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by yellowapple 1292 days ago
> They're part of the teams taking down human trafficking rings, violent gangs involved in the drugs trade, terrorist cells, and suchlike.

They're part of the teams surveilling and even outright harassing civilians on mere suspicion of tangential connection to crime - the kind of polie work that makes people's lives vulnerable in the first place.

It shouldn't be surprising that not everyone shares your enthusiasm for the state's goons, no matter how "cool" their goonery-enabling gadgets might be.
2 comments
amatecha 1292 days ago
Right - in fact UK police specifically have engaged in seriously unethical behaviour: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/oct/28/secrets-and-...
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svoncin 1292 days ago
That is a very ignorant opinion to be flaunting with such confidence.
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yellowapple 1292 days ago
It's the precise opposite of an ignorant opinion; it's in fact rather well-informed from myself being a former employee of a law enforcement agency. You can parrot copaganda pamphlets all you like, but the idea that police are always the good guys and only spy on the public for the public's good is dangerously naive.
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svoncin 1292 days ago
Really, which country? Presumably not the UK.
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yellowapple 1291 days ago
The power dynamics involved are universal - and as has been linked elsewhere in this thread, the UK is no exception.
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svoncin 1289 days ago
So, not the UK then. Thought as much.

Whatever issue you have with the law enforcement people you apparently worked alongside for a while, please refrain from blindly transferring this onto UK police personnel whose work you have zero insight into.

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yellowapple 1288 days ago
> So, not the UK then.

The power dynamics involved are universal - and as has been linked elsewhere in this thread, the UK is no exception.

> please refrain from blindly transferring this onto UK police personnel

There's nothing "blind" about it - because again, the power dynamics are universal, and has has been linked elsewhere in this thread, the UK is no exception.

Cops are cops. They are definitionally given special privileges and powers over the general population, and the temptation to abuse those special privileges and powers doesn't magically go away just because you choose to plug your ears and pretend they have your best interests at heart. There's a reason why the phrase "All Cops Are Bastards" originated in the UK of all places.

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