Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Covid

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

To be losing all respect for the police?

114 replies

GroundHogDay01 · 11/04/2020 17:12

Earlier this week a man was being told he cannot sit in his front garden. Now we have a man being threatened to be pepper sprayed for absolutely no reason.

The public are going to lose faith in the police. My DH was being racially abused once and a couple of officers just walked on by.

I think the police need a huge shake after this. It’s not good enough to be issuing apologies after they’ve been caught bang to rights doing something wrong

Thoughts?

OP posts:
HeIenaDove · 11/04/2020 19:58

Rough sleepers. You mean homeless people.

Polly02 · 11/04/2020 19:58

Today felt for the first time as if we are now living in a police state.

BeetrootRocks · 11/04/2020 19:59

I think there's an effect where of you're dealing with criminals anti social behaviour etc day in day out it can be very easy to develop an us and them mentality, with them being anyone not in the police.

Oh yes another met one. Protests a few years back and a man died, Ian someone? And they lied about the circs of that as well. Many had taken their ID numbers off before going to the protest. Dodgy as all fuck.

BeetrootRocks · 11/04/2020 20:00

Rough sleepers and homeless people are not the same group.

Most homeless people do not sleep rough (and are invisible from society).

GroundHogDay01 · 11/04/2020 20:02

@Polly02 I agree with you. If a police officer stopped me & threatened to arrest me for buying milk, I’d encourage them to do so, I can’t imagine the shame the PO would feel matching me into the station for going out to buy milk

OP posts:
Peapod29 · 11/04/2020 20:03

I’ve not lost respect for them really, as I never had it in the first place Wink. Half joking, I think the majority of officers are very dedicated to carrying out their roles properly and I’d like to think most forces now are doing the best job they can under the circumstances. But this has shown what some of us who have had the misfortune of dealing with police corruption have always known. Given half a chance there are forces and officers who will act like a group of thugs, and a lot of police officers are not very intelligent.

hoodathunkit · 11/04/2020 20:03

Where were you on or around the 14th June 2017? It was community who came together to support those affected by the Grenfell fire.

No I wasn't there. I did know someone who died in the fire.

Your point is?

hoodathunkit · 11/04/2020 20:06

Rough sleepers and homeless people are not the same group.

I am aware of that.

Most homeless people do not sleep rough (and are invisible from society).

Yes indeed. I was homeless when the fire happened, which is why I ended up where I am now, hundreds of miles away from all of my friends in a completely different part of the country.

BeetrootRocks · 11/04/2020 20:07

Hood I was responding to Helena who said

'Rough sleepers. You mean homeless people.'

Not you.

hoodathunkit · 11/04/2020 20:09

BeetrootRocks

Apologies

Flowers

feeling rather stressed at the moment

going to take a break from this

Flaxmeadow · 11/04/2020 20:12

The officer said “the virus doesn’t stop at your garden” which means she thinks it’s like smog and simply doesn’t understand how it is transmitted,

To he fair to the officer there are a number of scientific studies coming out that say that is exactly how the virus can spread. Some are suggesting that the 6ft distancing rule is too short and that it should be 16ft.

Our local Police bragged on their Facebook at the people in my mostly middle class area had been given stern talking to for jogging

Middle class liberals can be awkward though. The posh "I know my rights" types, like the annoying woman who refused to move on in Richond park. Have a chip on their shoulder but never understand that in working class high crime areas most people respect the police, who are working class themselves. Even some criminals do in their own way.

I come from a mining community. It was the same during the miners strike. Miners and the police would clash yes and have a punch up, but then it was over with, but the middle class activists would be bragging about hating the police and always whining but the miners rarely joined in with that kind of visceral drawn out hatred.

