General Policing Discussions

Sorry for being quiet for a long period. so, I have finally completed my training after being injured in February due to OST 🤣. but I managed to finish the intensive course and I think the word “intensive” is the correct wording. I think overall the quality of the training was fantastic, the trainers were so invested in ensuring we pass our exams and assessments. It was really a great environment. it’s a rather sobering moment when you realise the next stop and search or arrest will be in public. but the whole journey this far has been fantastic.

The government hasn't officially given us a pay cut but with inflation at 2.5% and predicted to peak at between 3 and 4% our pay freeze means that we will be receiving a pay cut. That is also on top of the last 10 years of freezes and under inflation rises. We've worked through covid and received platitudes from the government but nothing which really acknowledges the effort we put in to help keep the nation safe.

What is your judgement from experience on the level of crime in the Gypsy and Traveller community, do you think it's a minority giving the whole community a bad name as they claim, the same offending rate as any other community, or do you think their whole lifestyle is based on crime ?

I have noticed that so far this year I have faced more serious and unpleasant jobs, suicides, fatals, child deaths and some heavy work incidents than in recent years and I'm getting close to my limit as are many others. Work have a post incident debrief and an EAP which I am led to believe is supportive, if you go for it. However knowing police officers general attitude of stoically getting through and being generally unlikely to actually engage with many services I am trying to identify something that could be automatically done to support officers. We are trialing a trauma monitoring system which records which officers have been exposed to the bad stuff…

Hi all. I’m an ex Met detective with just over 20 years and been away for 3 years. Now settled in my new career and have heaps of spare time and looking to volunteer as a SC with my local force. Back in the day after burning my Hendon white notes, I had the beat officers companion and the Blackstones books to keep myself up to date. Just curious if there are any good police powers/legislation apps that I can start to use to refresh my knowledge. Many thanks,

Many people complain at how our police shouldn't be social workers and that real police work is being diluted by non-criminal problems. This video explains that in Japan, the local "koban" or police station, is a one-stop shop for problems large and small beyond traditional police work from finding a hotel room, listening to marital spats, to operating the world's largest lost-and-found! Imagine that being done here, most people (and I'm sure officers included), would see that as a waste of time.

Within the last decade this has been a lot of discussion about this in the US. It is the idea that the mindset and equipment of civilian police has become more military-like (in the negative sense) and the us (community) has been replaced by the PD v Civ (us and them). US Examples - Federal 1033 programme (giving old rifles, launchers, armoured vehicles etc to civilian police from US Military). Carrying lethal weapons during everyday patrol etc. Do you think there will ever be a move for this in the UK? With much more unrest, terrorism and less-tolerant narratives, do you think that this will become more prominent or more necessary here? Over the last few …

Portrayal of the police in soaps has never been very good. They are always portrayed as quite robotic and one dimensional and of course their competency fluctuates wildly depending on the needs of the storyline. Police-specific dramas like The Bill seemed to be at least somewhat more grounded in reality, if you ignore that awful period around 2005 when they tried turning it into a soap. Then you have the actual non-fiction documentaries like 24 Hours In Police Custody. As a police officer how do you feel when you watch a show that portrays the police? Do you cringe when you see a long serving Chief Inspector in the script make a blatant rookie mistake? How could they…

In the civil liberties debate there is an argument that the public should be kept informed of the specific types of tactics and methods police use in fighting crime. The argument goes that policing by consent is meaningless unless its informed consent, and that we need to know how the police operate in order to have a public discussion about whether we as a society are ok with those methods being used. Where do you stand on this? The public should have some knowledge about how the police operate and yet common sense would dictate there has to be some limit on exactly what details are allowed into the public domain. How much knowledge is too much for the public to be given…

Do officers generally prefer to police in the same area they live, or in a different area? Obvious advantage I can see of policing the same area you live is that you know the area well, know what's going on, know the locals. But then that last bit cuts both ways, and you might encounter people you've dealt with on your weekly shop. Has this ever happened and did you get any hassle, or do people often not recognize you when without the uniform?

Are the police too remote? Have the police now become mostly reactive in their community policing? Are the days of proper community policing now gone? Will we ever see a return to proper community policing, where officers wearing uniform patrol neighbourhoods, engage with them and foster better relationships?

If you’re around middle-aged or even my age 🙄 would you apply to join the job nowadays? I believe there’s still a place for dedicated, loyal, honest, trustworthy and courageous individuals in the police forces of today. However, it seems that they are suffering more stress than ever due to pressure upon them to do a super-human job with one hand tied behind their backs. Could you do it? Would you want to do it?

I no longer use a PNB given my rank and use a day book, i’m a tech fan so was looking a digital way of doing it. we have a job mobile which I use the PNB function on that for quick notes or some details. I was thinking of using an Ipad, or something similar to use as a day book, as I hate a book especially when trying to take notes at scenes etc. I just find it awkward. I can’t find anything on my forces policy around this, any notes will be secure and backed up and can be locked, more secure than a daybook. Anyone do this or had issues with it?

Hi all, So I was in a conversation with some officers earlier who were talking about the days when they joined, this ranged from 30-40 years ago right back to 2 years ago. When discussing joining they brought up the topic of hindsight and whether there was anything they would have done differently prior to joining, for instance one person said that they would have kept themselves fit rather than letting themselves go after passing the recruitment bleep test, another mentioned that they would have tried to start reading and understanding PACE a bit more? It got me to wondering whether any of yourselves have any thoughts on what you might have changed if anything…