What's your experience with the police?
31,000 complaints against the police in England & Wales last year - that's the highest figure ever recorded by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. It's up 8 per cent.
The most common complaints were that police were rude, late or failed to do their job properly. Sound familiar?
Wherever you are in the country, what's your experience of the police? Have you been poorly treated?
Or, are you a police officer? How does the public treat you?
Text us 85058, email breakfast@bbc.co.uk or leave a comment here on the blog.
Jump to more content from this blog
About this blog
Subscribe to 5 live Breakfast
You can stay up to date with 5 live Breakfast via these feeds.
5 live Breakfast Feed(ATOM)
If you aren't sure what RSS is you'll find our beginner's guide to RSS useful.
Podcast
5LNPI: who would YOU give a secret santa to and what would it be?
11:01 Thu, 24 Dec 09
We asked for your suggestions for Secret Santa presents. If you could send a present to anyone this Christmas, who would it be and what would you give them? From unsung heroes who deserves recognition, to people in the news or the perfect gift for someone you know. You told us what you would buy for who and why.
Download or subscribe to this programme's podcast
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~01~RS~)
Comments
Sign in or register to comment.
From my experiance with the Police it seems to me that they have forgotten that they are public servants rather than public masters.
Complain about this comment
Agreed, in broad terms. That said, locally the police are very good. I had occassion to call them out at 3am one morning because some of the village youth were vandalising streetlamps. Thought I'd get a |PCSO around a week later to ask what happened but, no, within three minutes there were five cops and an Alsatian getting these lads against a wall for a pat-down. They nicked one for possession, which has got him on the DNA database - idiot!
However, it does seem nationally that the police have slipped standards down, possibly due to a lowering of the quality of recruit. Throw in the toothless paper tiger that is the PCSO - policing on the cheap - and a picture of dumbing down gets painted. This seems to be the norm under the current regime so it's no surprise, really.
If you look at the number of tabloid headlines you could be forgiven for thinking that the majority of newly qualified constables know less about the law than the average citizen - the officers who seem to think it is illegal for tourists to take holiday snaps, for example.
I met a constable who didn't look like he was aold enough to shave a few years ago before I moved who seemed to think it was an offence for me to go the wrong way down a one way street with my bicycle. Note with my bicycle, not on my bicycle (obviosuly, riding it would indeed have been an offence). I politely pointed out that walking down a one way street in either direction was allowed. "Have you ever come to the attention of the police before, sir?"
"No," I said, "have you ever come to the attention of the IPCC before, constable?"
My quiet confidence and use of his rank must have made him wonder whether he was getting into hot water (perhaps I was about to reveal I was a superintendant, or something) so he stepped away and had a conflab on the radio. He clearly had asked what the position was as he came back over and told me to move along. No admission that he didn't know his backside from his elbow, though, or apology!
Slightly amusing, perhaps, but altogether worrying when tabloid headlines show that bare-faced incompetence, ignorance and exceeding of authority is not isolated or rare. On top of that, the phone-in suggests that the modern cop is a bare-faced liar and bully.
Complain about this comment
Complain about this comment
I forgot to mention that I since found out that half the local nick lives in this village!
Complain about this comment
"There was an error with the form submission, please try again."
I see the new website is fully functioning, then...
Complain about this comment
"Downing Street denies Obama snubbed Brown at UN." Is there no editorial scrutiny of material like this before it is aired? At best it is puerile trivia and at worst it damages the BBC's reputation as a serious news provider. PS. I've heard of Bruce Forsyth but who's this Justine Lee chap?
Complain about this comment
Mods - you have me own as a new poster and have me in pre-mod. I am NOT a new poster, PLEASE sort it out.
The police I have some across have been both good and bad. It very much depended on whether they were on their own or in a 'team'. On their own they were much affable.
Complain about this comment
I guess when they're in a team they've got plenty of witnesses to back up what ever they claim is the truth, regardless of what you put in the complaint!
The moan-in participants would seem to bear that out.
Complain about this comment
Low morale, not enough officers and a failing justice system are among the sentiments of rank and file police officers.
The public should be addressing the cause of the problem NOT the effect. The job of the frontline Police Officers is more difficult now than it has ever been. The Home office and senior officers manipulate statistics and public opinion surveys to try and convey the impression that all is rosy. Hogwash! The British public are not stupid. They no longer believe the Home Office political spin, they see the truth on the streets every day.
The contributory causes are :-
Bureacracy and paperwork that drowns effective policing
Performance culture policing, hierachy forcing recording of nonsense incidents purely for detections
Whilst officers are tied up with nonsense they can't attend more needing calls
90% of the resource is engaged in admininstrative duties
10% of the resource is available for basic policing
Too much time & resurce planning. Not enough "Back to Basics Policing"
Politicians & other agencies interfere excessively for political & financial gain
Not enough dicretionary policing is encouraged. If it were, they would prioritise the more important calls more effectively. Credit and enpower officers with a degree of common sense and we will see public confidence and police effectiveness restored.
It will take a brave politician to admit the massive failings they and senior officers are responsible for. Sadly it is the front line copper, who joined to lock up the baddies and make a worthwhile contribution who is the thin blue line at the fron of public attack.
Redirect the focus to the cause of the problem and we might get somewhere. Whilst Government officials and senior officers, who are way out of touch with the real public need, are allowed to continue this massive waste and misdirection of the taxpayers money, the quality of service will not change, only worsen.
We write about this in detail on our non-profit sites. Not sure if the Beeb will allow a link from here so I will try and guide you to the pages where you can see some of the evidence in support of the statements.
The site is a blog called thinbluelineuk. If you type this in your browser it should get you there. All comments are welcome.
3w's DOT thinbluelineuk DOT blogspot DOT com
Complain about this comment
Here is the direct link, though the Beeb may moderate and delete it
http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com
Complain about this comment
My experience with the police has been mixed. Recently the police officers i dealt with were friendly and helpful.
A couple of years ago I was stopped when police were pulling cars over. The officer was rude and demanded to know things which had nothing to do with him.
Like any service it depends on the person that you meet
Complain about this comment
If you want to complain about the police, it's the police who investigate it. That's worrying.
Complain about this comment
I have read with interest the article by the crime anylist and his blog http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com,, could not agree more, Dave Cameron must get to grip with law and order when he becomes Prime Minister next year, the fabric of society is in tatters! Take the hand cuffs of the police, report the correct crime statistics, let the UK public really know how bad it has become out there. We need to support the police and take away the needless paperwork that stops them doing a proper days work on our streets. Chris Grayling must stamp his authority in his speech tomorrow, show that he means business, the rank and file law abiding English public back the police, we want law and order on our streets and estates restored!
Complain about this comment
View these comments in RSS