One or two have been confused over the restrictions and it got blown up by the media, like the PPE shortages as well, but no I haven't lost respect for the police

Something I am losing respect for is mumsnet. There are just so many posts by people encouraging others to go against the restrictions on here now. It's a real shame because it's a good forum usually

BeetrootRocks · 11/04/2020 20:13

Hope you feel better hood it's a tough time Smile

Flaxmeadow · 11/04/2020 20:17

...and if you think our police force is bad. I'm just watching a Sky news report at the moment about South Africa. The police there are beating people with sticks and have killed about 8 or 9 people. Even firing rubber bullets at protesting nurses

Overtime2019 · 11/04/2020 20:26

If that's the same video that is going around on Facebook the police were in the right as even though it was the man's garden he told the police that he was visiting his friends house so the police weren't really to know that he was lying

PicsInRed · 11/04/2020 20:27

To he fair to the officer there are a number of scientific studies coming out that say that is exactly how the virus can spread. Some are suggesting that the 6ft distancing rule is too short and that it should be 16ft.

Their job is to enforce the law as it stands, not to proscribe previously acceptable behaviour based on nothing more than amateur studies of scientific research papers.

If they don't understand the difference between law and their own personal opinion, job centre for them.

VivaLeBeaver · 11/04/2020 20:36

Many years ago when I was a police cadet we had a briefing from the shift sarge at the start of every shift. So a handover of what had occurred recently, anyone we were looking for in particular, any priorities for the day, etc.

With such a massive, new thing surely all shifts will be getting briefed at the start on the new legislation. Which suggests to me the person who is briefing the officers on the ground is giving out duff info, possibly there’s a few individuals getting carried away but when police forces are tweeting about patrolling the non essential aisles and chief constables are talking about bag inspections I suspect the duff advice is coming from the top.

BeetrootRocks · 11/04/2020 20:41

The growing idea that we should not mention xyz because it's worse elsewhere bothers me.

Not just on this topic but many others.

There is always someone worse off, so by that logic noone should ever criticise anything or anyone or any institutions or anything and that's not a good thing.

BeetrootRocks · 11/04/2020 20:43

'when police forces are tweeting about patrolling the non essential aisles and chief constables are talking about bag inspections'

But where have these ideas come from? Why are they being mentioned? It's miles outside any crime etc

And in areas where before this they didn't attend actual crimes it feels like a bit of a kick in the teeth tbh

Flaxmeadow · 11/04/2020 20:43

amateur studies of scientific research papers

If you think recent studies by some of the best universities and scientists in China and Europe are amateur then I'm not sure what I can say to you.

Time after time scientists warn people just how contagious this virus is and time after time people still want to find loopholes as to how they can carry on as normal.

The first death in the UK was on the 5th of March. In a matter of weeks we are now approaching 10,000 and that's just the ones in hospital. But people still want to go out

BeetrootRocks · 11/04/2020 20:47

Flax I'm not sure what your point is.

Are you arguing that the police should intervene in non illegal behaviour (like playing in a long front garden) on the basis they may have individually read certain scientific papers?

OuterMongolia · 11/04/2020 20:47

My friend is a police officer. At the moment, she is very busy with a rise in domestic violence cases, also burglary of commercial premises as some businesses are shut.

She has been deliberately coughed on twice this week by members of the public claiming to have the virus.

I have massive respect for her and the job she is doing.

Ihopeyourcakeisshit · 11/04/2020 20:49

PicsInRed is absolutely right, it's about enforcing the law as it stands.
The ease with which officers are quite happy to aggressively make it up as they go along is very concerning.

Flaxmeadow · 11/04/2020 21:02

If a police officer stopped me & threatened to arrest me for buying milk, I’d encourage them to do so, I can’t imagine the shame the PO would feel matching me into the station for going out to buy milk

I think you're missing the point

There is a corner shop near me. One of my neighbours makes repeated visits to it all day long. He will buy a paper and milk in the morning, then he will pop in for a chocolate bar and a bottle of pop. Then later he will call in to buy something for his tea. Then later before it closes for some beers.

