Why do so many people dislike the police? They are human beings too. Shouldn't we thank them for putting---

Question

their lives on the line so we can be safer? I believe the ones that really do not like them is because they feel they are above the laws. Police are human and of course, they are not perfect and do make mistakes, but come on--they are in a job that they do not know from day to day if they will return home safe or not, yet they still get up and do their job in hopes of making a difference in society. My attitude is, if you do not want to be harrased by the police, then do not break the law. Its really pretty simple. And, NO--I am not a cop, I just respect them.

Answer 1

For those who stereotype officers as "power hungry" or otherwise, I would submit that they are not mind readers therefore have no clue as to the reasons officers do their jobs!

I became an officer because I truely believed I could help my community and make is a safer place to live. I became an officer because I enjoy going home at night knowing the elderly person who broke down on the highway got on their way because I changed their flat tire. I became an officer because I know when I've pulled the speeder over, I've made the roadway safer for other drivers who share the same road. I became an officer because I enjoy the look on your face when I've located your lost child.

Needless to say, I could go on and on!

Yes, the profession, like ALL professions, has good and bad. There's no doubt, however, that the police attempt to do their best to remove those who fail to maintain the highest standards of integrity and professionalism.

Those who say "cops have attitudes" fail to understand that "attitude." We aren't any different than you! We do, however, deal with bad people MOST of the time. The other people we make contact with make a small mistake and when confronted by the police, who are in a "caution mode" as if they are dealing with one of the bad people, take this for being rude, having an attitude, unprofessional, mean, or any other term other than what it is....being human and wanting to go home to our families at the end of our shift.

There are a myriad of "old sayings" in our profession which reflect an officers thoughts....one never knows who will do what to us that keeps us from going home.

So, human nature in law enforcement is to be overly cautious no matter who we come in contact with.

I hope you can understand that officers don't wish to be "mean" but just cautious! If you have the ability to talk to an officer tell them "hello" or ask them the questions you've always wanted to but didn't. We enjoy nice comments and conversations from the public despite what some may think!

Best wishes!

Answer 2

I have never been arrested and I'm a law abiding citizen. As a whole, I do respect what the police officers do for us. But, there are a percentage of cops who are aggressive and sometimes those who have anger issues and they join the force to take it out on someone. An ex family member is a female police officer and a perfect example. She was so angry and would beat people! She had brutality charges filed several times and nothing ever happened. She laughed about it all the time. Some of them have a bad day and the next thing that happens is some poor soul gets a gun held in their face or a beat down.

African-Americans in poor neighborhoods have legitimate reasons to FEAR the police. It's not a TV myth. They are guilty until proven innocent most of the time. People in these neighborhoods are treated as sub-human because the officers fear the neighborhoods.

Even in my small, 95% white town, I see discrimination against poor people all the time. It just exists everywhere and there is a high percentage of police officers who are unethical and have a big chip on their shoulders.

That answers your question, but to add to it... I think police officers are grossly underpaid. If this changed, so might some of the problems, which are too many to list here. Secondly, if these are the people we entrust with guns and the legal right to shoot people, I would like to see them have a higher education level. I think 4 year degrees should be mandatory. Educated people will be able to solve problems more diplomatically, and have a better understanding of sociology.

Answer 3

People don't like police for many reasons. Many people think that police abuse their power. Have you ever had a police officer follow you around while you were driving and doing nothing wrong? or had the same cop pull you over more than once for nothing? There are a lot of dirty cops out there that make it tough for the good ones to be liked. Another reason people generally don't like police is because they got busted for something and they are mad at the police for catching them lol. Yes I agree that police are human, but the also break laws too and most of the time get away with it. So in response to where you said "if you do not want to be harrased by the police, then do not break the law" same rule applies to police - If you want people to like you as a police officer then be a good legit cop.

Answer 4

Sure, there are some good cops out there, but many people believe that many officers abuse their power (and I think this is becoming apparent in Los Angeles from what I read on here.) I've discussed this on a soap opera message board that I frequent, and the poster said that she doesn't really like cops, and would never want to marry a cop because they basically want authority and are only out to prove something. Many would argue that the reason why law enforcement has such a high divorce rate is because officers tend to bring their work home with them, and this gives them almighty power in the household.

Also some officers are convinced that they are above the law, and can go as far as they want to (e.g.: assaulting you with a baton and arresting you just for looking at him the wrong way) just because they carry that golden or silver badge. That is an abuse of power. Also, other cops believe they have the power to harass teenagers and minorities for cases in which they are not suspect. This is known as ageism and racism, respectively. It's either because they were brought up that way as kids, had bad experiences with tho aforementioned two, or a "sixth sense" that they develop on their own. Either way, this "guilty until proven innocent" stuuf is disgusting! Hello, the saying is "INNOCENT until proven GUILTY," not the other way around.

