The All-New Polis Discussion Thread

[scottsdad]

I guess I've seen policing from the other side. My dad was a copper for 30 years before retiring. I met loads of policemen through him, some good guys, some not so good guys. Over the years he has told me some stories - things that went well and some wee transgressions. I might share some of these at some point but suffice it to say I think that on the whole coppers are good.

Recently I had a really, really bad day at work. I was upset for about half an hour when I remembered a few of my dad's horror stories. In the grand scheme of things, my bad day was nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to his worst day at work. Even now, decades after he retired, two stories in particular can bring him to tears.

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

2 hours ago, scottsdad said:

I guess I've seen policing from the other side. My dad was a copper for 30 years before retiring. I met loads of policemen through him, some good guys, some not so good guys. Over the years he has told me some stories - things that went well and some wee transgressions. I might share some of these at some point but suffice it to say I think that on the whole coppers are good.

Recently I had a really, really bad day at work. I was upset for about half an hour when I remembered a few of my dad's horror stories. In the grand scheme of things, my bad day was nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to his worst day at work. Even now, decades after he retired, two stories in particular can bring him to tears.

I can sympathise with your dads experiences, i get very vivid flashbacks to some things ive seen, in particular I can block out dead bodies etc because you just kinda talk to them or develop wee ways to deal with what you see, you’ve got to be pragmatic and deal with people with dignity (i always just said ‘how would i want someone to deal with my granny?’) but when you see a small child it lives with you forever. Ive unfortunately been to some really tragic things and quite honestly its affected me in ways I can’t really put down in words, got to be careful about details but writing this post is actually helping. I sometimes have panic attacks especially as during one my own wee boy was the exact same age, that night i couldnt move myself away from his cot, theres no logic to it but i just couldnt move. I still cant watch any tv programs even ridiculous american hospital programs when theres a seriously ill kid etc, just because all i get are very detailed flashbacks and start shaking. Im fortunate that my mrs is really good at talking things through but I think its going to be with me for life. 
Another one that got me was an old boy in his 80’s away on holiday up here and he died, its not so much the sight of the dead body but something the wife said to me ‘he promised he’d never leave me’, I got away from work that night and I was devastated with the impact it’d had on her. 

[Newbornbairn]

4 minutes ago, Inanimate Carbon Rod said:

I can sympathise with your dads experiences, i get very vivid flashbacks to some things ive seen, in particular I can block out dead bodies etc because you just kinda talk to them or develop wee ways to deal with what you see, you’ve got to be pragmatic and deal with people with dignity (i always just said ‘how would i want someone to deal with my granny?’) but when you see a small child it lives with you forever. Ive unfortunately been to some really tragic things and quite honestly its affected me in ways I can’t really put down in words, got to be careful about details but writing this post is actually helping. I sometimes have panic attacks especially as during one my own wee boy was the exact same age, that night i couldnt move myself away from his cot, theres no logic to it but i just couldnt move. I still cant watch any tv programs even ridiculous american hospital programs when theres a seriously ill kid etc, just because all i get are very detailed flashbacks and start shaking. Im fortunate that my mrs is really good at talking things through but I think its going to be with me for life. 
Another one that got me was an old boy in his 80’s away on holiday up here and he died, its not so much the sight of the dead body but something the wife said to me ‘he promised he’d never leave me’, I got away from work that night and I was devastated with the impact it’d had on her. 

I used to volunteer with Victim Support. I sometimes thought some of the cops needed help. 

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

Just now, Smikka Smikka Smoodoo said:

I used to volunteer with Victim Support. I sometimes thought some of the cops needed help. 

I think there was a culture (when i was there anyway) that was being eroded to the point where people were starting to talk about things a bit more and counselling was available. 

[throbber]

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-56574557

[pub car king]

In a strange way the dead bodies are just organic matter.  They get filed away in the memory because they have to be dealt with.

 What doesn't ever go away is seeing first hand what is left behind and the absolute devastation it causes. The howl of a bereaved parent is the worst sound on this earth and something that never leaves you. 

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

2 minutes ago, pub car king said:

In a strange way the dead bodies are just organic matter.  They get filed away in the memory because they have to be dealt with.

 What doesn't ever go away is seeing first hand what is left behind and the absolute devastation it causes. The howl of a bereaved parent is the worst sound on this earth and something that never leaves you. 

Absolutely, its awful. In most situations in life theres some kind of comforting words or actions you can take, there is absolutely nothing you can say or do to people in that situation. 

[Adamski]

On the nursery run this morning my wee boy spotted a couple of policemen out on the beat. We both broke into a few bars of 'Sound of da Police', as is customary with such sightings in our house.

