Policing by consent

[jks9199]

In a blog HERE by a British Police Officer, I read and noted the following:

Think about this. We still police by consent in this country. We can't justify achieving compliance through force in most cases and rightly so. Compliance can be achieved through understanding. The person understands that they have no choice but often this involved heated discussion and can lead to force being used. Compliance is better achieve through respect and understanding of the job we have to do and this is often achieved by demonstrating that we, the police, are human. We have feelings, we care about things, we have families and the greatest weapon of all we have a sense of humour!

I have used and observed the use of a keen sense of humour a number of times to defuse a situation. I have dealt with many suspects, professionally and compassionately because we have found common ground and had a 'bit of a joke'. This means that the whole process is easier for both police and prisoner. Innocent until proven guilty and all that.

By showing the human side of police officers we can gain the trust and respect of the majority of the public. Yes there will always be those that will moan but they are definitely in the minority.

I think this is an important thing to remember and keep in mind for cops, whether in the US or England. It's way too easy to fall back on force and "authority" -- but we also need to have the active consent and assistance of the public unless we want to turn our communities into police states.

 

[oftheherd1]

Well said.

But of course the bad guys have to agree to this too. In my limited past experience, a reputation for fairness and respect to your public went farther than anything else.

 

[Tez3]

Policing by consent is the basis on which British policing is founded, policing is more than arresting the bad guys, it's about protecting the public, something which has cost police lives.
http://www.civitas.org.uk/pubs/policeNine.php


The Nine Principles of Policing
1. To prevent crime and disorder, as an alternative to their repression by military force and severity of legal punishment.
2. To recognise always that the power of the police to fulfil their functions and duties is dependent on public approval of their existence, actions and behaviour and on their ability to secure and maintain public respect.
3. To recognise always that to secure and maintain the respect and approval of the public means also the securing of the willing co-operation of the public in the task of securing observance of laws.
4. To recognise always that the extent to which the co-operation of the public can be secured diminishes proportionately the necessity of the use of physical force and compulsion for achieving police objectives.
5. To seek and preserve public favour, not by pandering to public opinion; but by constantly demonstrating absolutely impartial service to law, in complete independence of policy, and without regard to the justice or injustice of the substance of individual laws, by ready offering of individual service and friendship to all members of the public without regard to their wealth or social standing, by ready exercise of courtesy and friendly good humour; and by ready offering of individual sacrifice in protecting and preserving life.
6. To use physical force only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient to obtain public co-operation to an extent necessary to secure observance of law or to restore order, and to use only the minimum degree of physical force which is necessary on any particular occasion for achieving a police objective.
7. To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and that the public are the police, the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.
8. To recognise always the need for strict adherence to police-executive functions, and to refrain from even seeming to usurp the powers of the judiciary of avenging individuals or the State, and of authoritatively judging guilt and punishing the guilty.
9. To recognise always that the test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, and not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them.