Do you respect your police force?

[SilentCom]

I respect the police to a certain degree but for the most part, I figure they are doing their duty to enforce law and order. As long as I don't try destroying order, then I shouldn't have to fear the police.

 

[AetherWolf]

My brother is an RCMP officer out in British Columbia, and I certainly respect him.

But here in Ontario?
For some reason they don't respond to things as much as they should...

 

[Leadfinger]

Japanese cops are crap. The only things they are good at are giving directions and forcing confessions from innocent suspects.

Japan has one of if not the lowest murder and crime rate in the world. they must be doing something right over there...

You confuse correlation with causation. In other words, just because the crime rate is low in Japan doesn't mean that this is due to efficient policing. There are factors such as Japan being a homogeneous society which is relatively egalitarian, the enduring influence of Confucianism on Japanese society, and so forth. If you look at the facts of how the police actually operate in Japan, you see a force that is poorly trained using outmoded techniques and one that relies on forced confessions to get convictions. For more details, check out the article below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8290767.stm

True, but i was more referring to the fact that the Japanese nation as a whole must be doing something right in order to have such a peaceful society, despite having such an ill-equipped and badly trained police force. I feel that police being granted the right to use vastly over-excessive force (i.e. rubber bullets, gas masks, night sticks, real guns, forceful interrogation, etc.) just feeds into the endless cycle of violence and criminal unrest in societies. Society needs some major reformation and also a simultaneous cutback in this primitive and coercive means of keeping people in line if we are ever to have a hope of moving towards a utopia. I largely blame (in my case) America's shit education system and also our obsession with stupid capitalism and the lack of compassion/aid for one's fellow American down on their luck that comes with it. Socialism ftw!

Ah, I misunderstood your previous post. I agree with what you say here, and I too deplore the mindless cycle of violence and repression you see in countries like the U.S. Of the things that I believe Japan is doing right, I think the sense of egalitarianism in society is very important. There's much less extreme poverty in Japan than in the U.S. and as a result there isn't the polarization that you see or the idea that society only works for the rich.

 

[Dusty Fred]

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

What about us Australian's? I'll assume we can comment too .

I have a great respect for the my police force, which is my state's police, I've spoken to them, they've been helpful, ect ect, but overall I would respect the Police anyway, they are here to protect myself and my fellow law abiding citizens from those that chose to stand against the law, and they also arrest people who have broken the law, I feel much assured when I see them, I even don't mind being breathalysed.

Excluding the bloody speed cameras of course! Hate those damned things.

I didn't mean to exclude anyone else, of course, I'm interested to hear from you wherever you hail from

I just gave special mention to the US because, via TV and movies, there's a strong image of the American cop and I thought that might be an interesting contrast to the UK police. At the same time I suspected I might have a cliched and inaccurate view so I was sort of inviting correction.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

The Force I trust. The Bureaucracy behind the Force is rotten to the core.

 

[Astoria]

It depends. Most of the time I have respect for Aussie cops but I've met my fair share that are drunk on power and abuse it.

 

[Phaerim]

Respect has to be earned. Putting on a uniform, doesn't automaticly make you a saint. You have to prove yourself. Just like everybody else.

 

[Sir-jackington]

I'm form Northern Ireland and i do respect the police, granted as of late i've been finding them more and more usless. They haven't been much use with the numerosu breaks-in but have always been quick to show up with a noise complaint

 

[RickRoll]

Japanese cops are crap. The only things they are good at are giving directions and forcing confessions from innocent suspects.

Japan has one of if not the lowest murder and crime rate in the world. they must be doing something right over there...