Straight afterwards I switched on 6 Music, and within about 10 seconds, they were playing the very song.

Spooky.

[velo army]

It's easy and highly satisfying to get tore into the police and throw all of your anti-authority anger onto them. I've done it too. It feels fuckin brilliant to create an other and to just have at it. There are obvious things that we can use as evidence against the police, there is definite room for reform, but we also need to watch that we don't fall into the trap of dehumanisation. These folk tend to deal with people on their very worst days, and I imagine that takes something out of you. I also imagine that to deal with death and awfulness on the daily (or even just weekly) you have to become a certain type of person just to not fall apart. Incidentally, when I was working at the police club in EK I saw more than my fair share of bobbies who were functional alcoholics. The emotional toll of dealing with, not just the material impact of death and cruelty (gore, dead bodies) but the collateral impact in the shape of bereaved families, is unimaginable.  

So aye, there's perhaps cultural changes needing to be made (and may be in effect; these things do take time to percolate and become norms) within the police, and it's easy (for me too) to view them as, at best, jobsworths and at worst, fascist bullies. The treatment of football fans can leave a lot to be desired, and the aforementioned macho culture can have profoundly negative effects on public and officers alike. The apparently heavy handed approach to the recent vigil cast them in a poor light too at a sensitive time.

But f**k me it's a profoundly tough job. Thanks for the reminder @Inanimate Carbon Rod, @pub car king and @scottsdad.

[scottsdad]

16 hours ago, Inanimate Carbon Rod said:

I can sympathise with your dads experiences, i get very vivid flashbacks to some things ive seen, in particular I can block out dead bodies etc because you just kinda talk to them or develop wee ways to deal with what you see, you’ve got to be pragmatic and deal with people with dignity (i always just said ‘how would i want someone to deal with my granny?’) but when you see a small child it lives with you forever. Ive unfortunately been to some really tragic things and quite honestly its affected me in ways I can’t really put down in words, got to be careful about details but writing this post is actually helping. I sometimes have panic attacks especially as during one my own wee boy was the exact same age, that night i couldnt move myself away from his cot, theres no logic to it but i just couldnt move. I still cant watch any tv programs even ridiculous american hospital programs when theres a seriously ill kid etc, just because all i get are very detailed flashbacks and start shaking. Im fortunate that my mrs is really good at talking things through but I think its going to be with me for life. 
Another one that got me was an old boy in his 80’s away on holiday up here and he died, its not so much the sight of the dead body but something the wife said to me ‘he promised he’d never leave me’, I got away from work that night and I was devastated with the impact it’d had on her. 

I've not said what the horror stories my dad faced are, but dead kids are a central theme. And the fact he had a young family of his own at the time must have made it worse. 

One I remember was in the mid-90s. I was a teenager. He would have been about 55 when this incident happened. For a good month he just never spoke to us. Mum told me what had happened, and to give him space. We did but it was like walking on eggshells for weeks until he got out of the funk. Never seen anyone so deflated. But he still put on the uniform every day and went to work.

So when I get ratty at work because of something someone says to me, this is what I remember as a reality check. 

[Crazy Days]

Did the job for 30 years and all bar 1 year was on the front line and trust me that takes its toll on you and your family.  It is amazing how many people have a bad experience when dealing with the police until they actually need them.

Some of the comments on here appear to be nothing more than elaborated fantasy. Yes there are some bad eggs but in general they are weeded out and ousted, the same with those with severe attitude problems. I think this was more prevalent years ago that it is now.  Yes there can be attitude issues, someone has been spitting and fighting with you and then a short time later someone starts to mouth off at you and it can be difficult not to react in an overpowering or arrogant manner.

I would like to see how some who were quick to be criticise  would deal with telling 2 distraught parents, whose life has just collapsed and will never be the same again, that you are taking their 3 month old daughter away from them  and off to the mortuary.  That happened over 30 years ago and still haunts me.

Attended another sudden death where the deceased had coughed up most of his guts. There was blood and gore all over the bathroom.  His widow had no relatives and there was no other bathroom in the house. There was no way you could leave the bathroom like it was so we got bleach etc and spent over an hour cleaning the mess up.  To this day the widow still says that this was the greatest act of kindness that she has every experienced. 

You are always dealing with people at their worst point and it takes its toll. Many people can walk away from their job at finishing time but you had to keep going until the job was done.  In some jobs you can have a really good day but this never seems to happen in policing. No matter how much service you have people only see a uniform and expect that cop to deal with the matter in the way they see fit.

