UK not OK.

A few weeks ago, I was going to write a blog post about perceptions of the Police Force in the UK Media.  I put it off- and feel like today is the perfect day to bring it back up again.

Over the last few years, having seen Policing from the inside out, I've taken more notice of media perceptions of the Police in this country.  In the last 18 months there has been an outpouring of anti-police messages from the media ranging from tory-based newspaper articles, to TV programmes.  The papers are quick to pounce on a story highlighting inadequacies, incompetence and the chance to ridicule a police force- but there was little praise for the Police officers who leapt into action when the Riots took off in August 2011.  Not a word from the home secretary or Cameron to thank them for their hard work. 

Specifically, a BBC made programme called Mayday made a mockery of the UK police service showing incompetent police civilian staff and bumbling police officers, not to mention the actual murderer was a police man.  This isn't the first time, but is the freshest in my memory.  An ITV series, about to finish on prime time TV, called Broadchurch also shows a struggling police investigation with staff mostly painted out as demotivated, miserable workers who are feeling around in the dark. 

None of the above is an accurate portrait of UK Policing. None of it is justified or fair and I believe it is a deliberate attempt to rouse a general distrust from the public for British Policing and de-sensitise the public to  the damage being done to the Police Force by the Tory Government.

In stark contrast, in the US, Police Officers are respected and praised.  They are celebrated in US cop shows- CSI, NCIS, Law and Order, Hawaii 50, NYPD Blue all show clever, dynamic and vibrant policing where the officers are given an almost hero status.  On the day that US police captured their bombing suspect- celebratory tweets, thanks and praise flooded in for the police operation and officers involved. Boston Police's now famous "CAPTURED" tweet was re-tweeted around the world in seconds; Fellow American Facebook users posted "Thanks to our Forces" pictures, words like Justice where being used just for the police arresting a man who is still by all accounts just s a suspect!;  even the anti-police BBC ran a full headline story about the policing operation. 

Whilst I am aware there are changes that should be made to British Policing, our force does NOT deserve the daily onslaught of degrading news articles and TV representation. There is good policing going on, unheard, unseen; it's because of Officer and Staff hard work without fanfare or reward, that communities are kept safe from harm for the most part unaware of some of the dangers they may otherwise face. 
It's not the British way to celebrate and praise- but a bit of pride, respect and recognition from the media would be nice.  I don't think for a minute that the general public has as much disregard for the Police as the Media clearly does, but it still has an impact on community perception, especially when the Police is undergoing such huge financial strain.

Policing needs the backing and support of the communities it protects.  The media would do well to remember that.

An Interjection: The Fear

FINALLY.  A decent drama series written by someone who actually cares about film.



I saw the ad for this last week and having loved the films NEDS and Tyrannosaur I was immediately intrigued by the fact this starred the same actor- Peter Mullan, in a similar role. 

The first episode aired last night and I was immediately impressed with the camera work, compositions and analogies used to create the uneasy atmosphere.  Coastal erosion, regeneration of an old pier, the sea, soceital breakdown and the invasion of a criminal gang are all used as motifs echoing the graual loss of the central characters mind to dementia. 

I'm gripped.  I just hope the remaining three episodes live up to my expectations and continue to inspire. 

Faith restored in story telling on TV.  :-)