why do i feel this way?

Question

I am 32 with a family and fulltime job, which i hold down well, I dont drink alcohol or do drugs, and i also have a degree in Engish Literature. But every time i see a cop i get a feeling of hate like he is taking away someones civil liberty's. I have never been in trouble with the police myself and neither have my children. it is puzzling me please help if you can.

Do policemen just patrol around looking for the smallest thing to get their arrest rate up?

Dont tell me no-one ever gets a good kicking in the cells when no-one is looking (even if he has been insulting?)

Answer 1

Police do as told and don't make the laws either I know what u want and so do I A new system that evokes more respect and less paranoia ! Hate is a by product of fear...also psychological
reviews and redundancy built into safeguards would help

Answer 2

I don't know why you feel this way but I think you need to speak to someone about it before it gets any worse - ask your GP to refer you to a psychologist or similar so you can try to get to the bottom of the reason for your fear.

Police officers, in the main, DO NOT patrol around looking for the smallest thing to get their arrest rates - arrest and detection rates are important and what the police are judged by. However, high visibility patrols are also there to deter crime and to make people feel safer if possible.

Many police cells now have CCTV in each one. To be given a kicking by officers in a cell would be like winning the lottery - because there would be loads of visual evidence.

Things have changed since the old "cops & robbers" type programmes and there are many more checks and balances in place to ensure that this type of thing does not happen. When a person is brought into custody, any injuries are documented and if necessary, the person is seen by a doctor. So, any injuries that occurred within the cell would be quite obvious.

I think perhaps you need to try and get a grip on reality. Maybe a chat with one of your local police officers and a tour around your local police station and cells would help to put your mind at rest on some of these issues.

Good luck

Answer 3

Your feeling towards the police are quite normal. This is due to the fact that our justice system favours the criminal. The police get frustrated that those they arrest are given pitiful sentences and then released early to commit crimes again.
They then feel the need to harrass and arrest innocent people just to keep the clear up rates looking good.
A solution to the problem would be to have a minimum jail term of 5yrs for any offence and an automatic death sentence for repeat offenders. This would keep down the prison population and act as a deterent to criminals.
Lets face it, if someone breaks into you home and steals things they should be put to death. It`s there own fault for doing it and there is no excuse. The police would then be able to protect the law abiding public`s civil rights.

Answer 4

One day u might get pulled over! As long as ur honest and respectable to the cop things will go much easier, and u will proly just get a warnin. You may feel like that about cops but if u do ever happen to get pulled over remember to be cool and not let that attitude get the best of ya...
You can either make the cop ur best friend or ur worst enemy, the choice is urs! No they dont go lookin for the smallest thing to get the arrest rate up! They have a crap load of paper work as it is why would they want to add more if it's not necessary? Just somethin to think about!


This is coming from someone who was once arrested..lol
and I am now married to a cop..lol...yeah go figure!

Answer 5

I am a 20 year old Criminal Justice major and believe or not I sometimes feel the same way. I have not had any run ins with the law but I think its just a vibe that we automatically assume from the tv, radio and other sources of media. We learned in my criminal justice ethics class how personal problems can interfere with an police officers work ethic. To answer your q about the arrest rates, some depts do depending on what their status quo has to meet for the year. Sad but true!
Goodluck!
Liza

Answer 6

Justice is the most unfair thing. Now, that may sound funny, but come to think of it how many people have you heard of that are being threatened by the police into doing something they do not want to without doing anything wrong? Or, more importantly, how many people have gone to jail who were innocent. Also those who have gone to jail always get kicked (or worse) when the police isn't looking, either because the police don't want to look or just don't give a damn. Of course not all policemen are bad but their number is alarmingly large. You should not worry about the police, because if they do not have anything on you you are tottaly safe. On the other hand if you have had disagreements with them and they catch you for something unimportant then you are literally screwed.

Answer 7

I have never felt like this myself and to be honest I don't understand why you do.

When you say the smallest thing what are you refering to?

My personal experience of them is that they are not interested in the small things at all.

For all the inocent people put in prison there will be hunderds who were guilty.
I do know people who got a good kicking in the back of the van or a cell and all of them have asked for it. Ok that doesn't make it right but when it's a drunken idiot outside a club fighting who then punches a police officer I don't much care if they get a bit of a beating. There is to much tollerance of this kind of behaviour anyway.

The police are not perfect but they have a very difficult job to do and as in all areas of life there will be those that are bad. But as a whole they do a worthwhile job and normally if you treat them with respect they give it back.

However to at least on person who answered, if you get mouthy and start being a smart **** then you deserve everything you get.

Answer 8

Like every job that places someone in a position of power, there are those who abuse that power. I have found them to be in the minority, though. Most of the police I've met have been courteous, helpful, and friendly.

You probably watch the news too much. They like to exaggerate the bad, and ignore the good. If you're life was being threatened, I'm sure you'd rejoice when the cops showed up.

Try "exposure therapy". Go someplace where there are a lot of police, like a fair or the mall, and strike up a conversation. I'm sure you'll find there not much different than you or I.

Answer 9

Police are just like everyone else, in that they form personal opinions quickly. The idea is that these opinions should not be allowed to seep into their professional attitudes. In my opinion, most police are fair-minded, polite and overwhelmed with paperwork. If you are wrongly suspected or harassed, you have to make them realise that you're not dodgy, you're just an ordinary person going about your business. Be polite, be reasonable. Hopefully, that's what you'll get in return. There are bad apples, there are good apples, there are good apples having bad days, and there always will be. Some forces do issue targets (e.g West Yorkshire are known for traffic targets), and policy on whether or not to prosecute various crimes is swayed by the media, public opinion, politicians and the prevailing social climate of the time. It's a bit of a lottery really but I think that generally, it could be a lot worse.

Answer 10

i cant answer why you feel that way but i can say that - no they dont just drive around looking for little things because at the end of the day they have to have a reason for even talking to someone and then have to fill out a shed load of paperwork to say why they have spoken to them and give a copy to that person. and no people dont get kickings in the cells like on television appears to show - if they fight they get restrained but it is lawful force not just for the sake of it. it saddens me how people have these opinions of the police - im not naive there are some out there who abuse there position but the majority are out there to look after you.

however on this i can only answer in the case of british officers