Wandering Off Topic

[Eleanor]

Making sure the population feels safe from the police would be a start.

Especially women.  Policemen shouldn't be out on their own.

[jassi]

Some bad apples have slipped through the net but not by any means should all the dedicated men and women (and THAT is probably an example of non-PC speak in this day and age) be tarred with the same stick.

Imagine if the good guys weren't there!

I think it is more than a few, but its a good place to start by getting rid of them before looking at others.

I don't know how recruits are vetted but clearly it needs to be improved to exclude the racist and misogynistic from being appointed.

[jassi]

Especially women.  Policemen shouldn't be out on their own.

Not even when they are not on duty?

[Eleanor]

Some bad apples have slipped through the net but not by any means should all the dedicated men and women (and THAT is probably an example of non-PC speak in this day and age) be tarred with the same stick.

Imagine if the good guys weren't there!

Men going up through the ranks become clones.  I saw that happening in Plymouth 40 years ago.  And they all wore the same polyester suits.

[Vertigo Swirl]

I think it is more than a few, but its a good place to start by getting rid of them before looking at others.

I don't know how recruits are vetted but clearly it needs to be improved to exclude the racist and misogynistic from being appointed.

I wonder how many start off as role models of propriety and decency, and end up being corrupted or shaped by their experiences in the field

[Eleanor]

Not even when they are not on duty?

Difficult.  It's often the uniform that gives them the power to stop people.

[Vertigo Swirl]

I don't know about the Met but I watched a shocking documentary last night about a murder/suicide that took place in Essex in which the Essex police were notified multiple times of the dangerous and threatening behaviour that an ex-husband was demonstrating towards his family but the police response was wholly inadequate.  They clearly treated it as a domestic argument and didn't recognise the seriousness of the threats despite repeated attempts by the man's ex-partner to get them to find and arrest him.  He eventually set light to his ex mother in law and then himself in front of his ex.  These Met failings towards women are certainly widespread throughout the UK in my opinion. 

[Brietta]

Difficult.  It's often the uniform that gives them the power to stop people.

At one time who would have questioned being pulled over by a police vehicle or someone with a warrant card.  That trust is demonstrably broken with recent high profile cases.  It is a very serious situation indeed for the Met and for the country.  Policing has to be done by consent and that requires trust.  Undoubtedly there are those who have used their position as a licence commit crimes up to murder and very possibly were attracted to recruiting as a police officer as their entry ticket. 
The best that can be said about it is that the situation has been recognised and it is not too late to do something about it.  That alone is going to be a herculean task but quite obviously revolutionary different attitudes to those which have been in force must be applied throughout.  Any alternative is unthinkable.

[Eleanor]

The Met will take a long time to recover.  I stopped trusting The Police in general a very long time ago, so it isn't just The Met.  And I was more or less middle class by then.  But I still had the working class fight back mentality.  So instead of being fair game they bit off a bit more than they could chew with me.  And that was a laugh, I must tell you.

[G-Unit]

I think breaking it up into more manageable chunks is the only solution.

[Eleanor]

I think breaking it up into more manageable chunks is the only solution.

Managed by whom?  This has been going on for years so the Top Brass are also suspect.

[jassi]

Managed by whom?  This has been going on for years so the Top Brass are also suspect.

Different agencies , I suppose.
Anti- Terrorism could go to MI5  or NCA for example. Diplomatic protection ditto.
I don't know the geographical area covered by the Met, but maybe some of that area could go to surrounding forces - not that they don't have their own problems.

[Vertigo Swirl]

As none of us really knows very much about the internal machinations and structures of the police I think it's a problem best left to those who know what's what to solve.  I mean, my suggestion would be to get rid of all male police and replace them with black and ethnic minority lesbian police, which should solve all the issues in one fell swoop but I doubt it's very practical. 

[Brietta]

Managed by whom?  This has been going on for years so the Top Brass are also suspect.

It is a culture which I imagine is top down possibly as a result of the implementation of poor recruitment strategies.

[Brietta]

Different agencies , I suppose.
Anti- Terrorism could go to MI5  or NCA for example. Diplomatic protection ditto.
I don't know the geographical area covered by the Met, but maybe some of that area could go to surrounding forces - not that they don't have their own problems.

In Scotland the reverse strategy has been implemented.  We now have one big "Police Scotland" in operation.