Swearing By Police Officers

[Electrochem]

I find it unbelievable that police officers, who arrest people for bad language in the street, often use the same foul language themselves when dealing with suspects. Am I the only person that finds that a bit of a dichotomy?

Having watched some of the TV programmes by the way some of them behave. Constantly chewing gum like a cow chewing the cud and bigging themselves up. I know many serving officers and they despair at the way some of their colleagues behave. Please don't get me wrong - policing is a tough job and the deaths of the two officers in Manchester recently was a tragedy beyond words. However, someone I know says that some officers seem to take great delight in winding people up.

Police officers are human I know, but to uphold the law they need to set a good example.

What are your views?

[chrissa1]

Quite the opposite. I think they have the patience of saints sometimes.

[Buenchico]

>>>I find it unbelievable that police officers, who arrest people for bad language in the street

I find it unbelievable that many police officers don't even seem to know what the law actually says. It is NOT illegal to swear in public, and never has been. It is only illegal (under the provisions of the Public Order Act 1986) to 'cause harassment, alarm or distress'. Causing offence is NOT a crime and, if we value the right to freedom of expression, it must never become so. At least our judges seem to understand that:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8902770/Swearing-at-police-is-not-a-crime-judge-rules.html

Chris

[Baldric]

It happens in all jobs I'm afraid, I got a mouthful of abuse from a Parking Warden the other day, all I did as we walked past him was say to my OH, "Now there's a man whose parents never married" and he went balistic, I mean some people, honestly

[shoota]

If a person is swearing offensively in the street he could be arrested for 'Behaviour likely to cause a breach of the peace', if the behaviour was drink related then it is sufficient evidence to arrest for 'drunk and disorderly' or if the swearing is directed at members of the public 'threatening behaviour' could come into play.
They would not be arrested simply for swearing.

[humbersloop]

^^ you should hear the dali lama when he gets going

[Psybbo]

LOL at Belders

[sandyRoe]

And when the Pope's had a drop too much of the communion wine the air turns blue.

[dickythecook]

dahlia should be in gardening, shouln't it?

[humbersloop]

*dalai even ;)

[douglas9401]

Not swearing Electrochem but using policeman's cant to baffle outsiders.
Coincidentally, some policemen of my acquaintance are complete cants.

[Electrochem]

I agree that it's not swearing per se that is the offence, but a Public Order issue. All the same I find swearing in the street offensive and the more so when it is done by those we are expected to look up to.

[shoota]

There comes a point when dealing with these herberts that saying 'Please be quiet and go home' is totally pointless and the only way to get them to comply with your wishes is to fight fire with fire and match their vocabulary.
Trust me; I've been there.
Although I quite agree that gratuious swearing by anyone, Police Officers included, is reprehensible.

[EDDIE51]

I have never heard a police officer swear at anyone apart from in TV series (not the 'reality' ones) . They seem to take a huge amount of abuse without responding in kind. I did hear of a situation where a policeman called an arrested coloured person a N*gger and it was enough to get the officer sacked for misconduct.

[FredPuli43]

I'm sure it's rare, but, then, I used to use foul language with clients. And the reason was rather as suggested above. It's the only language they understand; they use the F and the C words in their own everyday speech, the F word being a favourite intensifier. Saying "I say young man , don't behave in such an unseemly manner" is hardly going to work !

And it's true that mere foul language, without being part of a pattern of causing alarm etc or a general breach of the peace is not sufficient for an arrest. A long time ago it was, and the fixed penalty for such 'vulgar abuse' was graded according to the status of the offender, but we've moved on since the days of yeomen, serfs et al.