Motorcyclists and the police

THE POLICE ARE NOT OUR FRIENDS. That might strike some folk as one hell of a cynical opening statement for this feature. But we think the facts bear out our assertion, and we stand by it.

The police are NOT our friends. Not as motorcyclists nor as ordinary citizens. And if you continue reading you'll discover our argument.

Supposedly, the first role of the cops is to protect the general public. That's what the various government PR people tell us, and that's the line usually trotted out by the Association of Chief Police Officers et al.

To serve the public.

...and in the sub-text, there's also a mandate to maintain law and order. But the fact is, the first job of the police is to protect the state—and that means the government. So when push comes to shove, as if often does, the cops will bend first to the will of the authorities and do exactly as instructed. And they'll do it with pride, misplaced or otherwise.

But don't take our word for it. Ask the miners. Ask any number of political demonstration groups. Ask any retired cops. Ask any number of people currently languishing in British prisons desperately hoping for a re-trial, an appeal, or some other opportunity of showing how the state has totally failed them. And sadly that's often due to the misconduct, the incompetence and occasionally the vindictiveness of the police.

The state ALWAYS comes first. The public ALWAYS comes second. And woe betide anyone who tries to challenge that fact on the street.

▲ Charles Penrose recorded this song as Charles Jolly back in 1922. But we have no idea what the police have ever had to laugh about. It strikes us as a lousy job, but someone's got to do it. Dealing with the underside of the general public. Getting attacked and spat at. Not particularly great wages. Poor working hours. Falling support. Etc. Etc. But for all the music hall mirth and comedy skits about cheery cops, smart bikers would do well to remember that the friendly copper stereotype also has an underside that bears watching.

Cynicism strikes again...

But we'd take that cynicism a step further. We also suggest that the cops don't even like the public, not as a social group or as a collective body. Instead, the police like only the notional public; i.e. the public as an ideal presence or entity. In other words, the police like only the conception of working for and protecting the law abiding citizen as the law is applied and regulated at any given moment.

So, when the streets are peaceful and Joe Public is going about his business as governed by social norms and lawful requirements, the police are content to smile and nod and play the nice cop routine.

But the moment they have cause or excuse to question the activities or behaviour of anyone, things change. Smiles turn to suspicious grimaces. Good natured-ness turns to mistrust and scepticism. And Joe Public rapidly morphs into Joe Suspect.

Then you've got problems.

So at Sump we're anti-police?

Not at all. We're convinced that it's better to have cops than not have cops, and we recognise that many, if not most cops do a pretty wonderful job—until they turn the spotlight on an individual or suspect group. Sometimes that shift of perspective is very subtle. And sometimes it's in-yer-face. But it's always present; the switch between passive tolerance and active control, and we ignore that fact at our peril.

To reiterate, most of us have had direct experience of great policing. However, some of us have also had direct experience of some truly lousy policing.

In the mainstream media we've witnessed innumerable examples of where that lousiness has systematically targeted the wrong person (often resulting in years of persecution and/or imprisonment), We've seen how the British police have killed—nay, executed in one or two cases—the wrong person on British streets. We've seen how suspects (often the "usual suspects") have been stitched up at all levels. We've all seen how "obvious" opportunities have been missed leading directly to convicted perpetrators committing repeat offences, also often resulting in death.

What follows on these pages is a collection of notes, stories, articles, and warnings about how to handle the police as and when they start to handle us. Naturally, we're going to upset a lot of people. That's unavoidable. Regardless of how we frame these pages and couch our language, some folk will no doubt maintain their more orthodox views on British policing and misunderstand and/or disagree with our views. But we'll say it again anyway; we're NOT anti-police, per se. But we have good cause to be every bit as suspicious of the cops as they frequently are of us.

In fact, we have more reason to be suspicious because the cops have the power and the control. In the final analysis, we're all just little people.

Keep that in mind. Then check the links elsewhere on this page detailing what to do when the cops rightly or wrongly target you.

Some people deserve what they get

Well that might be true according to the gods of absolute morality and religious fundamentalists. Some people are trash—albeit possibly with a lifetime of mitigation. But it's not the place of the cops to make that distinction. Under the law, everyone should get fair treatment. And we collectively abandon that principle at our peril.

The thing is, we're also faced with an awkward fact of life. Plenty of people are drawn to the police force not because they want to dedicate their lives to serving the public, notional or otherwise. Some people simply want control over others, and like many of us they have a pretty powerful, albeit latent hunting instinct.

And when these characters pop up in the police force, we've got a dangerous situation. Such people actively or passively look for opportunities to exercise their latent desires.

We have no idea what percentage of the police force at any given time harbour and/or indulge these instincts. But we're smart enough to know that you can't take any police officer for granted.

And beyond that unknown percentage of cops who actually want to bash a few heads and stamp on whoever doesn't fit their notion of an ideal member of the community, there are plenty of other cops who are just plain stupid.

But we have to say again. Some police officers are decent people doing the best job they can, often with depleting resources and a woeful command structure. However, their first role is to serve the state and suppress any behaviours or attitudes that they feel might upset the status quo.

Keep that in mind.