Poll: How do you feel about cops?

[sms_117b]

They're a serious disappointment to me. Held back by too much red tape and they would rather go after simple "criminals" of petty crimes (like not being able to afford counsel tax) rather than chasing robbers and murderers.

 

[probunk]

I live in small town, which I've found often produce more nasty cops. During my Law class in high school we had alot of cops and officials and at least four were clearly just loving to fight, dick with underage drinkers and genearlly be morons. I've known plenty to just take people's alcohol, go straight to fisticuffs and call bullshit on everyone who defends themselves or etc. So no, I've not had great experiences with cops despite never being charged with anything.

 

[Gunner 51]

While I agree with them in principle, I have found that they simply don't work for me. When a druggie tried to mug me they couldn't do anything, when someone had swiped 600 quid from my bank account - I solved the crime days before they did.

So when I hear tales of homeowners injuring burglars for the police to arrest the homeowner and victim - it just makes my faith in them die a little bit more.

But having said that, they have had some good successes in fighting crime - they may not have my faith, but when push comes to shove - they will always have my support.

 

[Deleted]

I wave to cops every morning, but I hate them so I only wave one finger.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

Said Ted Bundy.

Ted Who?

 

[joschen]

Those of you that have any quarrel whit the police do probably have trouble to see things in a different view.

If you feel mistreated by the local police i suggest you take it up whit the local authority so that they can investigate into the matter. If this do not work, bring the story to a newspaper.

Or you could just go whine about it and only show your own side of the story on the Internet, this will not get you anywhere of course.

 

[molester jester]

Basically i like them, well most of them. They do need to step up the good old fashioned police brutality a bit and beat down some of the idiots running about, a little bit of fascism goes a long way, but that's just my view. Better with than without. Plus even if it was not a violent crime drug offenses are still a crime you do not get two years for possession, at least not where i live, if you are going to deal you have to accept that you might spend some time in jail

 

[purplepixie]

As with most jobs, there is going to be the odd twat who ruins it for the rest. On the whole I like the police and tbh you have to respect that they do a pretty rubbish job for fairly substandard pay. How many of us would wanna spend our shifts dealing with junkies lying and stealing, drunks every friday and saturday night yelling and starting fights, little brats trying to be all tough by driving round stolen cars etc etc. I would much rather have a flawed police force then none at all.

Also any of us in the Western world should be grateful, in the UK (at least) you have the best chance of a fair trial then a lot of other countries out there. E.g that bloke who got executed in China recently. Whilst he might of broken the law, he was hardly given a fair trial now was he...

 

[Red Right Hand]

"YES! I've been initiated. I'm officialy a drug user! FUCK the police!"

 

[Monkfish Acc.]

How many police officers have you known to be able to make that type of judgement? Not how they acted toward someone who was, in their eyes, in the process of breaking the law, but how they composed themselves on a day to day basis. I know that police forces vary from location to location, country to country, but I've dealt with quite a few from a couple USA states and cities in my time and I would have to completely disagree with your statement. Many of them join the force to serve and protect, while some really do crave power.

Are most judges power hungry individuals who have more intelligence and are only slightly less "thick", as you put it? Are most firefighters hellbent on being pyros and playing with fire? Are most doctors sadistic and wanting to watch others writhe in pain because of injuries or afflictions? I'd have to answer no to those questions myself.

I won't even comment on that last line.

Edit - Wow, I'd actually really like to know how all these people can so easily say that "all the cops I've met are corrupt". What situations happened that showed their corruption, or is it just that you disagree with their enforcement of the law upon you or those you know? What situations happened that have shown their incompetance? How would you people have handled the situation instead/what did they do wrong in your eyes? Can you honestly say you would have thought clearly under the same circumstances? How would you deal with the constant issues of individuals spitting at your feet and calling you "pig" etc... for upholding the law and protecting the population? I'm not justifying anything; I'm just asking why so many here seem so quick to pass judgement just because they don't like having to abide by the rules.

