What can the police do to get respect back?

[Archangel M]

People have to understand the whole "paid suspension" "unpaid suspension" thing. Typically, when just accused or under investigation of wrongdoing the officer will be put on paid suspension. Once the investigation is done and formal charges have been filed then it becomes unpaid. just because some newspaper writes that a cop broke the law doesnt mean hes automatically fired or put on unpaid suspension.

 

[thardey]

Situation #1

I got pulled over by a State Police who clocked me at 10 over on my motorcycle. By the time he turned around and pulled up behind me, I was off the motorcycle, helmet off, hands in sight, and the motorcycle shut down. He was very polite and asked why I was going so fast. I didn't have a good excuse so I didn't bother.

He let me off with a warning, and was very polite.

Situation #2

I got pulled over for 10 over in my truck by a small-town cop at about 1:00 AM. I had to drive for a little while before he pulled me over because there was no safe place to stop. I tapped my brakes and continued on at a slower pace. Eventually I stopped just inside of the city limit sign. He warned me about deer on the road and let me go. He was very polite.

Situation #3

I got pulled over for running a "stale yellow" (I didn't clear the intersection before it turned red.) I got pulled over. I thought I had cleared. I apologized. He let me go with a warning. He was very polite.

Situation #4
I got pulled over for 11 over in California. He gave me a ticket. He was very polite.

Situation #5

While at a local dance hall for my sister's 30th birthday, I had one drink early in the night, and then stayed with the party until 2:00 AM. While in there someone (I think it may have been my sister's ex-boyfriend) covered my license plate light with shoe polish, so it looked burned out. A policeman saw me leave the bar, and followed me. When he saw my light "out" he pulled me over. He asked how many drinks I had, and I told him "one, several hours ago." He suggested that I fix my light as soon as possible. He was very polite.

Shall I go on? I think is the only way to re-build respect for Police. But nobody's going to read a thread called "A policeman was polite to me today." Let alone run a news story on it.

 

[Sukerkin]

Good to see some examples from the 'positive court' :tup:.

 

[jetboatdeath]

Situation #1

I got pulled over by a State Police who clocked me at 10 over on my motorcycle. By the time he turned around and pulled up behind me, I was off the motorcycle, helmet off, hands in sight, and the motorcycle shut down. He was very polite and asked why I was going so fast. I didn't have a good excuse so I didn't bother.

He let me off with a warning, and was very polite.

Situation #2

I got pulled over for 10 over in my truck by a small-town cop at about 1:00 AM. I had to drive for a little while before he pulled me over because there was no safe place to stop. I tapped my brakes and continued on at a slower pace. Eventually I stopped just inside of the city limit sign. He warned me about deer on the road and let me go. He was very polite.

Situation #3

I got pulled over for running a "stale yellow" (I didn't clear the intersection before it turned red.) I got pulled over. I thought I had cleared. I apologized. He let me go with a warning. He was very polite.

Situation #4
I got pulled over for 11 over in California. He gave me a ticket. He was very polite.

Situation #5

While at a local dance hall for my sister's 30th birthday, I had one drink early in the night, and then stayed with the party until 2:00 AM. While in there someone (I think it may have been my sister's ex-boyfriend) covered my license plate light with shoe polish, so it looked burned out. A policeman saw me leave the bar, and followed me. When he saw my light "out" he pulled me over. He asked how many drinks I had, and I told him "one, several hours ago." He suggested that I fix my light as soon as possible. He was very polite.

Shall I go on? I think is the only way to re-build respect for Police. But nobody's going to read a thread called "A policeman was polite to me today." Let alone run a news story on it.

I would read it... as i am sure alot of people would...
I have also "cop" friends that I hang out with two are great drinking buddies. I address these issues with them all the time... they don't have an answer either...

 

[jetboatdeath]

Zero tolerance approaches aren't popular, for a good reason. A cop can listen to a person, and decide that there was a decent justification for something, or at least a reason to exercise some discretion. Otherwise, where do you draw a line? Let's consider speed cameras: no discretion, and folks just love 'em, right?
[/font]
He's probably on paid leave because he hasn't been convicted yet, and because the internal investigation is ongoing. You also may not hear the outcome of that internal investigation; it's a personell matter. Or would you like all your personell records from your job to be published in the papers?


