Police fear they gamble on their career if they use force, says chief superintendent

26 comments

1. [deleted]

2. Reminder that police have the same right of self defence as anyone else. And it should remain that way.

3. It is as the great seller of rice once said, with great power comes great responsibility.

4. Why is it a gamble? Use and type of force should be easy to justify.

5. No officer will dispute or argue the fact that they hold a greater responsibility than other members of the public. However, there is some complete disregard for the fact the officers are faced with far more dangerous and conflicting situations than a normal member of the public.

   This is not a conversation about officers who use excessive force or weaponise the power they are given as a constable. This is a conversation about the fact that someone sat behind a desk or a computer screen will suggest 100 other contingency options that the officer could’ve done in a fast pace stressful situation, where every split second matters.

   The point here is that offices are reluctant to use force because even if it is justified the likelihood that someone somewhere will be upset about it and that is now the threshold of investigating someone for using force debilitates the polices ability to deal with violent situations.

   For example, I had a situation where a man had punched three people and been damaging cars. When approached he then spat at my colleague and punched me in the face and when he was tackled to the floor and arrested the members of the public watching continued to berating me stating , that I was abusing my Power. No mention of the damage she caused no mention of the victims he had punched. Did that person know that the suspect was wanted by Interpol.

   Again, no reasonable officer will dispute the conversation about excessive force.

6. Good. Policing by consent, one of the key tenants of peelian policing. The alternative is the american system of paramilitary police gangs acting as judge, jury, and executioner

7. Hence the reason there is no one going in the police force glad I left after my probation period

8. My suggestion: body cam on all the time, lethal force whenever faced with any physical violence whatsoever. Policing by consent is an oxymoron proposed by hypocrites and imbeciles.

9. This is simple. WEAK senior ranks terrified of the media and activist groups/MP’s have created this situation. Front line officers don’t feel supported.

   The public lose out when officers are more worried about being ‘stuck on’ but their own.

10. They should. They literally should be held to greater account than regular citizens and it should be rigorously enforced.

    It is far, far worse to allow an officer leeway, as it leads inevitably to worse situations, than it is to drop the hammer on every infraction. They. Serve. Us.

11. Good. Because if you feel like the use of force is anything but a last resort your gonna have a lot of police using force when it might not be warranted.

    You should use force if and only if you feel its the absolute last resort, and in those sorts of situations juries generally stand with the police.

12. This is complete rubbish, the police have pretty decent reign to apply a reasonable level of violence to apprehend a suspect. We have reasonable and irreproachable standards of conduct for the police, which keep everyone safe. This is the kind of excuse the police often trot out this imaginary problem when one of their colleagues gets exposed for abuse and subsequently keeps their job after a paid suspension, but you never see them complaining about that do you? It’s all a distraction.

    In America, the police are not only armed with pistols, but they often have rifles and shotguns in their patrol vehicle. And yet, when push comes to shove and theres a school being massacred they stand outside and do nothing.

    The police are failed by an overly-rehabilitive justice system and overwhelmed prison system. We need to decriminalise all drugs to reduce the stress on prisons, as **drug charges make up around 50% of all crime.**

13. Police officers should refuse to use all force. If you can be found guilty of assault for grabbing a suspected criminal by the arm, like the bus incident in Croydon, literally any use of force can be deemed unlawful.

    All the people in these comments saying it’s a good thing the police are afraid to use force and use their powers can suffer the consequences of wanting a neutered police force. Enjoy getting mugged by criminals acting with impunity. We’re already well on our way there now.

14. It’s absolutely right that the police should be held to the highest possible standards – this is essential for public trust in policing. Making an “honest mistake” isn’t necessarily an excuse when your actions have serious consequences. Professionals in other high risk professions like surgery, commercial diving and air traffic control will also face investigations if their mistakes cause serious harm. If someone can’t handle that, then they shouldn’t be in the police. 

15. I think the issue is force has been used by poor coppers in situations that don’t require force and never did, and then they get off scot free.

    Whereas police who use force in dangerous situations get dragged across the coals more often than not.

16. I’m betting they’ll see little sympathy from the security sector.

    Who receive fa sympathy from the police whilst gambling on their career when they use force.

17. I feel like a hearty bit of respect and fear of using force might do them good?

    The last thing the country needs is police officers running around using violence unnecessarily and without question.

18. One of the 7483847288283 billion reasons i packed it in. It’s shite

19. They don’t fear using force against women at a vigil, or sharing pictures of sisters who had been murdered.

    Need to start again, policing by consent.

20. Police are by far the most oppressed minority. How will they function without facing punishment for attacking women at a vigil? Britain will surely collapse under the woke agenda for this one

21. I left the police two years ago, having worked in armed response, for this very reason. All it takes is for someone to crop a video clip to make it look like I am using ‘excessive’ force and the court of public opinion will do the rest. The police themselves will not stand up for me and provide the context while an investigation is ongoing and I don’t trust the IOPC to treat both the police involved and other party with equal impartiality.

    The Chris Kaba shooting says it all. The IOPC didn’t want to clear the police, nor did the CPS, because they would be branded as not being impartial. It took a jury less than three hours to clear the officer, which says it all to me when it comes to what direction the evidence pointed in and how clear cut the case was for proportionate force. Same goes for the Manchester airport incident.

22. Good.

    I don’t want to go back to the tone that led to the coverup of the Hillsborough Disaster. People with power (police) need to bear a sense of responsibility and fear of consequences of overstepping their remit.

23. Does kicking heads count as reasonable force or does it depend lol

24. The normal humans among us call that “a sense of responsibility”

25. they know the guidelines, they’ve done the training, what is there to be worried about unless you believe you are incapable to sticking to it…

26. It doesn’t help with the morons on the internet also trying to get their opinions in… Only need to look at that airport assault situation…

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