Police - Service or Force?

What would better describe the police in your country - Police force or Police Service?

Do you think this matters? Should it be a force or should it be a service? Are police there to protect us, or control us?

What are your thoughts?

I think the Police is there to protect the citizens of a country, nothing more....they should only be a "force" where it is necessary to do just that. And they shouldn't be a tool of the government to achieve their own goals.

i think it depends on the individual officer.
they have the option of either being a servant to the people,
or an abuser of power, or somewhere in between.

The police should be there to protect us. But where I live, they are as corrupt as the criminals they profess to be against. They even kill, rape and join into organised crime here.

PVS is right. It has everything to do with the mindset of the human who has taken on that role. They are not bad or good because they chose to accept that employment position - it's what they make of it to the community that determines that.

This is hard to answer because they vary from town to town Ive found. It should be to protect and serve with force being used only when necessary. Unfortunately thats not the way it goes down alot of the time. Some places Ive lived has had a really good police force, while some have had what resembles a joke in uniform. In the last town I lived we had one cop and we literally called him Barney Fife because of his actions. 😂 Where I live now they are just a joke. They aren't abusive or anything but these dummies will take 5 cars, sirens screaming to a car backing into a post accident. 🙄 What PVS said is right. If they are under the impression that they are above the law while upholding the law that's when you get a crappy police officer. Also, the mindset of the person they are dealing with plays into it alot I think.

Originally posted by PVS
i think it depends on the individual officer.
they have the option of either being a servant to the people,
or an abuser of power, or somewhere in between.

But there are independent bodies, which police the police - so there must be a set rules of how one officer can or cannot act, no?

There's good cops, bad cops. I've heard that some have a quota to deal with. Many just like the power. But off duty they can be quite fine. My uncle was a Sargent and always had a stash of different guns that they had confiscated...

I guess it just depends on the person.

Originally posted by lil bitchiness
But there are independent bodies, which police the police - so there must be a set rules of how one officer can or cannot act, no?

There is Internal Affairs but many times that doesnt work for various reasons.

If you floor it when their lights come on, they all turn into bad cops for the chasee.

Hmmm, I think police should serve law and justice, thus protecting society, both as a whole and on an individual level. And keep order and all that.

In Australia I would say we have a police service - fairly good, though often tentative about using force, even when it is justifiable (Cronulla, Redfern "riots" being an example) - it's all about balance... using the right amount of force to do the job, knowing what's just enough, and what's to much.

Originally posted by botankus
If you floor it when their lights come on, they all turn into bad cops for the chasee.

Oh yes, the cops in my country I believe are mostly rather good, they don't misuse their power to any extend that it is know publicly. Then again probably the rules are stricter on them.

Originally posted by botankus
If you floor it when their lights come on, they all turn into bad cops for the chasee.

bwahahahahaha! hysterical oh god that cracked me up 😂

What do you think your Police's job is - in your country - to keep the peace or catch the criminals? Both?

Can they do this without excessive force?

Both and not always.

Originally posted by lil bitchiness
What do you think your Police's job is - in your country - to keep the peace or catch the criminals? Both?

Can they do this without excessive force?

A little too into it, I think.

Originally posted by lil bitchiness
What do you think your Police's job is - in your country - to keep the peace or catch the criminals? Both?

Can they do this without excessive force?

They are kind of integrated - catching crims is an aspect of keeping the peace, so while prevention is better then cure police aren't always able to prevent crime, but picking up the pieces is sometimes a part of the job. And really, stopping people from turning to crime doesn't just rest with the police (as a deterrent) but with social measures. But the police have to be there when people decide to turn to crime.

And hopefully, most of the time, but not always.

Originally posted by debbiejo
Both with balance. In smaller towns there not much for them to do just like the fire department, so when someone is pulled over....WHOAH BABY they all want to be there. Party on the side of the road, lookie lookie I got someone....Lets talk on the little walkie talkie...

A little too into it, I think.

Yeah, this is a problem for people in small towns. I knew some guy who got pulled just for speeding and BOOM - five cop cars are surrounding him. In a small town, everyone knows everybody. He felt that if someone drove by and saw his truck surrounded by five cop cars, they'd all think he had committed a major crime.

When I was a kid (young teenager) I was running late for school, real late. I was running down the street and remembered my mom saying ,"if you ever need help, just look for a police officer."

I saw a cop car and ran over, told him I was late for school and asked if he could give me a lift. He said, "Sure".

Me not knowing better, I hopped in the back seat. Anyways, he took me to school, had to let me out of the back seat (in front of the whole school which made me an instant baddass by reputation) and I thanked him. His response was that his job was to SERVE AND PROTECT.

I don't think there are many cops out there like that anymore, but it sure was a good experience to have when you are a kid.