Discretion? Modern day Policing? Long since dead! But then, so has PCs being able to think on their feet and have confidence in their decision - perhaps the two died at the same time!
Discretion vanished at the time performance indicators became the be all and end all of policing. After all, 'if it isn't written down it didn't happen'. Most of policing is based on things that aren't easily measured. I've said before the best definition of policing is 'something is happening that shouldn't be happening and would someone please make it stop'.
One Sunday 2x10 shift in my sunny city, with a local football match taking much of the response unit, I sat down in the controller's chair to see what jobs remained. Quickly found my predecessor had concentrated on a PG9 incident and had twenty logs outstanding. Simples! I called everyone who had called, stated I didn't have anyone to attend calls, except emergencies and everyone understood. My predecessor came back to explain what was on the list, nowt and all the jobs closed NPA (no police attendance) and caller updated. Discretion and communication work.
Your comment of a burglar climbing out of a warehouse window stirred memories of the dark days of the late 1970s, when a young PC, patrolling at some ungodly hour, frequented only by night cleaners, harlots, randy young men making their way home after some nocturnal assignation and, of course, police officers, came across precisely the same thing. "It's a fair cop guv" sayeth he. "And the Magistrate will never believe anyone would say that, so you're fucked" I took a verbatim note and read it out at the Magistrates Court later the same day. "The Magistrate does believe it" he said. "Remanded in custody" His face was a picture.
I worked in a distant city, where things were just as you say, and while a lot of it was hard, and dangerous, everything got dealt with. The city was called London 1976-2007. Brilliant discourse, Dom, totally accurate.
I consider one of my finest moments in policing was after being tenured back from special Branch A Squad on protection into uniform, posted to the DPG where I could retain my firearm/driving qualifications. It was the summer recess and many armed posts had come off leaving a surplus of officers on the night shift, we were duly offered by a senior officer to assist the local stations with man power.
I found myself at Paddington Nick for the second half of my shift, not having worked the streets for over a decade posted to the van assisting a very young and keen officer. As one can imagine I felt my world had fallen apart and was wondering what I had done to deserve this. We took a call to some crap estate over a cab bilking. On our arrival I saw a large Nigerian cab driver smartly dressed with a licensed cab for Crawley standing over a young white man who was intoxicated and belligerent. So after a few questions I summed up,the situation that the cab had illegally picked up the young man from Leicester Square, which meant he was uninsured and breaching Public Carriage Office rules and that the young man had no money on him at the start of the journey and hadn’t intended to pay saying the cab was illegally transporting him home which was basically theft.
At this point the young officer got out his notebook to start taking details and the lengthy process of dealing with said crimes, I stepped in and asked the young guy how much the fare was supposed to be, £20 was the reply, I told him to go and get £10 from his Mum who was now anxiously waiting by their front door which he did. I then gave the £10 to the cab driver having told him we had all his details from the PNC and if we saw him enter the city again without a proper fare, pre booked, he would have his licence revoked and cab impounded. I then asked if we had all learned something from this encounter and got them to shake hands on it. I took the young guy to his Mum and explained how lucky he was it was me that felt with it and she thanked us profusely, we sent the cabbie on his way and he thanked us for sorting it out and said he’d learned his lesson.
We drove back to Paddington and I gave the result to the control room and went to get a coffee, the van driver in tow asking did that really just happen. I assured him it had and that’s how we did things back in the day. Needless to say I was driven back to our base with thanks and instructions not to return in a hurry as the world he moved on. It caused much merriment at the base too when I told them what had happened.
There needs to be discretion in the world and especially in policing or consent will disappear completely. Another well reasoned article Dom
Excellent article....Remember the white notes well and also the IB! You are on the nail with a lack of discretion also known as being totally risk averse...And I don't mean the risk associated with running into a dark building after a 'billy', I mean the risk that someone might not be happy with your actions or lack thereof, might complain, might get some clever lawyer to sue or God forbid come to some completely impossible to foresee harm...so instead of telling some folks that their matter really isn't a police matter and is certainly not serious enough to pass the 'public interest' test, they tug their forelocks to those who shout loudest and spend hours dotting every i, crossing every t for a job that, as they knew from the outset, doesn't go anywhere...
"Nothing appears more surprising to those, who consider human affairs with a philosophical eye, than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few; and the implicit submission, with which men resign their own sentiments and passions to those of their rulers. When we enquire by what means this wonder is effected, we shall find, that, as Force is always on the side of the governed, the governors have nothing to support them but opinion. It is therefore, on opinion only that government is founded; and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments, as well as to the most free and most popular".
- David Hume, “Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary. Essay 4 : Of The First Principles of Government”
and
"Manners are of more importance than laws. The law can touch us here and there, now and then. Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine us, by a constant, steady, uniform, insensible operation like that of the air we breathe in... According to their quality, they aid morals, they supply them, or they totally destroy them".
