Popular Posts

Monday, 1 July 2019

Trouble in the Ranks..


A Policeman’s Lot is Not a Happy One....


I have just watched a report on BBC television about Police Services in the UK.

It stated that ‘a police officer is assaulted every twenty minutes throughout the country’.

I find that frightening for in my 31 years service in London, I was assaulted three times, once seriously and twice minor cases.   The more serious aspect of the report was that the two officers interviewed, one recently retired and the other currently serving, was that both said that they would not become officers if the chance reoccurred.
  
Although I was quite shocked, I should not have been too surprised.  You see, quite often I now deny that I was ever in the service.   I retired in 1996.

Since then, and particularly within the past ten years, Police Stations up and down the country, but in particular London, have been closing in ever increasing numbers.   They have even sold Scotland Yard offices where I served eight years and moved to smaller premises.   The number of current officers has been drastically reduced.



Police officers find themselves being attacked with weapons, spat upon, being watched and scrutinised on and off duty, earning less than they did ten to fifteen years ago, and expected to be on call at the drop of a hat.

It is unfair, or in legal jargon, ‘unreasonable’.  Many officers as a result are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and it is little wonder.   Their powers of ‘Stop and Search’ have been reduced to almost zero which has in my opinion (and one shared by most officers) caused the unbelievable increase in knife crimeincluding ever increasing murders in which such weapons are used.
   
Would I ‘join up’ again or recommend the ‘Job’ to a young person?   Almost certainly ‘Not’ – and that is after the best 31 years of my life.   I thoroughly enjoyed 97% of my time.

As the title of this post says ‘A policeman’s lot is not a happy one’ it is little wonder when a ‘complaint against a police officer’ gets investigated more thoroughly than a burglary to one’s home.   In some cases, victims of crime are asked to report it ‘on-line’.   What a mockery.................


As my old father used to say Morale is on its Uppers.....................






--------Mike--------

No comments:

Post a Comment