[daveth3cat]

Really interesting to see everyone's opinions - thank you all for taking the time to contribute.

The Independent has just published a story detailing the most trusted professions in the UK - the police rank 6th to last. http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/these-are-the-12-most-...

I'd like to pad out my opening comment on my experience with the police - Luckily I live in a society where corruption within the force is a lot less noticeable than some others listed, however one can easily identify when certain groups are intentionally targeted as a way to increase the statistics for policing in my country.

My experience as a young white male, living in a large city is that most police officers whom I have contact with come with an undeserved air of superiority about them. This has always led me to the assumption that this is potentially a character trait not caused by the police but one that's unusually high amongst the police - perhaps shedding some light on the kind of person that grows up wanting to police/control his neighbor.

The fairy tale job of being a policeman you're told as a kid has long since disintegrated amongst my circles, a police officer is no longer a hero figure with the same stature as a Paramedic/Firefighter but somebody to be avoided/approached with caution.