When did the Police force become the Police service & why ?

Question

I thought the police existed to enFORCE the law not serve the community , do you think law enforcement in the U.K has gone a bit namby pamby & soft ?

Answer 1

I'm a police officer and in my yearly review I got a remark detailing my "customer and client focus" I'm not quite sure who is my client and who is the customer, but I'm sure someone in an office has moved up a pay grade on the strength of thinking up that pile of nonsense!
I still enforce laws and I don't serve anyone, except the monarch. When I attested I vowed to cause the peace to be kept and to serve the Queen. Nobody mentioned anything about customers and clients!!!!!
To all the people who have answered that the police are here to serve the people, I suggest you read the Police Reform Act 2002 Schedule 4... this is the Attestation which police officers must swear to when they join. It doesn't say anywhere that we are public servants!
We do a job and I think most of us do it well, if anyone out there thinks it's easy, then I suggest you write to your local constabulary and ask if you can shadow an officer for a day and I guarantee your eyes will be opened. I am currently scratching at several spots on my arms caused by bites from fleas after strip searching a homeless female thief last night, who decided she would defacate on the floor during the search. Is she a customer or a client.... you tell me!
A pointless bit of police spin, invented by shiny arses who don't ever leave their office and never freeze their bits off at 3am on night duty!!!

Answer 2

Excuse me. When the police are enforcing the law they are serving the communities.

Answer 3

This is the problem we have, a lot of police officers forget that they are paid by the public to serve by the public. A traffic copper next door to me was done for drink driving not just any cop a traffic cop. I think a lot of coppers are just on power trips I know three police officers, two men and a woman and they love the fact they have so much power. There are obviously many officers who do a good job but unfortunately you are only as strong as your weakest link. The police need to remember they are here to serve us.

Answer 4

No I heard they were starting to let more cops in the UK carry firearms. I wonder how many cops had to get stabbed before they figured that one out. :o) Yeah, the word Force is scarey so they changed it. That's funny, people kick up more of fuss over silly stuff like that than they do something like letting child predators out of prison.

Hey Nat28,
Whether or not you get in trouble for defending yourself is up to the laws you create not the cops moron.

Answer 5

This is political correctness run amuck. The word FORCE is intimidating to some so to soften the term "police force" the word "service" was introduced to make.

Answer 6

no i don't. they are paid by a society in order to provide services to that society. intheir case the service of investigating crime and maintaining some kind of 'peace' (i.e. not chaos) in society.

problems occur when staff do not do their job fairly. but the police are alot better now than they were

Answer 7

the police force in this present day is no longer fit for puprose, they are no longer feared or respected by the people they are supposed to serve,

if i defended myself against a person who broke into my house, i would probably be arrested

the police are seen as the following

incompetent

lazy

corrupt

racist

liars

one big joke!

the whole area of law in the uk is one big farce and the police force is just the tip of the iceberg

Answer 8

When all this politically correct crap happened in the 90's. the term" force" might scare someone crack-head into doing something dumb;.

Answer 9

naw i dont think sooo..