"Bobbies" is what English policemen
used to be called, named after Sir Robert (Bob) Peel, the 19th century Prime
Minister who founded the modern police force. It sounds a nice, friendly informal kind of
word - just the way most English people like to think of their policemen.
But nowadays people often use other slang expressions. "Cop"
(polda, fízl) or "copper" is fairly common. So are "the boys in blue"
and "Mr. Plod". Unhappily, an increasingly common term is "the filth"
(lump) which shows that at least some people no longer regard their policemen as being
either nice or friendly.
In the last twenty years crime in Britain has increased a lot, but the
numbers of policemen have stayed almost the same.
The greatest increase of crime comes from young people - teenagers,
usually unemployed and living in big cities. Their usual target is cars. Sometimes they
break in just to steal radios, and cassette or CD players. Often they steal the car
itself, not to sell or make money from but just "for kicks", for the thrill and
excitement of "joyriding". The worst of such car thieves actually want the
Police to chase them, some even deliberately crashing into Police cars. Others use cars
for "ramraiding": driving the vehicle into a shopfront, stealing what is inside
and then making a fast getaway.
Of course, there are still ordinary robberies and burglaries
(vloupání) but the other kind of crime which keeps getting worse is the problem of
drugs. Whatever the Police of any country do nothing really seems to check the smuggling
(pašování), selling and taking drugs. In the last few years Ecstasy has become
especially fashionable and more and more youngsters are smoking soft drugs like cannabis
and hashish.
A
particular problem with teenage criminals in Britain is that those under 17 cannot be sent
to prison - only to Detention Centres (nápravná zařízení pro mladistvé). Most police
think that punishment in these is too soft and no real deterrent (zastrašovací
prostředek).
In fact, as crime increases and both the Police and the legal system
become more overworked, most policemen's views on punishment become more extreme. They
care little for the idea of rehabilitating criminals saying instead that punishment should
be the main priority. They also tend to support the re-introduction of the death penalty
for murders - especially those who have killed policemen.
And yet there is still one thing that sets British Policemen apart: not
their uniforms, image of funny helmets, but the fact that they do not normally carry guns
and most of them say they do not even want to.
Policemen in other countries (especially America) think this is crazy.
But perhaps it's not really. In large British cities Armed Response Vehicles are always on
duty ready to respond instantly to any dangerous situation. But for ordinary policemen to
carry guns would mean more than a change in their image. It would, as one policeman
explained, change their attitude as well. "If you carried a gun you would always
worry about the criminal being able to take it from you; you would always try to keep your
distance instead of going up to people and trying to talk. It would really change the ways
most of us like to work."
Using guns creates other problems too. In difficult situations how does
a policeman know when it's right to use a gun? Must he wait to be sure that the criminal
also has a gun and definitely means to use it? Shooting the wrong man or someone who only
has a realistic toy gun, for example, can lead to the policeman being prosecuted and sent
to prison. Not an ideal situation for anybody.
The
British Police have other problems today. One thing which has not really changed very much
is the low number of recruits from black and ethnic communities which form such a large
part of the population. People from these communities often resent (mají za zlé) this -
but very few of them want to be policemen. So what can the Police to do?
Another problem concerns the way the justice system works. Now, because
of lack of time, money and resources, courts only prosecute alleged criminals (postihují
údajné zločince) if the result of the case is reasonably definite. All too often,
police catch a criminal, prepare evidence against him, take the case to the Crown
Persecution Service (government or state lawyers) and are then told that the case isn't
strong enough. The publics complain, the Police complain, and the alleged criminals go
free.
So what makes anyone want to be a Policeman in Britain? Well, it's
still an exciting, interesting job and these days it's quite well paid with a good pension
and early retirement age (55, after 30 years' service). And in a period of high
unemployment more and more people are wanting to join - so the standard of new recruits is
increasing.
