I think that although it is easy to pompare the police with the army etc, it does not really help here.
We already know the army get paid less, have much harder living conditions while on operations, have much less chance to deal with opposition who can literally kill them at will. We also know that although the army have many times fewer members on ops they have a much higher death rate while doing their job. The case of Keith Blakelock was an outrage in the UK, but a squaddie suffering the same (or probably much worse) fate in Afgan would easily be second to any of the TV talent shows in the press IMHO.
The fact is that most of us knew the pay and conditions we would meet when we signed on. I for one could never be a copper in modern times as I could not cope with the level of 'lip' and abuse from a large section of the public.
I do however feel the police have been their own worst enemy and have chosen the wrong battles to fight (as a body of people). Thirty years ago many crimes and individuals could be dealt with by one officer, whereas today the same offence may take six officers! The officers are better trained today, have better comms and quicker backup, but the law is weaker (or more in favour of offenders) now IMHO.
In my teenage years I remember lots of incidents where lip to an officer was quashed with a truncheon, whereas now it may just bring on two more officers to support the initial one or two. Did this technique work? I can say that the police receive more abuse now than then.
Talk to the average airman/soldier/sailor and ask them how they deal with civilian v military police! If our police had more 'on the street power' and didn't have 'political powers' foisted on them I feel that we would have better policing, and more spare officers to do the job they joined to do.
I have worked with police on many occasions and have always got on well with them, but sometimes feel that they are now a shadow of the officers I knew as a child, despite them having a lot more power.
If the police had fought battles over various laws in earlier decades they may not be in the overworked crisis they are now.
Last edited by barnstormer1968; 30th May 2012 at 09:23.