Listen, I just spent an hour typing out a long, well thought out reply, only to have it disappear because Firefox crashed.
I have been up for almost twenty three hours now, and I am exhausted. So let me make this quick.
No, I have not personally known any police officers. I have, however, witnessed friends being harrassed for being black and nearby, women being beaten time and time again because the police never stepped in, instead merely suggesting the victims give their husbands another chance, and twelve to fifteen year old kids being beaten and jailed overnight simply because the officers knew their parents would be too busy getting pissed to ever do anything about it.

I get where you are coming from. I do.
But I didn't say what I said because I was indignant at myself or a friend being caught doing something wrong.
I said it because, in my experience, it is true.

So don't make assumptions, please.

 

[ace_of_something]

So how do you feel about cops?

I never Liked them, its a famliy thing. My Dad was throwen into jail for 2 years for a non-voilent drug crime, my mom was sexually assaulted by a cop and abused while being arrested for missing a probation meeting on her birthday. We tried to press charges but he got away with it. The cop stalked my famliy for a long while broke down are door once even though it was unlocked and he had no reason too.

But down to the point how do you feel about them and what personal experience have you have with them?

For your dad to get a two year sentance he must've of had a LOT of drugs. What exactly did he have? Not to mention that let's see a Judge, a DA, were involved in his case. Let's not forget congress for making the law and all the people who voted them in to office. It's all their fault too not your dad for say. IGNORING THE LAW.

That's his own fault he knew they were illegal yet he choose to carry them. It's a sign of immaturity to blame the law or the people who's job it is to enforce it instead of taking responsability for his own actions. You also give us absolutly NO context to any of this. Just expecting people to take an us vs. them attitude.

Far as mother I am truly sorry she may have been sexually assaulted. That is terrible. However, that has almost nothing to do with him being a cop the conviction rates on sexual assault are actually very low because it comes down to 'he said she said'.
My twin brother is a SBC detective. I can tell you about rapists he's caught (and had convicted) that were Plumbers, Cashiers, Dopers, College Students, and Contractors. So you should hold a grudge against every Plumber, Cashier, Doper, College Student, and Contractor you meet from now on as well?
A person's job doesn't make every other person with that job the same.

I truly hope the person who assaulted your mother is brought to justice in some way. I really do. Hopefully karma will take over where the legal system has failed you.
-Signed
Detective Thor A.
CAP Unit (Sociology/Criminology MS)

 

[Jedoro]

Gonna be one, but that doesn't mean I trust all of them. They're people, so I don't have too good of an opinion of them, but the ones around here aren't too bad.

 

[dlano]

Yeah I have relatives who are policemen and have to deal with the police at my work almost everyday. They spend 99% of their time dealing with the scum of society and seeing their work get shat on by lawyers who get criminials out of jail the same day they're caught. It's not an easy job and frequently disheartening.

However. Do police forces attract the ass-hat alpha male dominating-type? Of course. But what other type of person would you want enforcing the laws and dealing with theives, violent offenders and murders? Maybe that means when you were caught speeding the cop was a dick to you, but that same ass-hat will also take no shit from a domestic abuser later that day.

 

[Skarvig]

They really helped me with a problem I had. They do their work and they do it good. If you are not abiding the law, then you will get a problem with them, this is completly normal and you can forsee consequences.

 

[Jiggabyte]

I've had no experience whatsoever with the police, even though they're quite active around here. Hopefully it stays that way.

 

[Borrowed Time]

Edit - Wow, I'd actually really like to know how all these people can so easily say that "all the cops I've met are corrupt". What situations happened that showed their corruption, or is it just that you disagree with their enforcement of the law upon you or those you know? What situations happened that have shown their incompetance? How would you people have handled the situation instead/what did they do wrong in your eyes? Can you honestly say you would have thought clearly under the same circumstances? How would you deal with the constant issues of individuals spitting at your feet and calling you "pig" etc... for upholding the law and protecting the population? I'm not justifying anything; I'm just asking why so many here seem so quick to pass judgement just because they don't like having to abide by the rules.

