Everyone loves a good cop drama. I can think of a few, and I'm sure you can come up with a list of some which tickle your fancy. They portray heroic and dedicated police officers, plotting their moves to find the crook who commit unthinkable actions. They are seen as the good guys who solve crimes. Yes, some crime dramas have dodgy officers, but they'll be dealt with - piece of cake.
Even in real life, most of the time, police officers do their jobs with pride. They patrol the streets during football games, clamping down on hooliganism. They work during the night so the drunk don't act disorderly. Some visit schools and lecture children on how important are their safety. It is clear they do their very best to ensure that their community is safe.
I have always respected the police force. I have always been lucky to live in places which aren't crime-infested, and I guess it's all down to a close-knitted community that the police, councillors and the like, make sure of. They have been finding it difficult of late because of the government cuts, but they've still managed to keep crime levels as low as possible. However, of late, there have been isolated incidents which have overshadowed the entire force's reputation. In this calendar year already, we have seen two incidents involving the police which has seen the outspoken public lose their trust in the people who they need to trust. These two incidents have been ongoing for the past couple of years but only recently, both stories have taken a dramatic turn.
The first story which took a drastic turn was the case of Mark Duggan. Mr Duggan died in summer of 2011 when he was shot by a police officer. At the time, the police argued that Duggan had a gun in his hand and that he would have done something damaging. Not risking anything, police took the split-second initiative and took a life. Whether Duggan handled a gun the moment he died, or not, is still being debated today. The tragedy not only pointed the finger towards the police force who failed to handle a complicated situation, but it also caused nationwide riots which dominated headlines two-and-a-half-years ago. Of course, the riots went completely out of hand as originally, it was meant to be a peaceful march across Tottenham.
Since then, the Duggan family have been campaigning for justice as they firmly believed that Mark was unlawfully killed. However, only very recently, after 29 months, the jurors at his inquest suggest that he wasn't, and that he was a potential threat on the night he died. They took to account that he was part of a gang and had a criminal record. They hadn't discussed the extent of his criminal record and there is little proof that he was a violent man.
The decision by the jury angered the Duggan family. On Saturday, they held a peaceful protest, but this time it remained peaceful. They believed Mark was no threat during the time of his death. The public have also been disgusted by the verdict as some campaign groups argued that the incident is racially influenced. Some say, if Mark Duggan was white, he would still be alive today. Not only do I disagree with that point, I think it's sad we have to even think that any incident as tragic as this would be racially influenced.
What happened to Mark Duggan was sad, and possibly avoidable and unjustified. Nobody deserves to die in these circumstances - however, every precaution has to be considered by the police and Mark Duggan. Whether Mark had a gun in his hand, or not, during the time he was shot, is irrelevant. What is relevant is that there is enough proof that he did carry a gun on that day. The police officer who shot Mark Duggan will have to live with him/herself. It was a freak moment of madness and hopefully, at some point, we can move on.
The second story which took a dramatic turn had been ongoing for over a year. While people were suffering from the Olympic-hangover, the relationship between politicians and the police reached fever pitch. In 2010/11, the police force had to be cut with thousands of jobs vanished - something which was detested by the Met and everyone else associated with the force. However, in September 2012, an alleged heated discussion occurred between an officer and MP. Then Chief Whip, Andrew Mitchell, apparently had a row with an officer and during this conversation, the Conservative politician called the officer a "pleb" - hence, the "Plebgate" scandal.
It was an incident which saw Mr Mitchell leave his job - David Cameron accepted his resignation after public outrage. How dare a politician go name-calling a police officer. But Mitchell had people on his side and had campaigned tirelessly to ensure their Tory MP would have his name cleared of any wrongdoing. This scandal became the public focus for 18 months and saw a number of arrests and interrogations by fellow MPs and officers. But only recently, has a witness, who initially said saw the entire conversation which led to Plebgate, admitted to not telling the truth. The other witnesses also gave false accounts of what they saw. One has accepted a misconduct charge earlier last week. They heard nothing of the kind and orchestrated a lie which saw Andrew Mitchell's reputation tarnished.
With both stories, you can argue that the police officers involved were at fault and you may be right to believe so. However, I do not see why the entire force would be punished because of the minority. Certainly, those at the top could have handled situations better. They hadn't made their lives easy. But on the other hand, they don't feel any guilt, so why should anyone else? These unfortunate incidents are two bad situations out of thousands of great deeds the police do every day to keep Britain safe. Politicians should keep their opinions to themselves and ensure that the police get the credit they deserve.