Cops are, in many ways, held to a higher standard than the general public. Will you lose your job over a traffic ticket? Are your family's finances subject to investigation?

No i wont loose my job for a traffic ticket? I would however if I broke hippa laws or violated the other terms.... We all have rules we must abide by....And what officers personal finance information is not public. As a public servent his pay is public info.

 

[Archangel M]

He means will your finances as in what you buy or say, your wifes purchase of a new car, be investigated to see if you are on the take? Not your salary.

 

[navyvetcv60]

What can the police do to get respect back?
First of all i want to thank DRAC for his honorable service to his community!!! You Sir in todays climate have a thankless job and I'm so glad there is people with GOOD moral character to do this job.
If the cops want more of my respect I'd like to see all this political correctness in the police force go away, quit treating criminals like bad little kid's, treat them like criminals, use your batons more often, make the bad guy fear the cops!!! they use to years ago before all this liberal political correctness, so go ahead crack some heads, break some noses, give these degenerate some tough love!!

 

[jetboatdeath]

He means will your finances as in what you buy or say, your wifes purchase of a new car, be investigated to see if you are on the take? Not your salary.

Ahh .....
If i was involved in a criminal activity yes....
Do they do this to every officer. If they do it is wrong....

 

[jetboatdeath]

What can the police do to get respect back?
First of all i want to thank DRAC for his honorable service to his community!!! You Sir in todays climate have a thankless job and I'm so glad there is people with GOOD moral character to do this job.
If the cops want more of my respect I'd like to see all this political correctness in the police force go away, quit treating criminals like bad little kid's, treat them like criminals, use your batons more often, make the bad guy fear the cops!!! they use to years ago before all this liberal political correctness, so go ahead crack some heads, break some noses, give these degenerate some tough love!!

I beleive this just might work but think of all the threads that were started on here because some loud mouth punk got knocked around.......
Don't taze me bro.....

 

[Empty Hands]

If the cops want more of my respect I'd like to see all this political correctness in the police force go away, quit treating criminals like bad little kid's, treat them like criminals, use your batons more often, make the bad guy fear the cops!!! they use to years ago before all this liberal political correctness, so go ahead crack some heads, break some noses, give these degenerate some tough love!!

Let me guess: cops these days are infected with the mental disease of liberalism?

You know, has it ever struck you or made you wonder why crime was more prevalent than it is now back in your golden glory days of liberal (heh) baton beatings?

 

[MJS]

IMO, the times have certainly changed. It seems that at one point there was alot of respect, but lately, people don't seem to have any. This could be for a number of reasons. I certainly wouldn't lump every cop into the same group, as there are fantastic ones, and there are ones that use the badge as a power trip.

I've been stopped a few times, some were town officers and one was a State Trooper. In those cases, everyone was respectful, there were no problems and no action taken, other than a verbal warning.

Lately, here in CT., there have been a few cases that have been in the paper, in which officers have been found guilty of criminal activity. I believe it is things like that, that make people lose respect. Afterall, these are supposed to be the people that are upholding the law, not breaking it.

And of course, we have clips like that one that was posted of that officer yelling at a group of kids for skateboarding. Again, things like that certainly don't help the reuptation of the LEOs thruout the world.

 

[navyvetcv60]

You know, has it ever struck you or made you wonder why crime was more prevalent than it is now back in your golden glory days of liberal (heh) baton beatings?[/quote]

I think you need to do your research, the percentage crime in the last 2 decade has out paced the population growth.

 

[Empty Hands]

I think you need to do your research, the percentage crime in the last 2 decade has out paced the population growth.

Considering that population growth is in the range of 0.9%, I'm not terribly surprised. That does absolutely nothing however to tell us what the crime rate was back in the 50's or 60's compared to today.

Were you unaware that crime rates fell dramatically in the 90's?

 

[navyvetcv60]

Considering that population growth is in the range of 0.9%, I'm not terribly surprised. That does absolutely nothing however to tell us what the crime rate was back in the 50's or 60's compared to today.

Thank you for being humble enough to admit your wrong.

