In reply to Que Sera Sera:
Much as I tried to resist responding, sometimes I can't really help myself.
I tend to file posts like yours into "non-specific whinges about the police". They tend to be characterised by no relevance to the thread, lack of actual research in the topic that "outrages" the poster and usually some logical inconsistencies in the posters argument.
At the risk of losing your respect, I'm afraid you tick all those boxes.
I feel the Police should have much more respect, with harsh punishment for ....... just lack of respect to the officer. is followed up with
I used to respect the police, sadly I no longer do because of personal interactions with Police and things like Hillsborough.
Respect is earned. and
they look like yobs"
So perhaps you need to amend your opening statement, because you clearly feel it is entirely reasonable NOT to respect the police.
To continue on the theme of "respect". I tend to agree - it should be earned. Unfortunately it does become tiresome to have to reel out your entire CV every time you interact with a new member of the public, whilst they suck on their teeth and demand "Respeck, innit..."
As usual with any job where you interact with the public, we might see hundreds of people per week. Some of them will only have dealt with one police officer in their entire lives.
I tend to stick with the "treat people nicely, until you need to treat them differently."
Sadly we don't always get it right, and dealing with a member of the public badly is remembered much longer, and spread much more widely than the 99 other fantastic interactions that same officer might have had that day.
Then we have your objection to tattoos (and biceps?). The police are the public and public are the police. If you want a diverse and representative workforce then perhaps worrying too much about personal appearance is going to hamper that. If we continue to recruit "in our own image" then we will struggle to adapt to, change with. and more importantly police, society.
You mention discipline :-
However by the same regard the police should sort themselves out, drag back those who retire to dodge accusations or those who move forces to avoid accusations.
Home Office regulations, widely talked about, came into force in January to prevent this.
Then you bring up Hillsborough.
You have a lack of respect for "the police" as a result of Hillsborough. The problem with such a generic view is it also includes a dislike of those officers that rushed to carry out first-aid, those that stayed "at work" for ridiculously long shifts to help the victims and everyone else in the stadium.
Then you clarify (a bit) why you have this opinion - it's because you spoke to a police officer, who wasn't there, certainly wasn't in the police at that time, but who had the temerity not to share your opinion of the events on that day.
I'm sorry to have to break it to you - but cops are not all clones, and we will all have our own views on events on that day and the aftermath.