From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Norman Bassett writes, in the latest of his always-interesting reflections,
<< And I think it would be a big step forward if the UK police accepted that
they work for the public and not for the Home Office which trains them to
regard the public as creatures from another world. >>
I know what you mean, Norman, but I think it might be a little paranoid to
suggest police attitudes stem from training by the Home Office - an
organisation which I would not trust to train anyone to do anything at all.
No, I've always imagined that the us-and-them attitude is inevitable when you
have a uniformed body of people set in authority over others: witness "The
Authoritarian Personality", and psychological experiments such as the
illuminating one where students were randomly assigned to be guards & prison
inmates, with scary consequences - apart from the many dreadful lessons of
history. I read a valuable book in the 1970s, entitled "Scotland Yard", and I
wish I could remember the author's name... He spent several months
accompanying officers of the Met, and witnessed the growth in new officers of
the tendency to categorise civilians as "Chummy", i.e. the citizens who are
supposed to be served by the police become just a mildly irritating
nuisance...
In the course of my bachelor days I happened to have a couple of girl-friends
(at different times, I hasten...) both of whom had been formerly married to
policemen. They both reflected ruefully upon what they termed a "police
culture" which they felt excluded not only them, but the public at large, and
which contributed to the collapse of their marriages. This is just anecdotal,
sure, but interesting. The relationship between citizens and whatever form of
"police" they elect to have (or which is imposed upon them) is always going
to need watching carefully.
Best wishes to everyone on this newly-restored list - Anthony
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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