Police Accountability

[Birchy]

If the police are rubbish, do they ever get punished? Individuals who perform badly may be up for the push, but what happens if your local force are evidently ineffective? Are there any measures in place to improve policing, to the extent where the individuals/sections actually perform better? Or can the police continue to get away with being well paid, but habitually fail.......unlike other professions who are made accountable for their lack of achievement?

[Birchy]

Apologies for my dreadful English in the above. But the two coppers in Early Doors seem to reflect the reality. Generalising.....but our police are hopeless aren't they?

[BadlyHungBoy]

Hi Birchy - I'd say the answer is Yes and No... yes they're rubbish and no they don't get punished. And if Joe public brings a case against them and succeeds, it doesn't come out of their wages... it comes out of the council tax! And they reckon they're sh!t hot drivers - well, if I had a flashing blue light and a siren, happen a lot less tw@ts would pull out in front of me.

[sft42]

I have had need to call on the police 4 times in the past number of years and each time the were hopeless.....my problems (each different) seem to be a major inconvenience to them....on one occasion being the victim of violence I was told not to bother persuing it as it would be to much hassle. More like to much paperwork disturbing the doughnut breaks! Can you imagine an estate agent telling you not to bother selling your house who could be bothered with the hassle of moving? They are pathetic.

[gilf]

I understand that speeding for example is a serious issue and I would never condone it in a built up area but in the last 5 years or so my family have been the subject of the following crimes, The theft of 2 cars, 3 motorcycles, 1 expensive professional camera, a Computer, a video, I was seriously injured in a unprovoked attack (nearly died) and now have a very bad scar running 5 inches down the left hand side of my face and a 2 inch one the top of my head (and thats the scars on the outside). How many of these crimes have 1. been solved and 2. been in my view treated seriously, well on the 1st point none and on the second well only the attack warranted a vist and that was a 10 minute statment gathering which basically resulted in the buy saying "I doubt we will catch them as you havent given a very good description", Oh pardon me for lying on the floor half dead I didnt realise I was supposed to be doing you job and catching the people for you. Anyway I'll say no more.

[gilf]

Sorry I got a bit carried away, the point was we have been the victim of crime a number of times all of which were unsloved yet the still managed to send my sister and brother in law speeding tickets.

[Birchy]

Thanks all ! What a sad world......I'm off to join up. The ability to fill in an application form and do a two minute shuttle run would appear to be the only qualifications required. I used to work in London's Square Mile, and the City of London Police still had huge fast cars.....by the time they got to sixty they'd be outside their boundaries. And fast cars for what? You need to get to a computer fraud in seconds do you?

[Moog]

In an excellent piece of crime figure manipulation a bar round the corner from me captured two lads on their CCTV entering and leaving the toilets. While in there they apparently stole the mirrors. When the police were called they were told that it couldn't be reported as a crime as no one had seen it happen! So my advice to any would be criminals is to carry out their crime in a toilet cubicle.. out of the view of CCTV!

[treaclefight]

outside of the people i know through work, me and other half can't think of a crime that our families or us have been victim of that has been solved. not one and there is alot of crime in our particular bit of london. the only solved crimes we know of are the ones where we know the culprits, which makes me wonder how stupid you have to be to get caught by these super police (clearly we know some very stupid people).

[Anyeeta]

Yes, the police are civil servants and are accountable to the citizens of this country who pay taxes that make up salaries, wages, etc. Whether or not this 'law' actually makes a blind bit of difference in this day and age, no- one knows, but they are most definately the taxpayers 'employees'.