I smile..

Davids post-tangle with the law has drawn an ace.

Before Davids tangle with the wicked witch from the green slimie swamp, I'm am sure, would not have turned up this "thinking" on our beautiful trustworthy constabulary.

There are many current day problems with modern policing.
One of the greatest problems is its divorce from the reality of anybody not connected to the status quo.
And as David has learned, it only takes a policeman to rip you from a that lofty perch.

Let's you and I David, watch for the predictable sycophantic responses that follow herein, from those still attached by fantasy to the lofty peaches above.

Dan

David, YOUR justice system works very well for those who create and operate it.
It is a fool who actually believes the justice system is there as a deterrent for the criminals and a comfort for the masses.
The opposite has been the case from it's inception.
The criminals are allowed to prosper and cause mayhem, where-as the rest of us, the non criminals, are being systematically preyed upon on an hourly basis.
The law enforcement resources have become a very real part of the revenue raising objective for the govt and been gradually increased in size and numbers to further increase that objective.
One only has to see how many men are on the 'booze bus' check point, including vehicles.
The fact is that the govt know that Aussies are an arrogant lot and 'won't be told' what to drink or where to drink or how much to drink, so they are easy targets and ripe for the picking.
The role of govt and police has changed dramatically over time, they were originally created to help and direct the people and their future by guidance and leadership, through mature and pragmatic decisions, or laws.
They include fines and the like in the budget forecasts!
The police however have been slowly turned to become clandestine tax collectors.
There are more police and resources deployed to a booze bus than a murder.
It is little wonder that respect for both the govt and the law enforcement have plummeted to levels that have never been seen before and becoming worse every year.
There is no EASY answer, just drastic ones, which will not be entertained because it will involve loss of status and revenue, and they don't want that, because they are the two main drivers for them being in the job in the first place.
The govt, for all the side benefits and kick-backs, and the police for the shear exhilaration of power, over the plebs.
On that note I just want to say, what kind of mind thinks that having power over the plebs is something to be proud of.

Take note: "one of the few legitimate roles of government". Few Australians are aware of just how few these roles really are. It's ignorance and complacency that has allowed governments to poke their totalitarian noses into so many aspects of our lives. Not a libertarian myself, I'm glad that there are some around to keep reminding us what a lazy bunch we are, totally deserving of what we get from politicians taking advantage of our meekness and laziness. It's highly unlikely that we will change, though.

The reference to black uniforms is interesting. The idea was to make police look more authoritative (menacing) in SS Black. However, senior police - no smarter than other public servants - buggered up by allowing officers to wear scruffy beards, baseball caps instead of the regulation cap and worse, allowing them to get around hard-headed.

Then, of course, we have the 4' 11' females running around knocked-kneed and useless.

I believe that scruffiness, the pint-size of male officers and the recruitment of little girls has lost police forces a lot of respect. Using coppers as health police hasn't helped, either.

The police have far too much power in this country I believe, I was astonished to read of the strip searching carried out on minors by NSW police in their hunt for illegal drugs. I couldnt think of any other 1st world country where this could happen with impunity.

The Police are there to enfore the will of the haves against those of the have not's. It's an asymmetric relatioship and no amount of tweaking can ever make it "work".

It's very design is to support thuggery, I am sure when the police come home to their families they feel vindacted like any other thug, I am sure the guards at Austwiutz felt much the same when they can home to their families.

I can't see how any Libertarian can support a police force, it's repellent idea. Our incarceration rate is increasing as we continue to put people who dare step outside the orthodoxy into jail, everything we do is making it worse and the continued militarisation of the police will occur, more prioson will be built, more scared citizens made fearful of thier fellow citizens. There is no end here until it collapses under the weight of it's own dysfunction. The question to that is, when ?

David, as an ex-politician, you of all people should understand the police just enforce the laws that folk just like you create or endlessly amend if you can!

As for thuggish Bobbies? Names, rank and serial numbers and verifiable evidence, please!

Failing that? Try putting a sock in it! It'd make pleasant change!
Alan B.

And to think the AFR published that rubbish.

"The Australian public are never likely to accept the police as one of them while those sorts of things occur".

Really, prove it.

Alan, if the police were to arrest everyone who broke a law then we would all be in jail. The fact is that law enforcement officers selectively choose which laws to enforce and this very much depends on the individual, there are a vast number of people incarcerated on a daily basis for victimless crimes and there are a lot of very stupid laws available for any officer with a personality disorder to enforce against anyone they do not happen to like. Professions like the police tend to attract the sort of person who likes having power over people and current testing does not do a very good job of weeding them out. Roger Rogerson is a prime example, a highly respected detective who was as corrupt as they come lasted for decades rampaging and murdering and was only found out because he didnt account for CCTV cameras. Lots more like him. Our whole justice system is incredibly corrupt if you see it from the inside as I have.

Doing away with tall minimum height requirements hasn't helped and arming them to compensate's made it even worse.

Typical of present day Australia. Ever worse ideas trying to fix the bad ones before them.

She swallowed a spider to catch the fly..

Typical of present day Australia. Ever worse ideas trying to fix the bad ones before them.
jamo,
The Peter Principle is at work non-stop fully backed up by indoctrination !

