My Grandaughters partner ! He is still in training but has spent some 8 years playing the recruiting game. That is, you are told initially to go and become a 'Special', after a few more applications for the 'Regular' force, you are told to go away and become a P.C.S.O. then after several more applications you are eventually accepted. This process takes some 6 to 8 years to finally reach fruition, oh and a drop in salary of some £2,000 from top PCSO to bottom line Constable. Believe it or not there is still a queue at the door ! In my day (1970's) under good old Harold Wilson, there were more going out of the door than coming in, off to better paid jobs at Ford's or Vauxhall's. I stuck it out because I knew that the drop in numbers could not persist. Then, along came Maggie, God bless her !who would be a copper in todays society ? :hmm:
Probably more than you could imagine ! If MP's feel threatened, suddenly there are 1000 more Officers available to protect them, if yer village Bobby drops in the brown sticky manure, he is on his own literally. IF you are getting a hiding, minutes seem like hours, if you are in the middle of nowhere they ARE hours ! I recently watched a program where a male and female Officer were miles from anywhere fighting with some drugged up loon, it took some 40 minutes for assistance to reach them. Rural crime is out through the roof with farm machinery being the biggest targets, and the chances of being caught are er .................almost NIL.Maybe increase the number of armed officers in cities but does the local village bobby out in the sticks who’s biggest worry is whose milk is going to get nicked this month really need a Glock on their waist?
i totally agree we need officers to be able to protect us and themselves from the out of control crime that is getting worse year on yearMy Grandaughters partner ! He is still in training but has spent some 8 years playing the recruiting game. That is, you are told initially to go and become a 'Special', after a few more applications for the 'Regular' force, you are told to go away and become a P.C.S.O. then after several more applications you are eventually accepted. This process takes some 6 to 8 years to finally reach fruition, oh and a drop in salary of some £2,000 from top PCSO to bottom line Constable. Believe it or not there is still a queue at the door ! In my day (1970's) under good old Harold Wilson, there were more going out of the door than coming in, off to better paid jobs at Ford's or Vauxhall's. I stuck it out because I knew that the drop in numbers could not persist. Then, along came Maggie, God bless her !
Probably more than you could imagine ! If MP's feel threatened, suddenly there are 1000 more Officers available to protect them, if yer village Bobby drops in the brown sticky manure, he is on his own literally. IF you are getting a hiding, minutes seem like hours, if you are in the middle of nowhere they ARE hours ! I recently watched a program where a male and female Officer were miles from anywhere fighting with some drugged up loon, it took some 40 minutes for assistance to reach them. Rural crime is out through the roof with farm machinery being the biggest targets, and the chances of being caught are er .................almost NIL.
Thirty years ago there were sufficient numbers to carry out patrols both mobile and on foot, now there just is not sufficient numbers to do that.I don't want to see every bobby carrying a gun because I can't see what difference it would make. These day the police are a sort of paramilitary response force and here in Glos they're based in a modern unit on an industrial estate with no simple direct route to any town other than Gloucester itself which is about 4 or 5 miles away. If there were a major incident outside office hours involving a firearm in say Stroud, no police of any stripe could be in attendance within 20-25 minutes.
Perhaps if the police went back 30 years to being out and about in the community and operating patrol cars there might be some point to arming them, but the modern system of sitting behind a computer screen until something happens renders it pointless in my view.
Well that's the conventional received wisdom, much bandied around by politicians every time there's a major incident. Sadiq Khan on Friday for example.Thirty years ago there were sufficient numbers to carry out patrols both mobile and on foot, now there just is not sufficient numbers to do that.
I live in a small village in Lincolnshire , its a tad more serious than milk theft !! car crime , shed burglaries , my property was burgled in 2006 , dog theft etc , its gangs from else ware , making a living out of crime , our deterrent dose not scare them its a badge of honour to them !! the police have a impossible job these days , but for the likes of me the police give you a incident number !! my local shooting ground in the last week have had shotgun stolen and a vehicle with a dog inside ( recovering from surgery ) taken . we are outnumbered 3 to one with toe rags .Maybe increase the number of armed officers in cities but does the local village bobby out in the sticks who’s biggest worry is whose milk is going to get nicked this month really need a Glock on their waist?
its only a informal forum , do we have to be on punctuation alert ?I presumed it was a question, even with the lack of appropriate punctuation. I answered it with my view. You can think yes if you like but I'll stick with my own view thanks.
Helps to know whether it was actually a question or just a statement.its only a informal forum , do we have to be on punctuation alert ?
And there you have it. Officers at the sharp end are hampered by rules, procedures and PC nonsense imposed from the top floor and demotivated by the soft sentences handed out to very nasty people.the police have a impossible job these days
Yes, Graduate Entry schemes have a lot to answer for !And there you have it. Officers at the sharp end are hampered by rules, procedures and PC nonsense imposed from the top floor and demotivated by the soft sentences handed out to very nasty people.
Implying something of a rash generalizationAmerican police have been armed since day one, would you swap our streets with theirs ?
I think it should be a prerequisite for every fully warranted graduate police officer to have served a minimum of 5 years in uniform going out on calls and sorting out local low life, junkies, dealers, road accidents, travellers, yobs and other emergences before being considered for the fast track to seniority (and freemasonry).Yes, Graduate Entry schemes have a lot to answer for !
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