These are not cops I respect, especially in the last category. I have no problem with square-jawed tough talkers, but I have some advice for cops who want to act so brutish when it's uncalled for, and basically immature: "Consider a career change." If I were chief of police, no way would I put up with this BS. Depending on the severity of the incident, I would either suspend them for a good long time or kick them off the force.

I only have respect for cops who are compassionate, loyal, understanding, kind and wise, and willing to fight crime the right way and help serve the community. I respect those who will show compassion for our youth; (especially, for example, a teen who looks to the police to help them out of gang life; something I actually wrote a novel about) volunteer to help youth make positive decisions and mentor them to help improve their lives, through after-school programs and the Boys and Girls Club and the Big Brother/Big Sister program. I respect those who will make some off-time to spend with their children and families, sharing their stories and disciplining with wisdom rather than physical force. Simply reserve all that brutality crap for those who deserve it, examples: child predators, criminal youth who won't cooperate with you and bully children (especially a cop's kids, and deadbeat parents who owe a lot of child support and won't pay, and wn't even spend time with the kids (especially if a cop is romantically involved with said criminal's ex!) ;D

I've been saying for some time that if I never had cerebral palsy, I'd want to become a cop... and this is exactly what I'd do in my career.

Answer 5

More people should be like you. Thank you for your support. The unfortunate part is people only want to do what they want to do, and don't like to be told or punished when they do something wrong. Police are the enforcers of society that keep it in order. as a result they are also the ones who must serve the punishment. That is how the public views police, the ones who can ruin their day. They love firefighters because firefighters are there to save the day, they won't issue them a ticket or take them to jail. Simple answer is police are disliked because we are seen as there to punish. What people forget is when they are in an accident, burglarized, assaulted, etc. the police are the ones that will come to take the report, find the bad guy, or save your life. its a hard line, but you're right if people don't do anything wrong, they have nothing to fear from police. It all comes back to how the individual or the public wants to act. Police don't like to punish people or take them to jail, but they must enforce the law.

Answer 6

I thank you for respecting them. Too many people are too quick to judge all police officers because they had a bad experience with one. Most people that have bad experiences are the ones who gave the most attitude when they were breaking the law. Police officers put their lives on the line everyday doing their jobs. They are sons, husbands, fathers, daughters, mothers, wives, and friends of someone, so don't be so quick to dismiss them just because of their job choice. They really don't have anything to do with the rest of the justice system (courts, trials, sentences). They just do their job and don't get paid enough for it. Most police are overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated. The world would be a lot more chaotic if it weren't for them.

Answer 7

See I like police because we obviously need them to keep us safe and enforce laws and things like that. But on the other hand I don't like them. I have dealt with police officers on several different occasions. Some of them are really nice and are just trying to do their jobs. A lot of them are on some weird power trip and are complete jerks. That's why a lot of people don't like them. They tend to be jerks and abuse their power. Also if you have ever been wrongly accused of something I am sure you wouldn't really like them either. There are good cops out there but there are also a lot of bad ones. It's just like everything else. People can let one bad experience ruin what they think of a whole group of people.

Answer 8

Because most people's interaction with the COPS is when they're being harassed by them. I've met a few cool COPS. But most of them have power/agression issues and they only take the job to feel superior to other people. When I was younger I looked up to them just like you're told to. But I've been harassed by bored COPS enough in my life that I wouldn't trust them unless my life was being threatened, and even then it's rather shaky.

I respect people for who they are, not for their job description.

Answer 9

I respect police officers who do not use the power given them in a way that is unbeneficial for the community, for those who work hard and dont take graft and bribes, for those who treat their fellow human beings as human beings, for those do not use overt profiling to decide who to stop and who to search, and I respect the fact that they put thier lives on the line.
Unfortunately I find these kind of officers to be few and far between.

Answer 10

i do respect them, i respect the fact that they are risking their lives making it safer for the rest of us. but i do not think speeding tickets should be as big of a issue as they make it out to be. I would much rather see them having a quota on how many drug busts they make every month than how many speeding tickets the write. I think they need to focus more on major issues and use technology like redlight cameras and speed cameras (newly introduced to the Washington DC area... attached to a car sitting on the side of the road and it does all the work for the cop by taking a pic of car and mailing a ticket to the owner of the car) to fight things like speeding while you use actual people to fight the big issues. It would greatly increase efficency