You confuse correlation with causation. In other words, just because the crime rate is low in Japan doesn't mean that this is due to efficient policing. There are factors such as Japan being a homogeneous society which is relatively egalitarian, the enduring influence of Confucianism on Japanese society, and so forth. If you look at the facts of how the police actually operate in Japan, you see a force that is poorly trained using outmoded techniques and one that relies on forced confessions to get convictions. For more details, check out the article below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8290767.stm

True, but i was more referring to the fact that the Japanese nation as a whole must be doing something right in order to have such a peaceful society, despite having such an ill-equipped and badly trained police force. I feel that police being granted the right to use vastly over-excessive force (i.e. rubber bullets, gas masks, night sticks, real guns, forceful interrogation, etc.) just feeds into the endless cycle of violence and criminal unrest in societies. Society needs some major reformation and also a simultaneous cutback in this primitive and coercive means of keeping people in line if we are ever to have a hope of moving towards a utopia. I largely blame (in my case) America's shit education system and also our obsession with stupid capitalism and the lack of compassion/aid for one's fellow American down on their luck that comes with it. Socialism ftw!

Ah, I misunderstood your previous post. I agree with what you say here, and I too deplore the mindless cycle of violence and repression you see in countries like the U.S. Of the things that I believe Japan is doing right, I think the sense of egalitarianism in society is very important. There's much less extreme poverty in Japan than in the U.S. and as a result there isn't the polarization that you see or the idea that society only works for the rich.

Exactly! Most Crime comes from Have Nots wanting what the Haves have (awkward wording lol). I also know a lot about the concept of Bushido that pretty much every Japanese citizen has to a certain extent. It's the reason why they consider service to be an honor and thus never ask for tips and why if you lose your wallet you'll most likely be tracked down by someone who found it, instead of have it stolen, and also it's why there were virtually no cases of tramplings or other injuries from people trying to evacuate during that horrible Japanese Earthquake that happened recently. People have a very positive and respectful groupthink mentality in Japan that is seriously lacking in other parts of the globe, especially the USA.

 

[the D0rk One]

respect the police force...?
I have more respect for ... uhm ... anything really.

Why? Because the police force I know and love loves to round up, abuse and "straighten up" pot smokers while ignoring slightly more dangerous criminals, such as organized crime and corrupt officials and such...

Thank god, mo & jc they locked up the local weed dealer, now we're all so fucking safe.

 

[Anarchemitis]

"Give to Caesars what is Caesar's, and give to God what is God's."

 

[I Hate Consoles and Mondays]

Well, I respect the state troopers and such, but when it comes to local police:
In short: No
In long: Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[SillyBear]

Hmm tough one.

Well, my Father is a police officer - but that doesn't mean I am heavily biased at all. If your Father is an accountant you don't walk around having huge respect for all accountants, so it's the same for me.

I do think, that what the Police do, is ultimately good - and it is a brave and thankless job. So yes, all of them I do give a certain amount of respect by default.

But do I walk around thinking they are all noble defenders of good? Of course not. Some are rotten to the core, some make awful mistakes.

 

[Leadfinger]

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.

Yes. The internet is full of truth.
It's also full of people talking out of their butt.

Speaking, once more, as an actual police officer and a detective if you say "No" that gives the police something called probable cause see saying "no" gives off a suspicious vibe, especially when it's not accompanied by a particular reason.

Of the, i don't know 50 times or so someone has said 'no' and then we searched the car about 5 of those times we didn't find anything. Not a single time did I not get a collar and conviction either. (that i've been involved in)

If we even ASK you to search your car you've probably already displayed suspicious enough behavior to warrant probable cause. Despite popular belief we have better things to do then randomly search cars.

So, I'm pretty sure it's legal.

No, refusing a search doesn't give probable cause, nor does "giving off a suspicious vibe." And if you had probable cause already, there would be no need to ask permission. Now you say that you searched a car anyway even after the driver said no. If you found anything, wouldn't it be thrown out of court? BTW, check the site below for factual information:
http://flexyourrights.org/

 

[flaming_ninja]

These are civil servants who risk a lot to serve the community, that alone deserves respect. They're humans just like everybody else they bleed the same, except they deal with the worst of us, maybe they're a little bitter sometimes, maybe they're wrong too, deal with it. I've never had a problem with a police officer treating me or any of my friends poorly, you want to know why? Because I obey the law, I don't get drunk or do drugs and I don't go out of the way to annoy police officers.

tl;dr Police are great treat them with respect, you'll be fine.

