{"id":11053,"date":"2011-09-08T09:24:05","date_gmt":"2011-09-08T13:24:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/?p=11053"},"modified":"2011-09-08T10:30:34","modified_gmt":"2011-09-08T14:30:34","slug":"the-bold-gendarmes-redux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/2011\/09\/08\/the-bold-gendarmes-redux\/","title":{"rendered":"The bold gendarmes, redux"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Hughes<\/a> has a list of recent events showing the modern British police attitude:<\/p>\n

\n

Last week, this newspaper carried a striking photograph of a passer-by at the Notting Hill Carnival trying to trip up a young knifeman who appeared to have just stabbed someone.<\/p>\n

At the back of the picture, a man was clutching a bleeding stomach wound. On the left were two uniformed police officers, watching events unfold. They appear to have made no attempt to intercept the man: indeed, he seems to have run right past them. It was left to the sightseer — later identified as Valentine Simatchenko, a former Russian policeman — to try to intervene. Fortunately, the man with the knife was later arrested and charged. <\/p>\n

[. . .]<\/p>\n

The common theme in all these cases — and many more — is the institutional petulance displayed by some police officers. They throw their weight around because they can; they go for the easy, not the hard, arrests; they act as though they are the law, rather than its upholders. Such officers may be a small minority, but they have a disproportionately damaging impact on the image of the police. It has helped sour the force\u2019s relationship with those who should be its natural allies.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As you can see, this isn’t new, although it seems much more prevalent than back in the day:<\/p>\n