- Edmund Burke ("Letters On a Regicide Peace", 1796)
Hume reminds us that, as citizens greatly outnumber police, order can be kept only by consent and cooperation. Burke adds that "manners" - custom, morality, habit - is more important than law. Which implies, although he didn't spell it out, that to be effective laws must be in harmony with manners. If they conflict, manners will always win.
Which is why too many immigrants from countries with very different manners can spell trouble. They see a lot of our laws as inappropriate, offkey, optional, or downright wrong. So they disobey them and withhold or withdraw their consent.
It's all so sad. I have changed from someone who mostly trusted the coppers I came across, and taught my children the same, to someone who thinks they are mostly nasty and vindictive, and to be avoided at all costs (rather like the Stasi)
We all learnt discretion from experience and experienced officers and we learnt how to write things up properly. The days when you had PCs on relief with 10+ yrs are long gone, and as you say, it’s not encouraged anyway
When I was a skipper in a Divisional Control Room many moons ago, the closures for more than 50% of incident logs was “parties advised, no offences disclosed”. This saved mountains of paperwork, hours of time in police stations and courts and kept a lot of normally law-abiding citizens, young and old, free of convictions. As Dom said, it worked. That’s probably why it had to change!
Happy days. During the riots when county forces from all over the country came on aid to the MET I was a DS covering late turn one day. A carrier from Strathclyde I believe, answered a call to a DV incident where a husband was alleged to have assaulted his wife. They resolved that as ‘ NCPA’.. the faces on the officers in the room was a picture.
Soz, should be NCPA = No Cause for Police Action which was an abbv result on the Computer Aided Dispatch system (CAD). You could have an hour long conversation with a copper using only acronyms and abbreviations…
Can't do discretion. Too dangerous. If you follow flowcharts or protocols or rules to the letter, you can't be criticised . Your defence is, I followed the rules. Blame them. Not me. Wtf would you put yourself on offer?
The simplest way to use discretion: Never write anything down and tell the DIR / whatever I'll update log when back in the station. Often the DIR would close the log, so their queue was manageable. Rarely I would ask who long have we had an ASB call and had they updated the caller if police needed still? That always worked!
Discretion? Modern day Policing? Long since dead! But then, so has PCs being able to think on their feet and have confidence in their decision - perhaps the two died at the same time!
Discretion vanished at the time performance indicators became the be all and end all of policing. After all, 'if it isn't written down it didn't happen'. Most of policing is based on things that aren't easily measured. I've said before the best definition of policing is 'something is happening that shouldn't be happening and would someone please make it stop'.
One Sunday 2x10 shift in my sunny city, with a local football match taking much of the response unit, I sat down in the controller's chair to see what jobs remained. Quickly found my predecessor had concentrated on a PG9 incident and had twenty logs outstanding. Simples! I called everyone who had called, stated I didn't have anyone to attend calls, except emergencies and everyone understood. My predecessor came back to explain what was on the list, nowt and all the jobs closed NPA (no police attendance) and caller updated. Discretion and communication work.
You're describing my late father's career as a police officer. And why he left.
Your comment of a burglar climbing out of a warehouse window stirred memories of the dark days of the late 1970s, when a young PC, patrolling at some ungodly hour, frequented only by night cleaners, harlots, randy young men making their way home after some nocturnal assignation and, of course, police officers, came across precisely the same thing. "It's a fair cop guv" sayeth he. "And the Magistrate will never believe anyone would say that, so you're fucked" I took a verbatim note and read it out at the Magistrates Court later the same day. "The Magistrate does believe it" he said. "Remanded in custody" His face was a picture.
I worked in a distant city, where things were just as you say, and while a lot of it was hard, and dangerous, everything got dealt with. The city was called London 1976-2007. Brilliant discourse, Dom, totally accurate.
I consider one of my finest moments in policing was after being tenured back from special Branch A Squad on protection into uniform, posted to the DPG where I could retain my firearm/driving qualifications. It was the summer recess and many armed posts had come off leaving a surplus of officers on the night shift, we were duly offered by a senior officer to assist the local stations with man power.
I found myself at Paddington Nick for the second half of my shift, not having worked the streets for over a decade posted to the van assisting a very young and keen officer. As one can imagine I felt my world had fallen apart and was wondering what I had done to deserve this. We took a call to some crap estate over a cab bilking. On our arrival I saw a large Nigerian cab driver smartly dressed with a licensed cab for Crawley standing over a young white man who was intoxicated and belligerent. So after a few questions I summed up,the situation that the cab had illegally picked up the young man from Leicester Square, which meant he was uninsured and breaching Public Carriage Office rules and that the young man had no money on him at the start of the journey and hadn’t intended to pay saying the cab was illegally transporting him home which was basically theft.
At this point the young officer got out his notebook to start taking details and the lengthy process of dealing with said crimes, I stepped in and asked the young guy how much the fare was supposed to be, £20 was the reply, I told him to go and get £10 from his Mum who was now anxiously waiting by their front door which he did. I then gave the £10 to the cab driver having told him we had all his details from the PNC and if we saw him enter the city again without a proper fare, pre booked, he would have his licence revoked and cab impounded. I then asked if we had all learned something from this encounter and got them to shake hands on it. I took the young guy to his Mum and explained how lucky he was it was me that felt with it and she thanked us profusely, we sent the cabbie on his way and he thanked us for sorting it out and said he’d learned his lesson.
We drove back to Paddington and I gave the result to the control room and went to get a coffee, the van driver in tow asking did that really just happen. I assured him it had and that’s how we did things back in the day. Needless to say I was driven back to our base with thanks and instructions not to return in a hurry as the world he moved on. It caused much merriment at the base too when I told them what had happened.
There needs to be discretion in the world and especially in policing or consent will disappear completely. Another well reasoned article Dom
"There needs to be discretion in policing or consent will disappear". Very well said, sir!
Excellent article....Remember the white notes well and also the IB! You are on the nail with a lack of discretion also known as being totally risk averse...And I don't mean the risk associated with running into a dark building after a 'billy', I mean the risk that someone might not be happy with your actions or lack thereof, might complain, might get some clever lawyer to sue or God forbid come to some completely impossible to foresee harm...so instead of telling some folks that their matter really isn't a police matter and is certainly not serious enough to pass the 'public interest' test, they tug their forelocks to those who shout loudest and spend hours dotting every i, crossing every t for a job that, as they knew from the outset, doesn't go anywhere...
A couple of echoes from past centuries:
"Nothing appears more surprising to those, who consider human affairs with a philosophical eye, than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few; and the implicit submission, with which men resign their own sentiments and passions to those of their rulers. When we enquire by what means this wonder is effected, we shall find, that, as Force is always on the side of the governed, the governors have nothing to support them but opinion. It is therefore, on opinion only that government is founded; and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments, as well as to the most free and most popular".
- David Hume, “Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary. Essay 4 : Of The First Principles of Government”
and
"Manners are of more importance than laws. The law can touch us here and there, now and then. Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine us, by a constant, steady, uniform, insensible operation like that of the air we breathe in... According to their quality, they aid morals, they supply them, or they totally destroy them".
- Edmund Burke ("Letters On a Regicide Peace", 1796)
Hume reminds us that, as citizens greatly outnumber police, order can be kept only by consent and cooperation. Burke adds that "manners" - custom, morality, habit - is more important than law. Which implies, although he didn't spell it out, that to be effective laws must be in harmony with manners. If they conflict, manners will always win.
Which is why too many immigrants from countries with very different manners can spell trouble. They see a lot of our laws as inappropriate, offkey, optional, or downright wrong. So they disobey them and withhold or withdraw their consent.
It's all so sad. I have changed from someone who mostly trusted the coppers I came across, and taught my children the same, to someone who thinks they are mostly nasty and vindictive, and to be avoided at all costs (rather like the Stasi)
NCPA was often the best result. Not for the copper, but for the public. Nobody got ‘nicked’ and their lives changed that didn’t deserve it.
Always work on the assumption that people make mistakes. Arseholes are arseholes though and need taking in.
Another great philosophical piece Dom.
We all learnt discretion from experience and experienced officers and we learnt how to write things up properly. The days when you had PCs on relief with 10+ yrs are long gone, and as you say, it’s not encouraged anyway
When I was a skipper in a Divisional Control Room many moons ago, the closures for more than 50% of incident logs was “parties advised, no offences disclosed”. This saved mountains of paperwork, hours of time in police stations and courts and kept a lot of normally law-abiding citizens, young and old, free of convictions. As Dom said, it worked. That’s probably why it had to change!
Happy days. During the riots when county forces from all over the country came on aid to the MET I was a DS covering late turn one day. A carrier from Strathclyde I believe, answered a call to a DV incident where a husband was alleged to have assaulted his wife. They resolved that as ‘ NCPA’.. the faces on the officers in the room was a picture.
A lot of insider shorthand there! DV? DS? NCPA?
DV = Domestic violence
DS = Detective Sergeant
Soz, should be NCPA = No Cause for Police Action which was an abbv result on the Computer Aided Dispatch system (CAD). You could have an hour long conversation with a copper using only acronyms and abbreviations…
Can't do discretion. Too dangerous. If you follow flowcharts or protocols or rules to the letter, you can't be criticised . Your defence is, I followed the rules. Blame them. Not me. Wtf would you put yourself on offer?
The simplest way to use discretion: Never write anything down and tell the DIR / whatever I'll update log when back in the station. Often the DIR would close the log, so their queue was manageable. Rarely I would ask who long have we had an ASB call and had they updated the caller if police needed still? That always worked!