Police code found wanting

Just as an aside, in response to whether lawyers and doctors how they can have sex. In fact, there are clear professional rules in relation to who they can have intimate relationships with. There are professional bodies capable of disciplining lawyers and medical professionals for breaching such rules. There is a clear power imbalance that has to be addressed, in order to protect vulnerable clients/patients. This is the same for police officers.

You'll also find that lawyers can be struck off and not able to practice if they engage in conduct that brings the profession into disrepute. That could easily involve getting into fights or other criminal conduct. Things done in their personal time.

The Police absolutely should be subject to guidelines that aim to protect the vulnerable and the reputation of the police force as a while. This would include who and what they can do. Consenting adults is one thing, using your position of power is another. The integrity and reputation of the police force is central to their ability to perform their job and to have the trust and respect of the public.

Here I was thinking Police conduct, has something to do with a Code of Conduct?

And I think you will find that Doctors DO have a code of conduct with regards to their patients. Do your homework.

If you read my entire post, which I believe you didn't, you would have noticed my comment that praises those few out there who are actually wonderful with the public.

I am a woman by the way. I was not yelling at the officers. They were yelling at me. One of the four were anyway. Like I said, there was one who was trying to talk to me calmly. Why should I have to be spoken to in a manner reserved to by those would be drunken louts? Why should they assume everyone is going to resort to the same manner of behaviour. The end result of that, by the way, was that they were wanting to make sure the person who I was with, a very good friend of mine I might add, was not drugging my drink. A good cause turned bad.

Sexual misconduct is in most codes of conduct. Especially public servants. In most places you even need to declare if you are having a relationship with someone who works in the same organisation. Where have you been over the last ten years?

This is definitely an example of management letting down the more honourable police officers who already respect the idea of sexual conduct. General warnings about respect for people simply aren't enough to penetrate through the entrenched attitudes some people have that they are entitled to treat women like property.

How hard is it to include an extra two paragraphs in your code? Seriously.

Clearly this post is by someone who just dislikes Police and is totally off the topic of the Police Code of Conduct. If any sober person has watched Police and the abuse that they recieve on the street by drunk idiots they will understand that the Police recieve a huge amount of flack before resorting to threatening to arrest someone. Trying to get to the bottom of a situation with some lout yelling in your face is not easy for the calmest of people not forgetting the serious threat of personal injury by a drunk tryhard superhero who is more than happy to take a cheap shot at an officer.

What is being overlooked in the Code of Conduct debarcle is the inability and unfairness of trying to control what Police Officers do in their personal time. As it is they risk losing their jobs if they were to get into a fight, get drunk on the street or even crash their car. Does anyone else have to suffer that sort of situation? Maybe only MPs.

Although I have no intention of engaging in animal porn watching or group sex, I would be offended if my boss decided to attempt to veto what and who I was to do! Do doctors, lawyers or chefs get told how they can have sex? No, so why should Police Officers be subjected to that. If it amounts to a crime such as rape or beastiality then absolutely, all are subject to the law.

What if you were told by your boss that you were to only engage in sex with a person approved by them and in an approved position and location? Would you not tell them where to go? I know I would!

Police are human and although should be able to maintain a high level of morals, they are human and have personal lives that should not be interfered with. There are going to be bad eggs as in any job however people need to be mature enough to see through that and not colour all with the same brush.

I think we shouldn't be too quick to be horrible to the cops, they're not all bad, they give you rides home when you've been out drinking and waterbottles and snacks when you're on road trips, they are also really nice when you're upset - well the ones I've encountered anyway. It's just a few wrecking it for the rest of them.

Like every other document produced by a crown or government departing, it will end up in the filing cabinet, where no one will read it, and they will all pat themselves on the back that they reached their deadlines.

Police think they are so clever. I have seen a male officer call a young woman a stupid slag. Now she may have been drunk and annoying but regardless, that is not how one would expect a police officer to behave.

I have been surrounded by police before, probably was little drunk, four of them, one threatened to throw me in a cell if I didnt shut up, one was trying to soothe me saying everything was ok they just wanted to see I was alright (god bless that officer), and another was telling me to shut up. In the end, they just walked off and left me there quite distressed lol. Turns out they were suspicious of someone else drugging drinks. Quite terrifying being shouted at by four men that you dont know. Police officers or not.

I have seen an officer push a young man, the young mans arm slipping and slightly tapping the officer, and the officer then arresting him for assault on a police officer.

Police conduct in general has left a lot to be desired in my opinion. They can't handle their own anger problems due to stress no doubt. Then they take it out on who they see fit. They treat everyone they talk to as if that person at any minute is going to cause them grief.

In my personal experience, all I said was 'what have I done' and then being told to shut up or i'm putting you in the cells. If I had asked for his badge number, I would have plastered his name through every legal public arena I could find for making me feel so scared. Especially since the brat looked like he was straight out of college lol.

I have NEVER felt so scared in my life. But god bless the very small few out there who are awesome. Keep up the good work, this country sure needs more of you.

COPOUT!

Louise Nicholas certainly appears correct. The new Police Code of Conduct does not resolve the specific aspect of sexual relationships and misconduct - well covered in Margaret Bazely's review. Police HQ statements that it is dealt with are at fault. There may be an "inference" or it may be implied in the new Code but, as in the past, there will be those who see non-specifics as an excuse for abuse of the Code's intent. The Police must fix this error and be specific as to this potential for misconduct and abuse of authority.