The police and the public

There was a time when a supposedly typical British policeman could be found in every tourist brochure for Britain. His strange-looking helmet and the fact that he did not carry a gun made him a unique symbol for tourists. The image of the friendly British 'bobby', with his fatherly manner, was also well-known within the country. This positive image was not a complete myth. The system of policing was based on each police officer having his own 'beat', a particular neighbourhood which it was his duty to patrol. He usually did this on foot or sometimes by bicycle. The local bobby was a familiar figure on the streets, a reassur­ing presence that people felt they could trust absolutely.

In the 1960s the situation began to change in two ways. First, in response to an increasingly motorized society, and therefore increas­ingly motorized crime, the police themselves started patrolling in cars. As a result, individual police officers became remote figures and stopped being the familiar faces that they once were. At the same time, the police found themselves having to deal increasingly with public demonstrations and with the activities of a generation who had no experience of war and therefore no obvious enemy-figure on which to focus their youthful feelings of rebellion. These young people started to see the police as the symbol of everything they disliked about society. Police officers were no longer known as 'bobbies' but became the 'fuzz' or the 'cops' or the 'pigs'.

Since the middle years of the twentieth century, the police in Britain have lost much of their positive image. A child who is lost is still advised to find a police officer, but the sight of one no longer creates a general feeling of reassurance. In the 1980s there were a large number of cases in which it was found that police officers had lied and cheated in order to get people convicted of crimes. As a result, trust in the honesty and incorruptibility of the police has declined.

Nevertheless, there is still a great deal of public sympathy for the police. It is felt that they are doing an increasingly difficult job under difficult circumstances. The assumption that their role is to serve the public rather than to be agents of the government persists. Police officers often still address members of the public as 'sir' or 'madam'. Senior officers think it is important for the police to establish a rela­tionship with local people, and the phrase 'community policing' is now fashionable. Some police have even started to patrol on foot again. Generally speaking, the relationship between police and public in Britain compares quite favourably with that in some other European countries. British police still do not carry guns in the course of normal duty (although all police stations have a store of weapons).

2. Answer the following questions:

1. Why was a typical British policeman a unique symbol for tourists previously?

2. In what two ways did the situation begin to change in the 1960s?

3. How did the nicknames for policemen change?

4. What led to the policemen losing their positive image?

5. Why do public still feel sympathy for the police?

3. Find English equivalents to the following:

Носить оружие; отцовская манера; патрулировать участок; в ответ на; общественные демонстрации; опыт войны; фигура врага; осудить за преступление; вера в честность и неподкупность полиции; служить обществу; устанавливать взаимоотношения.

4. Find the words in the text according to the definitions:

1. very special, unusual, existing in one place;

2. an opinion that people have about someone or something;

3. an area that a police officer has responsibility for and must walk around regularly;

4. to be confident that someone is honest, fair and reliable;

5. well known or easily recognized;

6. to take action to do something, especially to solve a problem;

7. a group of people in society who are born and live around the same time;

8. an attempt to remove a government or leader by force;

9. the act of feeling less worried about something;

10. to behave dishonestly or not obey rules;

11. to become less or worse;

12. the facts or conditions that affect a situation.

5. Fill in the gaps in this paragraph:

Spate juvenile committed tackle/combat

Breaking fight stealing offenders

Police are concerned about the growing number of offences that are being 1….. by young people in our town. They say that increasing numbers of youngsters are 2….. into people’s houses or 3….. their cars. Indeed, police claim that it is probably young 4….. who are to blame for the recent 5….. of burglaries in our town. Police are proposing a special campaign to 6…. The problem and are asking for the public’s support in this 7….. against 8….. crime.

6. Translate into English:

В Британии не существует национальной полиции. Все служащие полиции работают в одном из примерно сорока отдельных подразделений, каждое из которых отвечает за определенную географическую территорию. Первоначально, эти подразделения организовывались по-отдельности на местном уровне. И лишь позднее центральное правительство получило над ними определенный контроль. Представители центрального правительства инспектируют подразделения и назначают руководство. Взамен, подразделения получают примерно половину средств для своего финансирования. Вторая половина поступает из фондов органов местного самоуправления.

Исключение составляет Полицейское Управление Лондона (the Metropolitan Police Force), которое отвечает за охрану правопорядка в Центральном Лондоне. Данное подразделение находится под прямым контролем центрального правительства. На него возложены централизованные функции регистрации преступлений и преступников в Англии и Уэльсе, а также составления регистра пропавших без вести граждан. Штаб-квартирой отдела уголовных расследований (Criminal Investigation Department (CID) является Новый Скотланд Ярд (New Scotland Yard).

7. Read and translate Text 2: