Heh, one of my bobby friends was describing how he caught a 14 year old drunken boy lying about his age on the train (he’s in the BTP), and tapped him on the head with a notebook saying ‘ahh you’re lying then!’ and he went ‘Ow! Thats assault!’ But when he complained to his mum at the station, his mum asked my friend why he hadn’t hit him harder...
Having said that, it is unfortunate, but a lot of coppers would abuse the privelage. Its already giving reasonable people with common sense carte blanche to do this, but then you’d also have to deal with the thugs, bullies and wanna be fascists imposing their own little reigns of terror on the streets, and the police ranks has more than its fair share of utter front bottoms, as many bobbies would themselves admit...
Ginger?
was his middle name Sue?
put yer trousers on .. yer nicked !
Brute force in the service of common sense is an unalloyed good.
A return to that type of police work — by that type of policeman — would result in a great deal of good today.