Scandal At The Met

[poliphilo]

If the only people we recruited to the police were austere philosophical types with a passion for justice we might have a force that was everything we could wish it to be.

As it is, like any other profession, the police service has to take what it gets. And the nature of the work is such that a lot of bullies, a lot of racists, a lot of right wing authoritarians will be drawn to it and want to get stuck in. Also- as someone said on some thread I was reading- you work in the gutter you get tainted by it.  Also there's the thing they call canteen culture- cynical, mucky, intensely tribal.

I suppose what I'm saying is, "What can you expect?"

Comments

[jfs.livejournal.com]

My completely outsider view is that police culture splits the world into three; villains, victims, and coppers. So if you're a copper interacting with the anyone who isn't, they'll be one of the two. And that's a weird mindset to be in.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I think they're in danger of forgetting they're as much citizens as any of the rest of us.

But that's what happens when you put people in uniform- soldiers, priests, whatever...

[resonant.livejournal.com]

The scandal is that people whose jobs are supposed to be to uphold correct behaviour - police, priests, etc. - npt turn a blind eye when their co-workers are behaving improperly, but aid in concealing their criminal acts.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It's a very deep-rooted human instinct to close ranks when the tribe is threatened. We're pack animals. "All for one and one for all". "My country, right or wrong."

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yes. but there are degrees of lying. There's the lying you do to make yourself look better than you are and at the other end of the spectrum there's the lying you do to land some other poor sod in the shit.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to that.