I know the toll that dealing with Dunblane and Lockerbie had on some cops and they were never the same again but at the end of the day someone had to deal with it and they did to the best of their ability.

But as some say ACAB.

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

1 hour ago, Crazy Days said:

Did the job for 30 years and all bar 1 year was on the front line and trust me that takes its toll on you and your family.  It is amazing how many people have a bad experience when dealing with the police until they actually need them.

Some of the comments on here appear to be nothing more than elaborated fantasy. Yes there are some bad eggs but in general they are weeded out and ousted, the same with those with severe attitude problems. I think this was more prevalent years ago that it is now.  Yes there can be attitude issues, someone has been spitting and fighting with you and then a short time later someone starts to mouth off at you and it can be difficult not to react in an overpowering or arrogant manner.

I would like to see how some who were quick to be criticise  would deal with telling 2 distraught parents, whose life has just collapsed and will never be the same again, that you are taking their 3 month old daughter away from them  and off to the mortuary.  That happened over 30 years ago and still haunts me.

Attended another sudden death where the deceased had coughed up most of his guts. There was blood and gore all over the bathroom.  His widow had no relatives and there was no other bathroom in the house. There was no way you could leave the bathroom like it was so we got bleach etc and spent over an hour cleaning the mess up.  To this day the widow still says that this was the greatest act of kindness that she has every experienced. 

You are always dealing with people at their worst point and it takes its toll. Many people can walk away from their job at finishing time but you had to keep going until the job was done.  In some jobs you can have a really good day but this never seems to happen in policing. No matter how much service you have people only see a uniform and expect that cop to deal with the matter in the way they see fit.

I know the toll that dealing with Dunblane and Lockerbie had on some cops and they were never the same again but at the end of the day someone had to deal with it and they did to the best of their ability.

But as some say ACAB.

My mums friends husband was one of the first at the Lockerbie locus and it impacted him so badly that he had to retire in his 20’s. 
Im sorry that you seem to have the same recurring memories with infants, i dont think it’ll ever go away. 

[Busta Nut]

It's sad to see that these things effect coppers like they do. I can only imagine half the stuff I read about there. 

 

Still they're aren't dealing with me at dead baby scenes. It's almost as if they resent the fact I am enjoying myself while they are at work.

[Benjamin_Nevis]

The Met covering themselves in glory again. Finally getting round to investigating allegations of the same officer raping two colleagues a mere three years after they were reported. They've even compensated one of the victims. The nonce concerned is of course suspended whilst the Met seek ways to shovel this under the nearest available bit of carpet investigate. Just in case he's actually binned or god forbid, prosecuted, I'm sure we've all got our thin blue line Facebook avatars ready. 

Link

[SANTAN]

On 27/03/2021 at 09:28, Mr. Alli said:

I stumbled across his Twitter the other day (due to the display picture being the same avatar as here) and its not good viewing. 

That actually happened to me too a few months ago, I had a quick look and he was doing exactly what he does on here but on a grander scale, I also saw @ICTChristhe other day too, small world eh! Do we know who runs the PnB account?

[Derry Alli]

20 minutes ago, Stormzy said:

Do we know who runs the PnB account?

@Div

[Busta Nut]

2 hours ago, Day of the Lords said:

The Met covering themselves in glory again. Finally getting round to investigating allegations of the same officer raping two colleagues a mere three years after they were reported. They've even compensated one of the victims. The nonce concerned is of course suspended whilst the Met seek ways to shovel this under the nearest available bit of carpet investigate. Just in case he's actually binned or god forbid, prosecuted, I'm sure we've all got our thin blue line Facebook avatars ready. 

Link

I am in no way what so ever standing up for the coppers here but I always find these types of crimes being reported years after almost impossible to prove, how do they do that? 

[Benjamin_Nevis]

1 hour ago, Busta Nut said:

I am in no way what so ever standing up for the coppers here but I always find these types of crimes being reported years after almost impossible to prove, how do they do that? 

Difficult now, but it looks like some utterly half arsed investigation was conducted in 2019. 

ETA - one of them was compensated for having suffered a sexual assault. So either there was some evidence or it was a case of "shut the f**k up, here's some money". Looks dodgy AF either way

Edited April 1, 2021 by Day of the Lords

[RH33]

2 hours ago, Busta Nut said:

I am in no way what so ever standing up for the coppers here but I always find these types of crimes being reported years after almost impossible to prove, how do they do that? 

Rape has very low conviction rates. Whether reported there and then or later. 

I know of someone who was awarded criminal injuries but the person wasn't even charged.

[Shotgun]

From @Day of the Lords' post; the crimes were reported at the time. It's only now, 3 years later the police are getting around to taking a look.