G20 protests: how the image of UK police took a beating:
It has been a bad month for the thin blue line … it’s no wonder that senior officers this weekend are calling a series of crisis meetings.
But they may already be too late. Public opinion appears to be turning against Britain’s police. Just as concerns over climate change and the global economy have been turning the most conservative of people into political activists, law-abiding people who have never had any experience in dealing with the police are now questioning their behaviour and the reach of their powers.
Nick Hardwick, chair of the IPCC, said the typical complainants were middle-class. “If you think the police are all bastards, you don’t bother to complain because you think it will get you victimised,” said Hardwick. “If you are Mr and Mrs Suburban who have a good view of the police and think they do a good job, and they stop you and swear at you, then you are shocked and you complain.”