Defund the police and more

[Blueblue123]

I thought BLM was the mouthpiece of a united black community

Said who? That's like picking a certain feminist or LGBTQ+ group and assuming they represent everyone and anyone who identifies as such.

Black people aren't the only ones asking to defund the police either. BLM brought the conversation to the forefront but I'm not sure why you're positioning this as a uniquely black concern. Working class people, women, the disabled and LGBTQ+ people will all have their own worries and doubts over how police historically interact with them.

Also the defund movement is on a scale. Right from the complete removal of a police force, replaced by a community program, all the way to a restructuring of how they're able to apply their powers and that money being put towards social schemes.

The removal of police is something that hasn't properly or successfully been implemented, of course there'll be teething issues and people willing to return to the status quo.

Also the vote was a 56-44 split. Hardly a near unanimous decision.

 

[IngressUK]

I've had some terrible experiences with the police in the UK which reinforce the view that they look after themselves even when in the wrong. Just my experience and it wouldn't be fair to judge the whole force.

A suspected drunk off duty met police officer wrote off a friend's car crashing into it but when the on duty "independent" police officer arrived he conveniently failed to breathalyse anyone. They colluded to intimidate someone innocent in their early 20s who hadn't been driving for long and made her think she was in trouble when she'd done nothing wrong. Her insurance went up, she had minor injuries for months and now probably has a lifelong distain of the police due to two officers with very poor conduct. She didn't take it further.

I know of several other cases like this. But of course defunding isn't the answer. The systemic issues need to be addressed. I'm not suprised public confidence is low as they don't seem to attend often - another friend called up when a burglary was in progress and they wouldn't attend .

It attracts the best and worst people for the job. Friends I know in the met seem to very quickly pick up bad traits when someone experienced takes them under their wing and passes them on.

Very tricky job that seems to be getting even harder to do. I think their benefits (like the subsidised housing for the first two years) have been reduced.

I agree with you on that one Yel.

Reposted from another thread:

Back in 2013 myself and a mate witnessed someone being bottled outside a pub in New Cross. When the Police arrived my mate went over to the Inspector to try and explain what had happened. Instead this Inspector pulled his hair tackled him to the ground and put a knee in his back. When I went over and told the Inspector he was highly out of order, I was threatened with arrest for obstructing. (Err no, I was trying to stop you being an overly brutal pig to my mate whom was a witness to the incident).

At this point I was rather angry and said to him, 'go ahead', but rest assured his Chief Super/Constable would have been hearing more about the incident, plus the media too.

Of the Inspectors' female colleagues who witnessed the incident pulled me away and basically implied (without compromising herself) that the Inspector had been out of order. She then proceeded to take my statement regarding the incident.

My mate received NO apology from the Inspector for being wrongly thrown about and manhandled as a mere witness to the incident.

Whilst I don't agree with with 'defund the Police', services like the Met do themselves no favours by their actions, lack of action (in the case of XR and IB), plus the calibre of some of those they employ.

 

[Ethel's little Willy]

I attended a meeting with the local police force this week as they are trying to rebuild a fractured relationship with the public.

The Superintendent who was present accepted the force "is not good enough" "completely understaffed and overwhelmed by soaring crimes in the area".
She even said that the number of new officers that were trained through the pandemic (at home) are "not up to scratch".
How does she expect the public to feel when we hear this?? The stories that came from some of the people at the meeting you just couldn't make up! Elderly burglary victims being left with broken locks/windows for days until the police turned up. 1 man had been threatened to have his house burned down with him and his young kids in it cos he reported an off road biker, but the police said they lost his video evidence even though he sent it to them 3 times!

My local force are in special measures.

There's been a spate of attacks by the same small gang of teenagers, 1 attack included a woman being stabbed at 10.30 am!! Everyone knows who they are, they were released on police bail and committed a further 2 attacks in Broad daylight. They're still on bail and strutting about like they're the cocks of the walk (cocks being the appropriate term!!!)

There's no fear from the likes of these individuals! Not really surprising when you find out there's police officers out there that a Superintendent doesn't have much faith in!

According to the Superintendent there is going to be a national drive in women's safety. It's all well and good teaching us how to look after ourselves but surely they need to tackle the root of the problem which is those who have no regards for women or their personal safety.

I used to work very closely with the police and knew how hard most of them worked, but after a few incidents I have lost quite a bit of respect for those in the high up positions who seem to forget about the whole 'Protect and Serve' motto.

 

[GreenEyedStorm]

The whole defund the police is crazy! The people that say that are the first ones to call them in their time of need!

 

[whathastheworldcometo]

The whole defund the police is crazy! The people that say that are the first ones to call them in their time of need!

And for the police not to do anything

(See recent child murders and other experiences.... I called them to report fraud and didnt even get a call back)

 

[Blueblue123]

The whole defund the police is crazy! The people that say that are the first ones to call them in their time of need!

Calling the police is currently society's only response to crime, so obviously it's what people do.

But many people have unfortunately seen inaction after doing so, so they're asking for more effective alternatives.

 

[Blueblue123]

And that's literally the point

 

[NeverEnough]

The latest position in San Francisco. One of the most Liberal cities in the US and a high profile advocate of defund the police.

What a San Francisco vote says about the US left

The recall of San Francisco's top public prosecutor amid rising drug deaths exposes a rift on the left.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Notworthy]

Defund the police doesn't mean abolishing the police force or cutting pay or cutting back on police numbers.

It's about cutting back on astronomical police budgets
It looks to shed more light on police spend, cutting back and reinvesting the money in the local communities.

I think the name 'defund police' is stupid and misleading especially for those who don't read beyond the headlines.

It's about cancelling pensions, it's about not allowing bent coppers to resign on full pensions, it's about not allowing killer coppers to keep their huge pensions. Coppers that have been convcited of rape and served sentences have been able to keep their police pensions.

Four police officers spent three weeks partying in Spain when they should have been catching crooks.

Also sick pay is a huge problem across the UK with forces. One cop was off sick on full pay for four years with a bad back and spent most of that time on the golf course until a local newspaper exposed him. One of many. There is a lot of financial abuse.


I'm not anti police I'm just explaining what 'defund the police' actually means.

They need to change the name of the group as it's ridiculously misleading.

Your points apply to every service though not just the Police. There's shocking waste in the NHS, the Railway, local government etc. Can you imagine the outcry if there was a refund the NHS movement, yet if any public service needed reorganizing, it's the NHS.

 

[Pinkii]

The fact that people think police are over funded is funny. It’s literally the opposite.

The issue is where the funds are going. A whole lot goes higher up for the paperwork bullshit stuff.

my friend is an officer and they are literally cancelling one rest day every 2 weeks to get them to work as they don’t have enough officers.

They need to redistribute the funds properly, the money always goes higher up than where it needs to be.

I used to work for a chairty and the funds and donations were never used for the actual cause but always went to the directors etc.