Whats your opinion of the Police in your country?

[Zack Alklazaris]

I'm a white young male so maybe that has something to do with it, but I have always met friendly cops.

Once me and my friends when in a car, my friend was driving. He stopped hard at a stop light and reved the engine next to a cop. He signaled to roll down the window and we did. He then proceeded to ask us where we heading to.

My idiot friend screamed "Going to raise some hell!"

the cop just smiled and said "Ok, don't get caught."

-shrug-

I never met a bad cop before. Hell I even have some of their phone numbers from back when I was in the explorers.

 

[GonvilleBromhead]

I find the UK police pretty good; most of the problems stem from perhaps over-politicisation and public overly mistrusting the police - such as not reporting a crime or coming forward as a witness because the "police are ineffectual"...urm...why do you think they are ineffectual if you don't come forward?

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

I'm in Australia, and while I hear of the occasional misuse of force, I never see them outside of train stations. The two experiences I have had with them that stick in my mind are every news broadcast, when the guy is completely inept at speaking English with their overuse of plurals, and one time when I see a bare-chested Lebanese youth bound up the station stair and try to vault over the ticket barrier when the police guy is running behind him, headlocks the guy mid-vault, and drags him back over and arrests him. So yeah...they're awesome.

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

Outside of the Met, which tends to get into the news the most for racism and corruption, British police have a reputation for honesty, fair-handedness and competency, thankfully.

People doing a difficult job where they hae to deal with a lot of stick. Good on them.

This, police are generally good here but have their hands tied my stupid government policies. Although they're not very good with protests or people jumping ticket barriers.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Eh, it depends. There are undoubtedly good cops over here in the States... but there will always be a few bad eggs...

 

[redisforever]

Most of the ones in my area are dicks. Just arrogant bastards. Not all, as I've met some really nice ones, but most are dicks. Now, in Downtown Toronto, most of the ones I met are really friendly.

 

[Ethan Asia]

I've always liked UK policemen. They have nice helmets.

I was on the street yesterday and there was a police demonstration going on; people getting to sit in the police cars, chatting to the officers, trying on handcuffs, there was even a few armed officers giving little talks about their weapons and letting people hold them. They seemed like really nice people, and despite the display of rather heavy ordinance, the place felt relaxed and happy to have them among the public.

I've been in countries where the display of a pistol on a policeman's belt is the norm, and I can say that doesn't make me feel safe at all, which, I remind everyone, is a function of the police. I like to see British policemen on the streets; they don't give off the impression of "we are your subjugators" like I've heard a lot of people saying about foreign police forces. It's a shame I'll be seeing less and less of them, due to our police cuts, but that's a different story.

 

[xdiesp]

Isn't this a wonderfully american question? I mean, see the underlying xenophobia: "I've just witnessed how corrupt and useless the cops in the US are, now tell me how bad they are in your country too". Wrong, pal, it's all your damn business to deal with!

 

[BakedAlaskan]

I'm currently living in Spain but live permanently in the UK and I've a positive opinion of British police in general. In Spain the police seem pretty relaxed in doing their job and this rubs off on you. They will walk past people drinking and smoking weed in the streets in most places if it doesnt offend people around you and they have a good rapport with the public. Each department is staffed with local people so the officers know the area they patrol and many grew up there. Their uniforms look pretty modern and they can wear shades all day too! No issues with the police and if anything I would happily approach an officer for help.

They even multi-task and do traffic crossing duty for school kids in the morning here in Madrid! They wave and say hello to complete strangers. I'm all for this. In the UK we get lollipop ladies for that job- equally pleasant old-timers in high viz jackets

 

[Penguinis Weirdus]

Outside of the Met, which tends to get into the news the most for racism and corruption, British police have a reputation for honesty, fair-handedness and competency, thankfully.

People doing a difficult job where they hae to deal with a lot of stick. Good on them.

UK here, they're usually ok. Have met a few bad ones but considering they're not exactly considered intimidating around here, most people just ignore them.

You know the police are underpowered when five of them show up to stop a fight and both people keep fighting

Our police are friendly but inneffectual. Or are they friendly BECAUSE they are inneffectual? Or ineffectual BECAUSE they are friendly? I have no idea. Either way i felt safer on the streets of Paris with all these armed policemen making a presence clear than i do in england where i NEVER see police on the streets. I dont feel very safe. I do feel very safe from police brutality though.

