Do you respect your police force?

[ChaoticKraus]

funny thing is, the most racist ones tend to black. seriously, no joke. they're racist against other black civilians.

I have never even seen a black cop (IRL), so i'll take your word for it. I heard similar thing from others, weird how things work.

25% of the department I'm on is black. Both my partner and supervisor are black (not African american my partner's parents are from Barbados and dislikes the term)
In actuality in the united states the amount of african american officers is off. If it was representative of the us as a whole about 13% of all law enforcement should be black. As it stands (last I recall reading about it in an FOP newsletter) it's higher than that (I want to say it's like 19%).

So maybe it's just where you live?

The first statement about self racism. Yeah, I've seen more of that than anything else. It has to do with a 'if i can come from the same neighborhood as you and turn out fine why can't you? You're making us all look bad" thought process. I've seen all races do it though.

Yeah, i live in Sweden so that's definitely the case.

This also comes to mind
"And on the other hand, without a gun they can't get none
But don't let it be a black and a white one
Cuz they slam ya down to the street top
Black police showin out for the white cop"

From NWA's "Fuck Tha Police"

Oh and no offence to you, the law is obviously necessary to keep society intact and i'm sure there are plenty of good policemen. I just had some bad experiences. Then again i hang out in a couple of "high-risk" crowds so its kind of natural that they would be a bit suspicious.

 

[Shock and Awe]

My city is known for its crime and for the most part yes I do respect some of the officers. Mainly the ones who do thier jobs, whilst on the other hand I see many of them break laws. Some officers drive rather reckless and speed often, I think setting a good example would make thier lives just a tad easier.

Thats because they are responding to a call. Officers rarely put there lights on unless they want someone to pull over or they really need to haul ass.

 

[Stublore]

Since I generally obey my City, County, State and Federal Governments laws, I really have no fear for the Kansas City Police Department. most police officers I have spoken to are professional, courteous, and try to make their encounters with civilians as brief as possible.

that is not to say that there are not Police officers in my area that are not over inflated douchebags, I got pulled over by one the other day because I ran a stop sign in my neighborhood. my fault I admitted it, and he wanted to bust me for expired tags (I was driving home after picking the new tags up) a seatbelt violation (which was BS I was wearing it, and I took it off after I pulled over and disengaged the engine.) AND searched my car because I apparently looked like I was high on pot.

what did I do. after he wrote me a ticket for close to $500 I asked for his card and his badge number, and went to the judge. I got everything but the seatbelt thrown out paid 20 bucks, and that officer was suspended for bullyraging a pedestrian.

Defiance to the officers may be the rebellious thing to do, but I have had better experience busting them back through the bureaucracy if they step out of line.

Ah serendipity!
I was just watching a video on Youtube yesterday about what the police can and cannot do when they pull you over.Apparently the thing to do is if you have to get out of the car, lock the doors,. If the police officer asks to search the car tell them no, you are not giving permission to search the vehicle.
<youtube=eDJrQBwJpqk&feature=related>

On topic:
I'm from Ireland and generally view the police with mistrust.
Given the amount of corruption, brown envelope passing and the old boys network I'm under the impression that there are actually 2 laws, one for the rich,politicians etc and another for the rest.
I've called in an accident where a car overturned behind my residence, and it was 30 minutes before the police arrived, despite the fact that the local Garda station is less than a minute away at police speed!
Many years ago when I was a child my house was raided by police looking for guns, even at that age(I was perhaps 12 or 13), the search was pretty badly done, they never looked in the attic, nor under our beds, just stuck their head in the room.
Neither of those incidents, many years apart give me a good impression our police force.

However I think part of the reason for their perceived ineffectiveness is because many people don't report crimes because frankly it does not seem worth the hassle, as the police do not seem to care. The sort of crimes I'm talking about are people getting beaten up, and or robbed, burglaries, cars vandalised etc. Those who do report these incidents often have to wait for a long time for the police to actually turn up, and when they do beyond a cursory, "what happened here?", nothing official ever seems to come of it. And the police themselves often seem to resent being called to deal with such "petty" crimes, which is ironic given their apparent penchant for hassling "loiterers". The impression given is that they'd rather be in the station drinking tea and eating biccies!

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

They're a legitimate authority unless they've proven otherwise to me.

So yes, I respect them. That doesn't mean I aprove of all of what they do. But I respect them.

Do I trust them to keep me safe? Eh, not so much. That's why I plan to get a CC when I can.

 

[Last Hugh Alive]

I have about as much respect for the police as they show for me. Easy as that.

 

[ekkaman]

Not at all, F%^k'em.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

Not at all, F%^k'em.

I'm sure you'll sing a different tune, dear reader, when you need them. Trust me on this one.

 

[spartan231490]

I'm curious. Here in Britain, where civil disobedience is currently in vogue, we have a police force which, I think, isn't really trusted, respected or feared (I mean feared as in you fear the consequences of breaking the law - something obviously not present in our inner cities at the minute).*

I'd be interested to hear if people in other countries (I'm thinking particularly of you folks in America) feel reassured when they dial for the cops or when they see a man in uniform on the scene? Do feel free to comment if you also live in this ridiculous country.