Were you unaware that crime rates fell dramatically in the 90's?

NO, Please refer me to your statistics on this!! i would really like to see them.

 

[Sukerkin]

As ever with statistics, it's better to get at the raw data and form your own opinion.

Here's a place to start:

http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm

You have to bear in mind that even the collection of data is skewed to an extent by those who decide on the criteria (tho' there are techniques and precautions to prevent things getting too badly bent out of shape).

Having only a cursory loom look at the end-points, it would seem that the population has risen by 30% and the incidents of crime across the board by around 300%. Now some of this will be down to increased reporting (especially in the trully appalling rape stats) and some is down to redefinition (as in some things are now criminal when before they were merely anti-social) but that's a pretty bad indictment of the system to my eyes.

Here's an articte from 'outside' that shows how stats are used to support a story:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/nov/24/usa.andrewclark

It is what numbers you pick and how you present them that turns the raw data into information or mis-information depending on how you use it and the inate views of those reading it.

EDIT: I am surprised that I see so often the question along the lines of "show me your data" comes up so often on-line. After all, the medium being used for communication is the biggest and most easily accessible data store on the planet. It took me all of thirty seconds to pull up Google and create a search string. As with statistics themselves the trick is then to winnow out the unbiased sources from the swathe of self-serving or badly done studies. Try "crime rate USA" and see what comes out.

 

[Cryozombie]

Interestingly enough, the same officer that ticketed Jetboat for not wearing his seatbelt when he claims to have been wearing it also Ticketed my Nephew for not wearing his... while he was parked in a parking space in front of his Dojo listening to the radio with the car off.

I really think these types of behaviors lend a lot of the public "disrespect" for the police as much as people just not wanting to follow the laws or do as they are told. I've said it before, and I will say it again, I train with cops, and we hear it over and over, the general opinion they hold (at least here, I wont speak for anyone else) is that since 90% of the people they deal with are scum, so therefore if you arent a cop, you are either a scumbag, or a scumbag waiting to happen.

Hearing that, how can one not hold a bit of contempt for the cops? I mean, If we are ALL badguys or potential badguys, then aren't they ALL *******s or Potential *******s?

What I think needs to happen is twofold, #1 the cops need to reconnect with the people and realize that we arent all bad people, and #2 the lawmakers need to stop micro-regulating everything in a lame attempt to turn the police into Revenue Generation machines. (The latter is not the fault of the police, mind you, but since the cops are the "face" of the administration the people see, the people are of course going to blame them, even mistakenly.)

 

[Empty Hands]

NO, Please refer me to your statistics on this!! i would really like to see them.

OK, but first, where did that "humble enough to admit you're wrong" come from? You have it in my quote, but I never said it, and certainly not in the post you quoted.

In any case, here is a confirmation of the US growth rate of 0.9% from the CIA world fact book, and here is a confirmation of the drop in crime rates during the nineties from the Department of Justice.

 

[Cryozombie]

I train with cops, and we hear it over and over, the general opinion they hold (at least here, I wont speak for anyone else) is that since 90% of the people they deal with are scum, so therefore if you arent a cop, you are either a scumbag, or a scumbag waiting to happen.

Oops, I wanna correct this statement... They dont SAY since 90% of the people they deal with are scum, therefore... they say that if you arent a cop, you are either a scumbag, or a scumbag waiting to happen... I'm making an assumption this belief comes from the fact that 90% of the people they deal with are scum.

 

[Archangel M]

Generalizing about cops generalizing about people..seems a bit circular.

 

[grydth]

Even as corrected, you can scarcely blame the public if they don't respect those specific guys.

First because these LEOs will encounter other forms of life such as victims and innocent bystanders.... probably the huge majority of people they will see. Second, because there are crooked cops as well as civilian scumbags. Being a cop is no immunity to being a bad apple, in fact bad cops are rotten apples.

Just as I do not condone the public disrespecting all cops because of a few bad ones, these cops you cite are just as bad attitude wise.

When cops view the people they are protecting - and who are paying them - as scumbags, there's a liklihood that this attitude will come out in their public actions..... which will lead some, as on this thread, to disrespect all cops.... and so on....its a mutually destructive and degenerative process of thoughlessness.