I wouldn't say that they are ineffectual because they're friendly, I'd say they're ineffectual because they're either held back when they need to be allowed to intervene, we never really see them on the streets (at least not in my home town, and some in the town centre of my uni town). I think the problem also lies repeatedly things like the phone hacking scandal comes up which reveals corruption amongst a lot of senior and junior policemen, which tars them all with the same brush.

And I agree with thylasos. I think a lot of problems are with the met, I've mainly had problems only with the Met, with the Greater Manchester police had little or no problem at UEF demos with them.

 

[Spitfire]

My experiences with police in my country have made me fear for my safety.
I live in Bucharest, Romania, and the police force here seems to be comprised of some of the most corrupt and bigoted idiots one can find in this city, and they're not just responsible with imposing the law either. For instance, if you want to obtain a driver's license, you have to pass a theoretical exam, which you take in an institution belonging to the police, and afterwards, you have to pass a practical exam with a police officer, who pretty much answers to nobody, and he can, and probably will, refuse to pass you if you so much as look at him funny. He will not do so, however, if you'll pay him roughly the same amount of money that you had intended to spend on the newest iPhone.

Here's another funny story.
A while ago, my father came across the lost passports of two Israeli tourists. Being a responsible citizen, he decided to hand them over to the police, and let them sort it out with the authorities of both countries. At the station, the police officer takes one look at the passports in question, and announces that they're written in Arabic, when they're clearly written in Hebrew. My father tries to correct him, at which point, the police officer loses his shit because his superior intellect has been insulted.. or something. "What's that supposed to mean?" "Sir, the letters look nothing like Arabic ones. Look." "Well I say they are! Are you trying to tell me how to do my job?" *facepalm*

 

[Aurgelmir]

I have nothing but respect for the Norwegian Police, they are sadly over worked and underpaid and there isn't enough of them though.

 

[ElPatron]

I recognize their merit.

Sure, some of them probably spend too much time harassing teenagers for no reason and more focused on passing tickets (because of retarded systems that reward that behavior) than actually dealing with the rampant crime.

But they are awfully underpaid. So much that suicides among the force are many times higher than in the general population.

So much underpaid that they can't afford the stupidly overpriced ammunition - therefore they are carrying a firearm they can't train with everyday. If I take a random police officer on the street, there is a good chance he hasn't qualified with his firearm in the last 2 years.

They are so underpaid that I understand that they will hesitate to save my life.

I understand that they might take 10 minutes instead of 4 min to get to emergencies.

They are the people in this country that get shot at, arrest the criminals just to be forced to release them because they haven't been caught in the act.

Long story short, if a police officer told to my face he is not obliged to defend me I will accept the terms and conditions.

I've seen some pretty nasty stuff on youtube, mainly from US cops who think they're above the law because they've got a gun and a taser

That's one of the reasons I like the idea of Concealed Carry licenses. Anyone you see might be licensed to carry a gun. Both civilians and the police keep each other in check so that nobody does anything stupid, IMO.

 

[CODE-D]

Traffic cops are unneeded anywhere yes?

 

[Angry_squirrel]

I'm in the UK, and every policeman I've ever encountered has been a complete and utter twat

 

[Braedan]

I like the Police. I hate assholes. There's a bunch in every profession, but when you give them power they tend to stand out more.

I had an idiot friend kick over an advertisement board in front of a cop van that she didn't know was there, and all he did was throw the sirens on for half of a second to tell her not to be an idiot.

My interactions with police here in Canada have generally been positive, but I'm guessing that's because I don't try and mouth off to them just because they have some authority.

Edit: A lot of my issues aren't the cops so much as some of the stupid laws they have to uphold.

 

[saoirse13]

Hmmm well I have my own reasons for my opinion but in Northern Ireland some can be pretty corrupt. Also some can be extremely biased depending on who you are. Though alot are decent enough.

 

[Lawbringer]

The police force in England are so underpowered its untrue. They've been nerfed repeatedly over the last 30 years of patches by that developer we all love to hate "the government" - who, by the way, keep promising this great new game but postpone it every 4 years. The new OP faction are 'the minorities', there must be a bug when it comes to the justice system because they get away with what other people cant.

As someone who is soon to graduate as a fully-fledged UK Police Officer, whilst being an avid gamer, I have to say that you, sir, have become my new personal hero with that reply!