Every single time he goes in that shop he is increasing the risk, not just for himself but for everyone else in the community. I wish he would get fined and if he refuses ,get arrested. But then I suppose the media will be onto it and make it look as if he is some kind of victim, who only "popped to the shop for some essential milk"

BiBiBirdie · 11/04/2020 21:03

@BeetrootRocks I'm in Thames Valley police area. They are as bad as the Met. Absolute thugs and bullies
I had a woman who was literally causing so much aggravation for our family. To this day I do not know why. One minute we were good friends the next she was mounting a hate campaign so appalling my DP was too scared to drive past her home to get to the shops in case she made another false complaint to the police. The maddest thing was, she wouldn't speak to me about it. No. She decided to scream at my at the time 9 year old DD. Right up in her face. Several times. She volunteered in DDs school so had access to do so. At one point she pushed her into a wall whilst they passed each other in a corridor. DD reported it and she said DD lied and was bullying her daughter. Even DDs teacher said the woman was full of shit and refused to have her supervise in class around DD. We left as the Police nor the school would intervene. I was told by school as she raised funds she was their choice if I asked them to pick.
We then had her absolutely scream and abuse DD a year later at a village fete. We thought she wouldn't be at the fete as it was run by a local businessman who is openly gay, she had made various homophobic comments about him and his friends before. But no, one of her little mean girl troop text and let her know we were there and she made a point of screaming abuse at DD again. Right in front of me, DP, and lots of other people. I had enough and I told her, and yes I shouted at her to leave my DD alone, you sad horrible old witch. I told her no one wanted her at the fete, she had come to cause trouble and I was sick of it. She filmed me. I didn't get anywhere near her. Didn't raise any part of my body to threaten her. I did tell her to f off though. But who would blame me?

A week later I get police at my door. All manner of utter bullshit she has told them, all easily disproved. But when I told them, and had a huge file of paperwork to disprove every allegation I had had shouted at me by their officer, (after being told by him to expect a return visit for interview and they would be following it through to conviction, I rang and asked to voluntarily come in with my evidence. I was told by an different PC there was nothing suggesting I would be arrested and I had been due an advice phone call, not a stand and threaten me as loudly and as embarrassingly as possible on my doorstep visit) and backed it up with witness statements with their phone numbers- and many of these weren't people we knew but who were shocked at how she behaved towards DD, they still refused to do anything, later during my complaint telling me I was lucky not to be dragged to court for public order offences. When I made a complaint, and in response nothing was done- the officer who turned up at my door called me all manner of disgusting names but didn't have his body cam on- how convenient. They proceeded, despite my disproving all of her allegations of online abuse, to abuse the Anti Terror snooping laws and watch my online usage for a year. They admitted never finding anything that justified that but they said they felt it was in the public interest.
She meanwhile told people the police told her I was a danger to children. They've denied this but who knows.

It's been quiet for 2 years now, although she did try and cause shit for DD when her daughter ended up at the same secondary. Luckily we have a great Headteacher who told her in no uncertain terms she wouldn't tolerate it at her school. DD who has grown a pair also told the woman's daughter she wouldn't stand for it again either.

But in my view, and the only conclusion I can reach, is that the Police took it upon themselves to socially profile me- I'm low income, originally from a town which is seen as chavvy, don't own my own home. She meanwhile owns a big house and speaks posh.

I will never ever trust the police. They allowed a child of 9 through to 10 be abused and threatened by a grown adult, they allowed the same adult to shout all manner of shit around about my family. And who did they watch online and threaten with arrest on my doorstep, on the phone and by regular letter throughout? Me. Me who more than proved who was at fault. They even sent letters threatening me for allegedly writing something threatening online at a time another department was watching me online. They are truly thick and if you dare be a social group they rate as beneath them and you complain they will see it as legitimate to bring you down.

The woman, in the end, said nasty homophobic and racist things around the wrong people and is now the village outcast. So karma dealt with her. But the police should have, she wasted viral time and funds and they actively encouraged her at a time they were shouting how underfunded they were.

chomalungma · 11/04/2020 21:15

Being in the police must be very hard work. They face danger, abuse, have to deal with death and see some awful things. They put themselves in harm's way.

However - the leglisation isn't that complex. The reasonable excuses list is pretty clear - such as being in your garden, going to see vulnerable people.

I am glad that the police are being held to account. Their job is to police the law. I am glad they have body cams. I am glad that they can be recorded with cameras.

I do wonder how some of them are with certain groups in society. Especially when no one is there to see them.