By Gavin Mackintosh-
A London police officer says the public and the media , particularly The Sun Newspaper, do not support the police enough.
The officer who insisted on anonymity , said he was talking on behalf of the British police, who he really feel they don’t get enough support and are not appreciated enough.
His statement came on the eve of the London Bridge terror attack, but the eye of media.com decided not to publish it at the heights of the attack when the nation was in mourning. It was an editorial decision. However, The Sun Newspaper was immediately contacted on phone and in writing for a response. They declined to give one.
The East London officer told The eye of media.com :
” The police are not appreciated enough by the public, the media, and the government. Police numbers and funding have been terribly cut, and officers are not paid enough. Our demands for increased pay has fallen on deaf ears “.
The public tend to see us people there to give them grief, they tend to forget or overlook all the good work we do in combatting crime.
“Whenever we stop or apprehend black youths for instance, you always get people assuming it is a race issue, the officer stated. . They get their mobile phones and start recording , accusing us of racism and ignoring the drug or violence issues we are trying to stop ”
“We appear in the media more when an officer has committed an offence or is being investigated for one offence or another. The Sun Newspaper, for example, sponsor The National Police Awards, but you rarely ever see them cover the good work he police do in the country. Negative coverage far outweighs the scant positive police coverage we get ”
” We deserve more appreciation for our good work, and it is a shame we don’t get that. The government obviously feel we are not worth the funding and good pay , despite the age of terrorism we live in”.
The cut of 20,000 police officers by Theresa May’ s government has been heavily criticised by critics following the terrorist attacks in Manchester and London. And an unrepresentative sampling of 15 officers on election day suggests the police are in general against Theresa May’ s governmemt over police cuts and relatively low wage packages.
All 15 officers we spoke to in Essex and East London said they would vote for Labour, every single one of them expressing gloom for the future of the police under The Conservatives.
The police are truly disliked in most communities, especially the black and work class communities. They are seen as heavy handed , untrustworthy, and racist. They are not many people’s cup of tea.
RACISM
However, the police do a great job in fighting crime and preventing it. Racism is a label the police can’t escape, but minority groups who commit crime have no voice in this respect. All criminals should not expect a soft touch from the police whatever their race, and must first look at their offences before bringing up the issue of race.
CREDIT
The police deserve credit for all the good work they do , and in fact need more money to enhance their rate of proficiency. The Sun Newspaper deserve credit for sponsoring The National Police Awards, that in itself is a show of appreciation. The precise nature of the appreciation the police want from the press is unclear.
Each occasion of a drugs bust reported in the media, is an inherent appreciation of their professional surveillance and co- ordinated planning is self evident.
This may not be sufficient for officers who probably want a deliberate and specific show of appreciation from the press. They want to be told they do a fantastic job , as opposed to the column inches that expose some of their criminal conducts or double standards.
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The last year has seen numerous reports in the press about the police commiting sexual offences, plots to sell illegal drugs, , or domestic violence.
MINORITY
In fairness , those who shame the integrity of the police have always been in the minority , but the police as a collective force do a brilliant job in putting themselves in the firing line of danger for our safety.
It is them we now rely on to keep or streets save from the evil of terrorism lurking in the dark corners of our country. It is the police who have to badge into houses risking their lives in the event hey meet a mad man ready to kill. Theresa May will need to have deep pockets to appease the police since they form part of the vast section of society who want to see the back of her.
Our police force should not be taken for granted . Unless the government does a spectacular U turn with the police ,.It may be up for a disaster if another election happens soon, as is expected.