Listen, I just spent an hour typing out a long, well thought out reply, only to have it disappear because Firefox crashed.
I have been up for almost twenty three hours now, and I am exhausted. So let me make this quick.
No, I have not personally known any police officers. I have, however, witnessed friends being harrassed for being black and nearby, women being beaten time and time again because the police never stepped in, instead merely suggesting the victims give their husbands another chance, and twelve to fifteen year old kids being beaten and jailed overnight simply because the officers knew their parents would be too busy getting pissed to ever do anything about it.

I get where you are coming from. I do.
But I didn't say what I said because I was indignant at myself or a friend being caught doing something wrong.
I said it because, in my experience, it is true.

So don't make assumptions, please.

Which is exactly why I said what I said in my edit, concerning the assumptions. I wanted to know why people feel the way that they do. I can understand where you're coming from as well, seeing from your experiences with the few you've run in with.

The issues with the 12-15 year old kids sounds like a parenting problem, not a police problem. Quite often it's actually better for a child to be incarcerated for their own safety from their parents in that kind of a situation. Although, i don't have all the information so I can only say that with a grain of salt.

The situation with the domestic abuse falls on the victim to actually press charges against the perpetrator. If they refuse to give the individual another chance, and instead press charges against them for assault, then something will be done.

The situation with being harassed for being black I can completely understand being outraged for that. Unfortunately, as was stated before in this post, police are humans. Many humans have bigoted points of view. I'm sure there are plenty of individuals who aren't police who are bigoted in your area. The values of the police tend to follow the demographics of the region. It would be beyond wonderful if this wasn't the case and that they could be 100% ethical 100% of the time, but that's not the case. So yes, I agree that the racist harassment is completely in the wrong.

That does not mean, though, that most police officers join the force to feed a desire for power and control.

I empathise with you about the long hours. I regularly work graveyard shifts of 8-12 hours and am regularly up 24-32 hours myself (such as today). It can be a real pain in the ass.

 

[mikecoulter]

I like the police. And to be honest, your dad shouldn't have been meddling with drugs should he. Abide by the law of your country or move elsewhere.

 

[Scylla6]

All the fascist pigs in my town hate me,[sub] Did I say that out loud? [/sub], just because I know my rights and do the whole, "no you can't come in my house/my car, now let's see some I.D please." or the best one "I don't have any obligation to answer that question."

P.S If you ever get arrested and they read you your rights say, "I don't understand my rights I need to speak to my lawyer before I can." They can't say, "Well you didn't say that when arrested." in court, really saves your hide.

 

[Sigel]

I have never had a positive experience with the police. My car, and my house has been broken into in the past, and the cops have been as useful as tits on a man. I ended up tracking down some of my stuff from pawn shops and getting it back, and the police did absolutely nothing with the information that I provided them. I realized that other more important things are happening in the world, but it only took me 20 minutes to call local pawn shops and provide basic information to find some of my stuff. I am not asking for the the freaking CSI team to crack the case, just some involvement. I mean it is only their freaking job.

 

[Indecizion]

Meh ive just moved to brittain, and the first thing i noticed is the helpfulness of the cops here, theyre not harassing ne1 or anything of that nature, i grew up in brisbane, as a teenager who was into games/sci-fi/fantasy i walk around in shirts that represent it. but yet the police used to stop me and my friends regularily to order us to empty bags/pockets even to take off our shoes with threats that if we didnt comply we would be taken down to their station, whats more is we werent the only one it seems they targeted young people on the assumption were all carrying drugs and weapons, and i dont think its right that they can do that given that theyre there to SERVE the public not use their bias to harras us. meh neway will take some time but if all the cops here are the same as the ones ive met so far i might learn to trust them in time.