What is the public perception of the police in your contry?

[CM14]

I have been to a few different countries, where usually the police has more (perceived or actual) authority then in the US.

In Mexico the federal police drives around wearing masks and use rifles (very intimidating). I actually had a rifle pointed at my face for no good reason by a Policia Federal back in Mexico... Wrong place, wrong time I guess. I also hear from Mexican friends they are very corrupt.

I've also been to Brazil. The police there seem to be more friendly, but people know better not to mess with them. I've been told it's easy for them to throw people in jail for "disrespecting authority" and that's 6 months to 2 years jail time plus fine if convicted. Also they seem to be very tight-knit, if a bad guy shoots a cop and they know who he is... Well, it's not going to end well.

Then there's China. I have a few Chinese friends and I can tell they are absolutely terrified of the police (that transfers to fear of cops here as well), which probably stems from them being able to arrest people and impose "fines" that can happen to be whatever amount of money you are carrying with you. I have been there and some locals call cops "uniformed bandits."

Anyone else has opinions/experiences to share?

[GoDirectly2Jail]

You are asking what is the public perception of the police in your country, and while we do have some international membership, the VAST majority of posters here are from North America.

Best wishes with your question.

[Samuel]

I have been to a few different countries, where usually the police has more (perceived or actual) authority then in the US.

In Mexico the federal police drives around wearing masks and use rifles (very intimidating). I actually had a rifle pointed at my face for no good reason by a Policia Federal back in Mexico... Wrong place, wrong time I guess. I also hear from Mexican friends they are very corrupt.

I've also been to Brazil. The police there seem to be more friendly, but people know better not to mess with them. I've been told it's easy for them to throw people in jail for "disrespecting authority" and that's 6 months to 2 years jail time plus fine if convicted. Also they seem to be very tight-knit, if a bad guy shoots a cop and they know who he is... Well, it's not going to end well.

Then there's China. I have a few Chinese friends and I can tell they are absolutely terrified of the police (that transfers to fear of cops here as well), which probably stems from them being able to arrest people and impose "fines" that can happen to be whatever amount of money you are carrying with you. I have been there and some locals call cops "uniformed bandits."

Anyone else has opinions/experiences to share?

"What is the public perception of the police in your contry?"

Depends on what segment of the "public" you ask...

[greg72982]

I would say this is a generalization of American police but basically:

The hardworking, decent people who don't get in trouble generally either likes us or are indifferent to us. Very rarely to they not like us.

Most of those that don't like us have criminal backgrounds or are involved in illegal activity. There are some guys though that do not really hold a grudge and when you arrest them they understand it's the "cost of doing business." These guys generally are cooperative as they most likely have learned the hard way at some point in their lives. Then you have those that hate us and that will never change...

[MSG6972]

I lived in three different countries while I was a Marine Embassy guard. The country that seemed to be the worse as far as public perception of the police was Vietnam. The police there were extremely corrupt, not exactly surprising since their yearly salary was about $300. You could pretty much get away with anything as long as you knew some one high enough up in the ranks and were willing to pay them. It is considered a "lower class" job so they don't get much respect as a person either. Most were unarmed but they were pretty good with a baton, which I was able to witness a few times while they dealt with a trouble maker we turned over to them after he caused some problems in the Embassy.
As far as the police here in my home town most people seem to be pretty supportive of them, with the exception of a select few.

[JoetheGI]

I have lived all over the U.S., and I have never felt threatened or intimidated by any police force I have ever had contact with, nor can I say that I never got a fair shake. The overwhelming majority of my encounters with state and local LEO's in the U.S. has been very professional and business like, which is a testament to their training and the quality of their ranks.

I have lived over seas and found the Euro police agencies to also be professional, though some moreso than others.

Italian Carabinieri: Very professional, and they have my utmost respect.
German Polizei: Same.
UK LEO's: Same.

I can't think of a western Euro police force that didn't look, or act in a professional manner in accordance with their local culture.

I can't say the same about some agencies in central America, North Africa, or the middle east however...

[S-99]

Although I've gotten the occasional ticket, which of course no one likes, I have been helped on multiple other occasions by the police, so I have a positive impression.

[Samuel]

Although I've gotten the occasional ticket, which of course no one likes, I have been helped on multiple other occasions by the police, so I have a positive impression.

Yup, a LOT of people don't "like" being caught doing something they shouldn't have been doing simply because they lack the ability to take responsibility for their own actions...

I got a lot of tickets when I was younger. Never gave any lip, never had a bad attitude, never was resentful - Why? Because I deserved every one of them. I also deserved tickets for (lots of) stupid stuff, mostly traffic related, I did but never got caught doing.

I always had a positive impression of the police because that's the way I was brought up and I acknowledged the importance of their job. Fortunately, every LEO that I ever had contact with, even if they were ripping me a new one for being stupid or detaining me or ticketing me or whatever, was professional.