Is it me, or do the majority of coppers on these programmes come across as being as thick as muck?

Drugs busts especially – the crap they spout and the quite apparent naivety they appear to display at times I find quite astounding.

I like the American version, with Sheriff John Bunnell (Retd.)

Chek dem teef:

‘This crazy guy’s going straight to the County Jail!!’

I’m not sure if Retd. means retired, or something completely different, yet more appropriate…….

Sheriff John is a legend. Anyone see that one where the guy got his arm caught in a crash at the end of the chase? “He’s off to the county jail- and after he’s served his sentence he’ll still be paying the price of crime- an amputated hand”. Mad as a sack of cats.

And I don’t think these programmes show the justice system to be particularly clever – most of the “perps” seem to get away with it, or let off with a warning…

hmmm. Normally I’d agree but I saw one where they found someone’s stash hole with next to nothing in it. Played dumb, left the property than came back the next week… boom, full of gear.

And I don’t think these programmes show the justice system to be particularly clever

+1

Typical scenario: Car stopped: no MOT, no insurance, bald tyres, dodgy brakes, bonnet held down with string. Driver has no license, tries to give them a false name and then gets really shirty with them.

VoiceOver: “Lee was convicted and banned from driving for two years”.

Oh well, that’ll learn him then. He definitely won’t do that again.

Often surprised by the small sentences handed out especialy when people drive like lunatocs and endanger everyone.
Coppers dont come across as thick as a rule the crims do come over as very stupid though

crims do come over as very stupid though

Those that get caught do…

There is one copper who always comes across like he is trying to be Dirty Harry.

TSY steady there fella that was an intelligent point you made there 😉

Most police officers don’t need to be intelligent, they just need to be an egocentric authoritarian who is generally suspicious/paranoid and is capable of following a few basic rules and procedures. Most relatively well-balanced individuals over a certain intelligence, or type of intelligence, would find the job too difficult because of the relative inflexibility and the multitude of contradictions in the role that they are expected to fulfil.

IMO it’s a tough job, full of not particularly pleasant experiences. I imagine it takes a certain amount of mental toughness to be the first at a scene of a natural death, or to be spat at and insulted for doing your job. I imagine many people wouldn’t be able to deal with that.

Yeah the police are crap, until you need them at which point most peoples opinions change. I like the police they do a very difficult job under pretty crappy circumstances. I am however very concerned about the increasing politicising of their activities.

one of them seems to feature Swindon a lot, my personal favourite was one where a gang broke into a newsagent, threw a chain around the cashpoint, drove off, then ran in to pick up the cash. Only a patrol car by arrived chance, the gang then drove off into a dead end car park, dropping the cash all over the floor. The police chased ON FOOT only to have to dive out of the way, then they proceeded to lose them.

Robbers 0 Cops 0.

I feel just that little bit safer after that!

You need some balls to be a US highway cop though given people just pull a gun on them, I’d also learn pretty quickly not to stand with my arse hanging in the road when I pulled someone over.

Three_Fish: utter generalised bollocks I’m afraid.
I have a good mate that is a copper and he is a very intelligent, well-read, grounded and balanced father of two.
In fact he is exactly the kind of bloke I’d want to show up if I was in some bother.

Three_Fish: utter generalised bollocks I’m afraid.

No actually I think Three-Fish’s summary is pretty much spot-on for the majority of coppers I’ve ever encountered. There are the odd few who are quite intelligent and can actually think for themselves, but not many, not at foot soldier level anyway. It doesn’t pay to have people who are too clever in a position where they may be needed to blindly follow orders.

Yeah the police are crap, until you need them at which point most peoples opinions change

It’s taken nearly a year of hassle to get the local police here to even start to do their jobs propply. They are bloody useless.

Programmes like this are meant to act as a sort of ‘oh look how great the police are’ type propaganda exercise. They often fail at that even! 😆

Ever see that one where the cyclist was riding around the parked cars? I think it was over a bridge and the traffic was pretty tight so he was holding a tight line round the cars?
Weird way to ride, but I still don’t see what right the cops had to stop him.

Lovin the quotes from Sheriff John! Can just hear the crazyman’s voice!

Three_Fish: utter generalised bollocks I’m afraid.

Of course it’s generalised; hence the use of the term “most”. I’d be incorrect, and more than a little foolish, to think that that my observations applied to all officers.

3-fish; generalised it may be, b-locks it isn’t. Not when applied to the Met Police it’s not, sadly.

I’m addicted to these programs
I just love it when the uninsured drivers get their cars taken away – the looks on their moronic faces, brilliant

Aren’t there any pigs, sorry filthy rozzers, sorry custodians of the law on here that can comment?

Some of the coppers on here are amongst the more cleverer ones, I have to say.

Not that I’m scared they’l nick me for terrorism or something if they ever meet me on a ride somewhere or nuffink… 😯

considering responsibilities the police have and considering the tools they have to do it I think they do a pretty amazing job. on the whole the bobbies on the ground are pretty good people (or at least the one’s I meet).

I’m more intrigued by the soundtrack to these things… one over-hyped car chase I watched featured the soothing tones of Global Communication’s classic 76:14. And I saw a fat welsh burglar get arrested to the sound of melancholy dubstep.

I like coppers they catch thieves and stuff. I’m sure that there are some dimwits but as has been said all the ones I’ve met have been stand up people who don’t, for example, deserve to have fire extingishers dropped on them from a great height.

Love these programmes too, think i’d struggle to keep my patience though at 3am dealing with drunken idiots.

I saw one once where their “suspect” was sat on a BMX talking to some others youths innit, so the 5-0 rammed him side on and pinned him upo against the wall….turned out it was the wrong guy.

Some of the coppers on here are amongst the more cleverer ones, I have to say.

Actually thegreatape is one of my favourite posters on here………I find that he invariably talks common sense, and he has a relaxed sense of humour. I also like easygirl, although he rarely posts on the chat forum these days. They’re the sort of coppers that if they nicked me, I would probably feel obliged to say, “it’s a fair cop guv…..I done it all”.

As far as the “intelligence” of your average copper is concerned, well if you choose to measure intelligence by academic achievement, then coppers are above average.

This was not always the case however. There was a time when coppers were recruited overwhelming from the less educated working classes. Hence the reason why policemen are nearly always portrayed as working class/having regional accents in old movies.

All that changed when Thatcher was elected PM and at the very beginning of her premiership she awarded the police massive pay rises (in stark contrast to the current administration which appears to be determined to hammer the police as much as they will everyone else) This had the effect of attracting a completely different sort of person into the police, as graduates and professional types saw the police as a worthwhile career move. The days of “Slipper of the Yard” are well and truly over.

Of course academic achievement isn’t always the best measure of someone’s “intelligence”………as I’ve discovered since first joining STW.

Sheriff John is a legend.

Indeed he is. And if you are a fan, then the intros on this video are well worth watching, they are truly priceless………specially the references to “this is real” as he walks through a stage-managed sets.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD39tzmKAiU[/video]

Gawd bless you Sheriff John Bunnell (Retd.) ……..it’s thanks to dedicated law enforcing officers like you, that decent folk can sleep peacefully at night.

He is indeed a legend (Retd.). And he has perfected the uncanny Police art of talking intently whilst moving stealthily towards you.