Does the UK Policing System Need an Overhaul?
- Victoria-Jayne
- Aug 2, 2020
- 2 min read
In recent weeks we have come to learn about the type of people police forces around the UK have employed and are employing. Now when we think about what a police officer should be like we generally think they are good honest law abiding citizens with a good morale compass and have their finances in order. However, as with any job people from all walks of life are encouraged to apply and there are schemes in place for university graduates and so on.
Unfortunately evidence has come to light proving that constabularies around the UK are employing and have actively employed officers with criminal records. The nature of the convictions range from firearms, drugs and assault convictions with the severity varying naturally from person to person.
This raises questions as to whether all current constabularies’ employees are fit to do the job they were employed to do.
Could you trust a police officer who had convictions involving violence and is being openly accused of police brutality by someone who has been detained? Could you honestly say you wouldn’t suspect there hadn’t been any wrong doing???
Does this now put us in a position where our UK police forces are comparable with American counterparts?
Could you knowingly trust the people who are bound by ‘The police and criminal evidence act 1984’ to do the job they were employed to do in an honest and professional manner??
Should recent events in America be the catalyst for change in the UK? Should it make the government look at how policing needs to evolve with the times to eliminate things like being more likely to be stopped and searched because of the colour of your skin and to stop questionable characters being put in positions of power that may lead to un-welcomed attention because of the person’s actions?
I guess ultimately time will dictate how this plays out, but in future be aware not every police officer you meet is as honest as they should be and their moral compass may not always be pointing in the right direction.
Written By: Ben Landy
News Reporter.
You can’t have cow boys without Indians Ben,
That’s how we learn, from both sides of the coin.
If your brother could steal £100k car in 2.3 secs with a slide hammer n slim Jim - would you be disgusted and walk away ??? Or see a gift, That’s gone wobbly. Why run from it, embrace & educate that person and their skill into society to help people in our communities. Give them a job in RAC, let them do workshops to teach skills but with the benefit they can change and watch them believe in themselves.
My money ( not that I bet ) is on teaching the ‘TWOC’’er that A job working in community helping a mother &…
A most revealing argument, Ben. Indeed, the police needs an overhaul; however, your argument is flawed. To begin, you must ask yourself: what is the purpose of the police? To keep the peace. And what does this mean? It means preventing society from falling into a state of nature. To avoid taking on former criminals would be a great mistake for the constabulary. Remember, when Sir Robert Peel passed the 1829 Metropolitan Police Act, criminality was the chief criteria he wanted for his constables. This is because, as former criminals, they knew how criminals thought. And to know how a criminal thinks makes preventing crime much easier than working tabula rasa. It is the same case as in, say a…