Rise in violence towards UK police

[PannickAtTheDisco]

Why just Wolves? What about West Brom or the Villa?

not as much howling from those two.

 

[Patientman63]

Where do you start with this...

I feel one of the problems (and there are many!) is the militarisation of the old "bobby" on the street. Stab vests, combat trousers and boots, utility belts, tazers, peaked military style hats, all dressed in black, gives them a very sinister look, and disconnects them from ordinary people, and that's without adding a gun. Certain situations will automatically get cranked up just by them showing up. I think it affects them personally as well, I think their own aggression levels are higher, they are pumped, which can infame even more.

The uniform thing reminds me a bit of riding a motorcycle. Ordinary riders wrap themselves in ridiculously expensive carbon fibre and kevlar suits and helmets, which makes a rider think he can't be hurt 'cos of all the protective equipment he's donned. It ends in tears. The clothes don't make the man, or the copper...

Get the Bobby on the street less aggressively dressed, and get more of them, would be a start

 

[Mazzarelli's Swiss Cheese]

Where do you start with this...

I feel one of the problems (and there are many!) is the militarisation of the old "bobby" on the street. Stab vests, combat trousers and boots, utility belts, tazers, peaked military style hats, all dressed in black, gives them a very sinister look, and disconnects them from ordinary people, and that's without adding a gun. Certain situations will automatically get cranked up just by them showing up. I think it affects them personally as well, I think their own aggression levels are higher, they are pumped, which can infame even more.

The uniform thing reminds me a bit of riding a motorcycle. Ordinary riders wrap themselves in ridiculously expensive carbon fibre and kevlar suits and helmets, which makes a rider think he can't be hurt 'cos of all the protective equipment he's donned. It ends in tears. The clothes don't make the man, or the copper...

Get the Bobby on the street less aggressively dressed, and get more of them, would be a start

Genuinely thought provoking post.

 

[bert38]

Where do you start with this...

I feel one of the problems (and there are many!) is the militarisation of the old "bobby" on the street. Stab vests, combat trousers and boots, utility belts, tazers, peaked military style hats, all dressed in black, gives them a very sinister look, and disconnects them from ordinary people, and that's without adding a gun. Certain situations will automatically get cranked up just by them showing up. I think it affects them personally as well, I think their own aggression levels are higher, they are pumped, which can infame even more.

The uniform thing reminds me a bit of riding a motorcycle. Ordinary riders wrap themselves in ridiculously expensive carbon fibre and kevlar suits and helmets, which makes a rider think he can't be hurt 'cos of all the protective equipment he's donned. It ends in tears. The clothes don't make the man, or the copper...

Get the Bobby on the street less aggressively dressed, and get more of them, would be a start

All very idealistic.

Stab vests are crucial-the modern gear far more practical than old style kit.

Custody Sgt would not in my experience have been wearing any of this-didn't really help did it?

 

[manclad]

Where do you start with this...

I feel one of the problems (and there are many!) is the militarisation of the old "bobby" on the street. Stab vests, combat trousers and boots, utility belts, tazers, peaked military style hats, all dressed in black, gives them a very sinister look, and disconnects them from ordinary people, and that's without adding a gun. Certain situations will automatically get cranked up just by them showing up. I think it affects them personally as well, I think their own aggression levels are higher, they are pumped, which can infame even more.

The uniform thing reminds me a bit of riding a motorcycle. Ordinary riders wrap themselves in ridiculously expensive carbon fibre and kevlar suits and helmets, which makes a rider think he can't be hurt 'cos of all the protective equipment he's donned. It ends in tears. The clothes don't make the man, or the copper...

Get the Bobby on the street less aggressively dressed, and get more of them, would be a start

Police uniforms have always been dark blue,so very little difference to black,particularly at night.
Peaked caps/hats have always been worn by traffic police as it is difficult getting in and out of vehicles with a helmet on.
As most policing is done via vehicles nowadays other divisions of police have followed suit. The original reason for "Bobbies" to wear helmets was to make them look taller and more imposing when on foot patrol.
My older brother-in- law was a copper from 1974-2004 and he wore a utility belt and military boots from the start. So nothing new there then.

 

[hilts]

We need a sea change in public opinion. Squadies used to have a bad name until Help for Heroes came along. Need a more positive public image. Bit like ‘Thank you for your service’. Mind you, they are not the only ones being given a hard time. All the emergency services are being given the assault treatment.

Not sure they have done me a service to be honest. police are normal folk some good most okay some bad. The job is hard and dangerous in a kind of no shit Sherlock kind of way. Anyway it can be made safer is fine with me.

 

[hilts]

This country is now virtually the only one in the world without armed police, and it's far from being violence free. I loved the fact we haven't needed them, but when you see tolerant, liberal countries' police all armed, and have been for decades, never giving them up, it does seem anachronistic these days.

Not read all the thread yet but will be dissapointed if we haven’t had the usual USA comparison. There is always one balloon that brings that up.

 

[Vic]

Can we change the thread title? I thought that on the day a copper has been killed, "rise in police violence" was rather bad taste. Violence against police...

 

[Kazzydeyna]

This country is now virtually the only one in the world without armed police, and it's far from being violence free. I loved the fact we haven't needed them, but when you see tolerant, liberal countries' police all armed, and have been for decades, never giving them up, it does seem anachronistic these days.

I personally know over 20 coppers - admittedly not a huge sample - and from that group with a massive variety of service length and experience between them 0% want police to be armed routinely. They also tell me that the figure amongst thir colleagues is circa 95% against being armed.

Our police are the very finest examples of our society, they truly are very special and very brave people.

 

[bluethrunthru]

Police uniforms have always been dark blue,so very little difference to black,particularly at night.
Peaked caps/hats have always been worn by traffic police as it is difficult getting in and out of vehicles with a helmet on.
As most policing is done via vehicles nowadays other divisions of police have followed suit. The original reason for "Bobbies" to wear helmets was to make them look taller and more imposing when on foot patrol.
My older brother-in- law was a copper from 1974-2004 and he wore a utility belt and military boots from the start. So nothing new there then.

Kris' contribution is interesting but yeah I go along with this - the minute you put the Police in just cars and vans the link to local populations was over. When housing developments were built the Police lived on them.

My Dad was brought up on Langley - two doors down was "the Police House" where a bobby and his family lived with a younger bobby as a lodger and added on the side was a small office - effectively a community Police station where people could pop in and speak to them - "share intelligence" as its known nowadays. All a bit Heartbeat I know and impossible now - they'd have their tyres slashed and windows put in every night - but taking the Police out of the community did for it.

The force we would need nowadays .....no fucker would pay for it. People cheered from the side lines as govt policy cut 21k officers ( note they don't ever mention how many back office staff have been removed btw? ) saying austerity was needed and we were all in this together but have continually wrung their hands as the operational Policing has been shown to suffer due to those very same cuts.