flashing? This is the key point - the police letting this go on and closing ranks. Again. It's infuriating and yet the police are baffled why so many people don't trust them.

At least 16 acting or former police officers have killed women in the last 13 years.

Perhaps the officer is racist, so no single officer should arrest BAMEs.

A racist police officer shouldn't be allowed to even be in the police service, let alone arresting people, solo or partnered.

And this is the problem. It's that a guy with a reputation like this man, nicknamed "the rapist", was still serving in the Met.

@Kindleswitchface

Would you like to pay the extra taxes to fund the additional police officers required to ensure double crewed patrols? If yes, crack on.

YES

That’s not going to work. What if the woman is attacking someone, what if a woman needs detaining under the mental health act say she’s trying to jump under a train etc

@Resilience (sorry to tag you, this is not meant in a goady way)
Police officer here (not in the met).

How is the culture where you work? Do you feel safe with the guys? I ask because i was in the Army and sometimes it felt very unsafe when they were going off on one with the Bantz and looking at porn mags and then holding them up next to me and making comments while i was trying my best just to do my job. But anytime i tried to raise this kind of thing (there were rapes and assaults too, not among my friends though, that would have tipped me over the edge) with a senior (male or female) i was warned to drop it, it would end my career, I'd be shunned, sent to coventry and possibly assaulted.

To my shame i put up with a lot of the low level stuff, although i did manage to open my mouth to complain about some things that really went over the line and into outer orbit.

[quote RBKB]@CoalCraft this officer was off duty. She would have been powerless to check if his bodycam was off. The badge gives instant power. Which is as it should be...if the police root out and remove when they get warnings of an officer's clear dangerousness[/quote]
Don't want to derail your point but it's very obvious if a body worn camera is on or not-theres a big red light blinking. Of course lots of members of the public who don't have frequent interactions with the police might not be aware of this.

Using bwc properly would actually be a very easy and affordable (as most forces already use them now) way of providing security. There has been a lot of research showing complaintsagainst the police reduced significantly when bwc were used - largely attributed to people not making vexatious claims against police because they knew there would be evidence to disprove them but likely also officers monitoring and self-policing their own actions.

Not saying that we couldn't also have other, better procedures to protect everyone, nor that it would be fail safe (he could have got a fake camera) but enforcing bwc usage and making the general public aware of their rights and what police are/arent allowed to do would be a good and easily achievable first step.

Police should operate in male-female teams. No officer should be able to act alone. It's not safe for them either actually.
The problem is that the police behaviour is so unsavoury that the job has become unsavoury.
Teenagers are growing up being taught to hate the police, why would they want to join? So we don't have enough decent officers.
Our local police force has been in the news for allowing teenagers to be trafficked and raped. The same force has ran several operations taking valuable time targeting teenagers with electric scooters and them sideways scooters without handle bars (hoverboards?) Could we get our priorities straight? It just hits as bullying those without power rather than actually taking down criminals that ruin people's lives.