Look the problem is PC, and I don't mean Police Constable.
Because of PC we have allowed yet another thing to be contaminated and twisted so as to accommodate those stupid selfish people in our society who plead being the victims of prejudice and bias for not allowing them to do something just because THEY want to.
The biggest disgrace of all was for the soft cock politicians caving in to these maggots and allowing them to join such things as the police and the armed forces.
There were hundreds of studies as to why women should NOT be front line assets.
The disgraceful show of a maggot trying to down a man is beyond belief.
I notice, in every scenario, the men take over the physical roles.
Never mind the BS you see on TV, what you see is fabricated to give the desired effect, and that is show that women are up to the task and can match any man.
BULLSH!TE!
Women in the military, which applies to the police as well, were not allowed because it was found that men instinctively tried to protect the woman if under attack, in so doing were derelict for not focusing on the enemy instead of the woman, which led to a vulnerable front line/death.
Women DO NOT have what it takes to do things that men were designed to do.
There is a case where women can do certain things designed for men, but with some adjustments and compromises.
Such has been the egregious and callous push of the feminist movement that we have had to make major changes to the way we work and in doing so caused billions of dollars of wasted money and inefficiencies only seen in third world countries, for example;
To enable women to work in construction and warehousing we had to change the weight of certain bags like cement bags, from 20kg to 10kg, I think.
The numbers eludes me at present, but the weight of the bags were halved, to accommodate women.
We were told it was an Occupational Health initiative.
BULLSH!TE!

ALTRAV

The argument that pushes women into police duties, has a base in 50/50 gender mix of society; a crude argument.

Another recruiting problem is, police training is a university degree. That eliminates those with a natural view from the bottom of the ladder; which is the traditional recruiting grounds.

Attrition rates are difficult to nail, but in the US, which is much more open with information than is Au, in some precincts the average is as low as 33 months.
The cost of training one US policeman is $100k. That's bad return for investment.

Dan.

Diver Dan,

I don't expect the selfish maggots to suddenly grab a brain and stop trying to be something they will never be; MEN!
But I had hoped that the rest of the population would speak up and condemn these moronic women and their unrealistic and petulant demands such as TRYING to become policemen.
Humankind has lost a lot over the direction they are allowing society to become irrelevant and a lost cause, by either being dis-interested or afraid of being virtue shamed but the bottom line is, losing sight of right and wrong.
Complacency and emotional subjectivity has been preferred, over focused, mature, pragmatic objectivity.
It pains those of us who know the difference, to be sidelined and watch the ignorant majority allow outrageous decisions such as SSM, just another example of how divided, from lax to self righteous, people have become.
They have discarded the ability to identify when something is wrong, especially if it makes them feel uncomfortable and puts them at odds with their peers, causing them conflict, either mentally or physically.
Either way they don't want to be the odd one out or outcast, so it's easier to comply and doing so makes them feel inclusive and viable.
BUT, unfortunately, it has allowed the world to head in the WRONG direction, lacking in discipline and maturity.
And ergo the reason for the problem with the police, but this is just ONE of the problems, there are far too many to list hear.

The Left is at the forefront of all this stupidity & Australian Lefties are spearheading it !

Indy, I am not prone to highlighting one political party over the next, because today they have become ONE self-centered and self serving bunch of arrogant pigs, no longer doing our bidding for us, but kowtowing to the other bastards like the banks.
The govt has, for some decades, shifted what little concern it had for it's people, to it's masters, the banks and the like of the Illuminati.
What chance do we have unless we revolt against the system, like China did.

self-centered and self serving bunch of arrogant pigs,
ALTRAV,
I agree but the majority of everyday people are no different to the pollies they vote in !
Hardly anyone including the majority of OLOers have any inclination to do the right thing by the Nation ! Just look at the lack of enthusiasm when the question of National Service arises !

Libertarians often tell us that "guns don't kill people", only the people who hold them.

Well, police never oppress the public, only their patrons.

Yuyutsu,
That's what the Mac dictionary says about Patron;

1 a person who gives financial or other support to a person, organization, or cause: a celebrated patron of the arts.
• a distinguished person who takes an honorary position in a charity: the Mental Health Foundation, of which Her Royal Highness is Patron.
2 a customer of a shop, restaurant, etc., especially a regular one: we surveyed the plushness of the hotel and its sleek, well-dressed patrons.
3 Roman History a patrician in relation to a client.
• the former owner and (frequently) protector of a freed slave.
4 British, mainly historical a person or institution with the right to grant a benefice to a member of the clergy.

Dear Individual,

Call it "employer" if you prefer modern language - an employer is just one type of patron.

Yuyutsu,
I abhor the bastardisation of modern language so, I prefer to call the "clients" of the Police senseless & selfish crap-heads. The stray lump of lead catching up with some of them on odd occasions should be considered a warranted consequence.

Diver dan,
I respond to your suggestion that it costs the US $100,000 to train their cops.
I'd say that's a pretty reasonable return on investment, as I reckon each cop will have collected $100,000 in a few months.
Don't forget the courts and the income from them which are mostly due to the cops and their "tax collection"duties.

Dear ALTRAV,

Have you costed prisons, I wonder, and courts too are not cheap.

I think that after taking all into consideration, the bottom line for this exercise is negative.

Yuyutsy,
and yet they persist in raking in the money.
If it is that expensive to house and feed prisoners, they simply step up the cops 'hit' rate, and hey presto, they're in the black/money again.
Don't worry, if it's one thing these scum-bags know, is how to rip-off the public.

Have you costed prisons,
Yuyutsu,
Don't you mean 5 Star motels for crims ? Prisons are for where offenders are treated as offenders & to get ample opportunity to reflect on their actions !
No money should be spent for gym equipment & professional education in correctional facilities.
After all, correctional is to correct wrongs not deploy wrongs to foster the unhinged corrupt ways of those who don't believe they're above others in their own mind !

Oops. that 'don't' came out of nowhere ! ignore.