To think the IOPC have to be some kind of joke…

[Bex5490]

I’m two episodes into Channel 4’s To Catch a Copper.

So far no police have been ‘caught’ or given any consequences for their actions.

AIBU to think that the police should be held accountable by someone other than, their friends in the police?!

It's a truly shocking programme.

I do love that female chief constable. She's definitely using this exposure as a way to pressure for change.

That first episode where the officer was 'I was all upset so my penis kind of fell into this vulnerable drunk woman. I couldn't help it '. I mean ffs. I was raging angry. And he got away with it 😮😠😞

I mean honestly!!!!

And his wife defending him. Unbelievable…the recording of her voice was so sad when she was saying she didn’t want to bother because she definitely wouldn’t be believed…

Fast forward 4 years and she’s been made out to be a predator in a court and told that her abuser is retiring on full pay.

Shocking!

Just watching now and furious about the woman on the bus. The 'knock out some feds' was clearly her putting up a tough front to her friend on the phone, not a threat to the officers. They missed so many chances to de-escalate. She didn't want to go to school in a police car - say, OK, I totally understand that. Let's get you a refund of your fare and get you off the bus as we can't let you ride this one right now. Do you have the number to call the school to let them know?
And then she said she was going to get off the bus - so let her off. That was the goal. Why escalate?
And then when the ridiculous number of offices piled in, as she said, 'I can't go anywhere, let me go' they should have stood back, let her up, stopped terrifying the child.
And that shit investigator who said she was using the baby as a shield - in a situation where you feel threatened or scared, you are instinctively going to grab your baby to keep them safe!
Argh.

The investigations on there are not IOPC, they are the forces own Professional Standards. The male shagging in the police car was horrific, but I don’t agree with you about the lady on the bus. She scared her own kid by getting lairy, and she escalated it. She wasn’t calming down for anyone.

My thoughts with this were that none of them thought to just get off the bus.

She wasn’t going after them physically. What were they worried she was going to do? Shout or break something on the bus?

Surely that would be a better option than risking injuring a toddler.

Plus - regardless if she was escalating it - it’s the police’s job to deesculate surely.

This. I've seen amazing examples of Police Officers who can deescalate. And then there's some who aren't fit to do their jobs.

The programme is a real shocker. I cant believe a jury found that police officer not guilty in the first episode. And not only was he able to take medical retirement he was also on full pay whilst being investigated and waiting for trial. Shocking.

I am torn about the woman on the bus - yes the officers could have handled better to de-escalate but her behaviour was appalling, hostile and questionable. Why did she get her child out of the pushchair? I couldn’t make sense of her actions.

I really felt for guy who had an aneurism too. I bet following on from that revised guidance has been issued. At least I would like to hope that is the case.

As a senior leader in a school, I have parents coming in and shouting at me for all kinds of things.

But if my first response was to threaten them with social services, I’m pretty sure I’d get the same response as the officers on the bus.

The female officer on the bus was absolutely useless.

There was no need for it to have escalated, had she had the brains to not whine her up.

Ffs saying she’d give her and her DD a lift to school in a police car!!

There were shops outside, she only had to get the woman to get some change whilst the bus waited.

And as for the policeman that couldn’t help himself rape the drunk girl because of his depression and got let off, is just unbelievably staggering. He must be laughing his socks off on his full pension.

What’s a sobering thought though….if that guy with the aneurysm had just gone home to sleep it off…he would probably have been dead. I don’t think the cops were wrong for not suspecting it - 9/10 prisoners claim chest pains or thunderclap headaches….they know it hits the PACE clock while they’re sat waiting in hospital and they know it takes at least one cop off the streets. But the Custody Sgt should have 100% let him see the duty HCP and I’m really puzzled why not.

The lady on the bus was asked repeatedly, calmly to get off the bus. Those officers didn’t have a clue what she might be carrying/have ingested etc etc. in those sort of instances they can’t win, risk getting hurt or just let her do as she likes? She was a Breach of the Peace and needlessly delaying the bus for other people.

I've watched this and can't believe how many have got away with shocking behaviour towards the public/colleagues.

No wonder trust in the police is so low. I think the statistic mentioned on the program was only 1 in 10 women trust the police. Later on the Chief Constable admitted that one of her own friends said that if she was driving alone on a country road and a police car flashed her to pull over she wouldn't.

Not seen the programme, but it reminded me of other regulators that have too cosy a relationship with those they are expected to regulate. Think the water regulator for example.