 

[TheTim]

I do yes, It's a thankless job and many people hate them for no reason.

I have the utmost respect for police officers until they prove themselves unworthy of that respect.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Living in England, I have to say I do. One of my friend's parents is an ex detective, and it helps to get a bit more insight. For instance, when it comes to complaints in the riots about police not using batons and such, they're actually not allowed to use their batons in many cases. Police are generally disliked for either being too zealous or not doing enough, and when they're not doing enough it's because they aren't allowed to do more In the students' riots, people complained about them being to harsh, now they're not harsh enough.

 

[Kajt]

...what are these mythical beings you call "police"?

 

[ace_of_something]

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.

Yes. The internet is full of truth.
It's also full of people talking out of their butt.

Speaking, once more, as an actual police officer and a detective if you say "No" that gives the police something called probable cause see saying "no" gives off a suspicious vibe, especially when it's not accompanied by a particular reason.

Of the, i don't know 50 times or so someone has said 'no' and then we searched the car about 5 of those times we didn't find anything. Not a single time did I not get a collar and conviction either. (that i've been involved in)

If we even ASK you to search your car you've probably already displayed suspicious enough behavior to warrant probable cause. Despite popular belief we have better things to do then randomly search cars.

So, I'm pretty sure it's legal.

No, refusing a search doesn't give probable cause, nor does "giving off a suspicious vibe." And if you had probable cause already, there would be no need to ask permission. Now you say that you searched a car anyway even after the driver said no. If you found anything, wouldn't it be thrown out of court? BTW, check the site below for factual information:
http://flexyourrights.org/

First of all of course i wouldn't put 'a suspicious vibe' on a report. Nor would that be the actual reason, but i'm not going to list any of the legitimate ones, but some of them boil down to that.
Sorry dude, you're sites are wrong. It's more than enough. I've lived it.
Not a single one of those cases had anything thrown out in court.

It's not just me, my state, or even my region. That's nation wide. (the FOP has a forum i frequent as well)

If you want to spread false information or skewed/not exactly right information. Be my guest.

It makes our jobs a lot easier when people think they know more about things than they actually do.

edit: LOL I love how that site is a defense attorney selling his how to DVDs

 

[Leadfinger]

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.

Yes. The internet is full of truth.
It's also full of people talking out of their butt.

Speaking, once more, as an actual police officer and a detective if you say "No" that gives the police something called probable cause see saying "no" gives off a suspicious vibe, especially when it's not accompanied by a particular reason.

Of the, i don't know 50 times or so someone has said 'no' and then we searched the car about 5 of those times we didn't find anything. Not a single time did I not get a collar and conviction either. (that i've been involved in)

If we even ASK you to search your car you've probably already displayed suspicious enough behavior to warrant probable cause. Despite popular belief we have better things to do then randomly search cars.

So, I'm pretty sure it's legal.

No, refusing a search doesn't give probable cause, nor does "giving off a suspicious vibe." And if you had probable cause already, there would be no need to ask permission. Now you say that you searched a car anyway even after the driver said no. If you found anything, wouldn't it be thrown out of court? BTW, check the site below for factual information:
http://flexyourrights.org/

First of all of course i wouldn't put 'a suspicious vibe' on a report. Nor would that be the actual reason, but i'm not going to list any of the legitimate ones, but some of them boil down to that.
Sorry dude, you're sites are wrong. It's more than enough. I've lived it.
Not a single one of those cases had anything thrown out in court.

It's not just me, my state, or even my region. That's nation wide. (the FOP has a forum i frequent as well)

If you want to spread false information or skewed/not exactly right information. Be my guest.

It makes our jobs a lot easier when people think they know more about things than they actually do.

edit: LOL I love how that site is a defense attorney selling his how to DVDs

Could you please cite the case law that establishes refusing a search as probable cause.