I watch Judge Judy from time to time. What surprises me, in contrast to the inability of British police to do this due to massive understaffing, is the existence in the USA of a police report on every minor incident. A child is accused of vandalising a car. Judge Judy says ‘Show me the police report’. Almost every time it is brought to her desk.
In my rural county getting the police to attend anything but a significant crime is pretty unlikely.
I just smashed the spout off the teapot I'm not too devastated as my wife smashed the lid about a year or so ago so we've been rolling lidless since then. And the strainer bit needed replacing anyway. But still it's like losing an old friend Or technically turning an old friend into a plant pot but that's an awkward analogy...
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
I don't know the answer @KT53 as a quick google indicates both countries send 4% of their budget on policing. No doubt there are differences in training costs as well as offices and stations, UK land being, in general, expensive.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
I’m sure I read somewhere some alarming statistics about the length of training courses for police officers in different countries. It seemed that US police officers had some of the shortest training, and a big percentage of the time was spent on handling and using guns, with very little on topics such as deescalation of dangerous situations.
John Grisham's book "The Innocent Man " published in 2006 is something of an eye opener. Usually a writer of crime fiction, the above book looks into a man who was sentenced to death on very little evidence. Not "gun" related but it did highlight the appalling state of training ( or lack of it ) in some US police forces - particularly in the more rural areas where it would seem practically non existent. It didn't say an awful lot about their Prosecuting Counsels either. Given the issues raised here in the UK about police behaviour in general, I don't suppose we can actually crow but one does wonder what mayhem would ensue if our police forces were let loose with guns. Some of the Taser incidents have been bad enough !
I have read that and it is frightening. The mentality seems to be to get a successful prosecution of somebody, it doesn't really matter who. I was watching a programme recently on a similar subject where there was overwhelming evidence that the person in prison simply could not have committed the crime. The local District Attorney refused to look at the evidence as it was him who had prosecuted in the first place, and admitted withholding evidence which would have been beneficial to the person now in prison.
They tried taking it to State level and again the appeal was refused. That was because the DA was a family member of the judge at State level..... They did finally manage to get the conviction overturned and the DA, judge etc were kicked out.
The 'get a conviction, it doesn't matter who' was certainly also evident in some cases in the UK back in the 80's and early 90s. I was working as a civilian employee for a police force when a murder conviction was overturned. I was in the canteen when I overheard two, admittedly older officers, discussing the case. One said he didn't care if he was innocent as he was a piece of sh!t who deserved to be sent down. No concern voiced whatever about the fact that the real killer was still on the loose.
I watched a programme with Sir Trevor Macdonald on usa prison and one the guards ( I think ) said " 24% off ALL prisoners on the planet , are in ,american prisons"
We just recently binge watched The Staircase - awful. And recently we had An American Marriage as our book for book club where someone accused our black hero of a rape he didn't commit and the guy spent years in jail as a result. Yes that was fiction but it did bring home how easy it is for black men to end up in jail in the US.
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In my rural county getting the police to attend anything but a significant crime is pretty unlikely.
Usually a writer of crime fiction, the above book looks into a man who was sentenced to death on very little evidence.
Not "gun" related but it did highlight the appalling state of training ( or lack of it ) in some US police forces - particularly in the more rural areas where it would seem practically non existent. It didn't say an awful lot about their Prosecuting Counsels either.
Given the issues raised here in the UK about police behaviour in general, I don't suppose we can actually crow but one does wonder what mayhem would ensue if our police forces were let loose with guns. Some of the Taser incidents have been bad enough !