Even in real life, most of the time, police officers do their jobs with pride. They patrol the streets during football games, clamping down on hooliganism. They work during the night so the drunk don't act disorderly. Some visit schools and lecture children on how important are their safety. It is clear they do their very best to ensure that their community is safe.
I have always respected the police force. I have always been lucky to live in places which aren't crime-infested, and I guess it's all down to a close-knitted community that the police, councillors and the like, make sure of. They have been finding it difficult of late because of the government cuts, but they've still managed to keep crime levels as low as possible. However, of late, there have been isolated incidents which have overshadowed the entire force's reputation. In this calendar year already, we have seen two incidents involving the police which has seen the outspoken public lose their trust in the people who they need to trust. These two incidents have been ongoing for the past couple of years but only recently, both stories have taken a dramatic turn.
The first story which took a drastic turn was the case of Mark Duggan. Mr Duggan died in summer of 2011 when he was shot by a police officer. At the time, the police argued that Duggan had a gun in his hand and that he would have done something damaging. Not risking anything, police took the split-second initiative and took a life. Whether Duggan handled a gun the moment he died, or not, is still being debated today. The tragedy not only pointed the finger towards the police force who failed to handle a complicated situation, but it also caused nationwide riots which dominated headlines two-and-a-half-years ago. Of course, the riots went completely out of hand as originally, it was meant to be a peaceful march across Tottenham.
Since then, the Duggan family have been campaigning for justice as they firmly believed that Mark was unlawfully killed. However, only very recently, after 29 months, the jurors at his inquest suggest that he wasn't, and that he was a potential threat on the night he died. They took to account that he was part of a gang and had a criminal record. They hadn't discussed the extent of his criminal record and there is little proof that he was a violent man.
The decision by the jury angered the Duggan family. On Saturday, they held a peaceful protest, but this time it remained peaceful. They believed Mark was no threat during the time of his death. The public have also been disgusted by the verdict as some campaign groups argued that the incident is racially influenced. Some say, if Mark Duggan was white, he would still be alive today. Not only do I disagree with that point, I think it's sad we have to even think that any incident as tragic as this would be racially influenced.
What happened to Mark Duggan was sad, and possibly avoidable and unjustified. Nobody deserves to die in these circumstances - however, every precaution has to be considered by the police and Mark Duggan. Whether Mark had a gun in his hand, or not, during the time he was shot, is irrelevant. What is relevant is that there is enough proof that he did carry a gun on that day. The police officer who shot Mark Duggan will have to live with him/herself. It was a freak moment of madness and hopefully, at some point, we can move on.
The second story which took a dramatic turn had been ongoing for over a year. While people were suffering from the Olympic-hangover, the relationship between politicians and the police reached fever pitch. In 2010/11, the police force had to be cut with thousands of jobs vanished - something which was detested by the Met and everyone else associated with the force. However, in September 2012, an alleged heated discussion occurred between an officer and MP. Then Chief Whip, Andrew Mitchell, apparently had a row with an officer and during this conversation, the Conservative politician called the officer a "pleb" - hence, the "Plebgate" scandal.
It was an incident which saw Mr Mitchell leave his job - David Cameron accepted his resignation after public outrage. How dare a politician go name-calling a police officer. But Mitchell had people on his side and had campaigned tirelessly to ensure their Tory MP would have his name cleared of any wrongdoing. This scandal became the public focus for 18 months and saw a number of arrests and interrogations by fellow MPs and officers. But only recently, has a witness, who initially said saw the entire conversation which led to Plebgate, admitted to not telling the truth. The other witnesses also gave false accounts of what they saw. One has accepted a misconduct charge earlier last week. They heard nothing of the kind and orchestrated a lie which saw Andrew Mitchell's reputation tarnished.
With both stories, you can argue that the police officers involved were at fault and you may be right to believe so. However, I do not see why the entire force would be punished because of the minority. Certainly, those at the top could have handled situations better. They hadn't made their lives easy. But on the other hand, they don't feel any guilt, so why should anyone else? These unfortunate incidents are two bad situations out of thousands of great deeds the police do every day to keep Britain safe. Politicians should keep their opinions to themselves and ensure that the police get the credit they deserve.
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