*Don't get me wrong - there are many fine men in the service who do a difficult job to the best of their abilities, although I think they're hamstrung by excessive red tape, stupid health'n'safety regulations and general lack of resources. There are also many who are glorified bureaucrats. These are the ones that usally appear on tv as spokesmen

I live in America. Yes and no. Yes we fear the consequences of the law(for the most part), if you don't believe me, just think about how many people hit the breaks when they see a cop car, or shove their cell phone down below the dashboard. As for trusted, yes. At least a fair degree, we always teach our kids to look for police officers if they're in trouble and the like, so they're trusted. However, we have one of the slowest response times of any country around, so calling up the police isn't all that reassuring.

Then again, i would say that no matter where you are, Calling the cops=government sponsored dial-a-prayer

 

[Horkeldorf]

So I'm from Sparks Nevada which is basically a part of Reno. And no the cops are not as retarded as Reno 911 would have you believe. And I do respect the cops around here cause I know a few of them.

I was almost shot by some cops due to a little mishap involving airsoft guns though. Fun life lesson.

 

[godofallu]

If I am in serious trouble I can always call 911 and expect backup within 5-10 minutes.

It's nice knowing that they are there, even if I never have to use them. I think a lot of the people on this thread like to hate on police because it is "cool" but the reality is it is just childish and hypocritical to hate on the police.

I would love to see half these haters get robbed or beaten, and then watch as they dial for the cops as quickly as their little fingers can handle.

 

[MurderousToaster]

I live in Scotland, and I respect the police. I've never understood that "FUCK THA PO-LICE" sort of mentality that occurs a lot of the time. Yeah, there are asshole policemen, but the police do an incredibly important job within society.

 

[trollnystan]

Sweden here. I can't say I trust them too much. I mean I'll call them if I'm in trouble or if I see trouble but I won't count on them too much. Hell, a high ranking member of the police force was found with child porn on his computer. [pause for effect] ... YEAH.

 

[dancinginfernal]

Yes, although many of the cops in my town are absolute shit, I hold a large respect for the Police Force. So much so I earn insults by defending them.

 

[garfoldsomeoneelse]

I can't generalize them because they're people, like you and me. Some are good at their jobs, some are not. Some are reasonable and patient, others are ball-busters pursuing power. I've met my fair share of both, and from what I can tell, for every bad one there's at least one good one. Regardless, when I'm dealing with a cop, I try to be as courteous and unassuming as humanly possibly, because I don't need to antagonize anyone with the authority to bring criminal charges against me.

 

[TheAceTheOne]

Nope. I respect individual officers based on how much hell they go through and because they don't abuse their power, but being a cop does not automatically grant any more respect from me than just being a civvy.

I respectfully disagree. While you're right about individual officers being decent for certain reasons, I have to respect anyone who would potentially put their life on the line to protect and defend the citizenry.

Maybe it's also cause I kind of wanna be a cop, but that's for another topic.

 

[kgpspyguy]

Yes I do I'm aware that there are a lot of bad cops(and not the cool kind)on the force but you shouldn't say you dont respect cops just because you got a ticket for speeding or what ever else' there just doing there jobs.

 

[RickRoll]

funny thing is, the most racist ones tend to black. seriously, no joke. they're racist against other black civilians.

I have never even seen a black cop (IRL), so i'll take your word for it. I heard similar thing from others, weird how things work.

dude, i live in LA and i saw 4 LAPD officers stopping and cuffing a group of "suspicious-looking" slightly ghetto-looking black kids and then had them stand in a row together for like 20 minutes and interrogated them on random stuff (and i think maybe even searched their bags) and then let them go free after they realized they were just regular kids. Btw, 2 of the cops were black.

 

[emeraldrafael]

Mine personally? not the one in charge of the area I live in. I respect about four officers, but the rest are bastards who have no buisness wearing that badge.

On the whole? yeah, i do. Its somethign i wouldnt want to do, but I[m glad they exist. and its awlays nice to know I can expect help from a COMPETENT force in the next area.

 

[RickRoll]

Yes I do I'm aware that there are a lot of bad cops(and not the cool kind)on the force but you shouldn't say you dont respect cops just because you got a ticket for speeding or what ever else' there just doing there jobs.

not to take this to an extreme, but isn't that also what the Nazis said? "We were just doing our jobs..." Not the same thing by any means, but saying that "you're just doing your job" is not a legitimate excuse for any negative actions one does. THINK FOR YOURSELF! Don't be a fucking drone; it's the main reason why their is so much pain in the world. Btw, I'm not referring to you when i say that; i mean that just rhetorically. Respect, mate.

 

[kgpspyguy]

Tell me that again next time you get robbed or something else unpleasant' but then judging by your spelling ability and avatar your probably the one who does must of the robbing in that circle.