Set4a)TheLaw..docVIP

Set 4 a) The Law The police and the public There wasatime when a supposedlytypical Britishpoliceman cou ld befoundin every tourist brochure for Britain. Hisstrange-looking helmet and thefact thathe did not carry agun made him aunique symbol for tourists. Theimage of the friend ly British bobby, with hisfatherly manner, was also well-known wi thin thecountry and was reinforced by popular television serialssuch as Dixon ofDo ck Green (0) Images of thepalice: pastand pr esent). This positive image was nota completemyth . Thesystem of policing wasbasedoneachpolice officerhaving his own beat, aparticular neighbourhoodwhich it was his dutytopatrol. He usually did this onfootor sometimes by bicycle. The local bobby was a familiarfigure on the streets, areassuring pr esence that people felt theycould trust absolutely. In the 1960s thesituationbegan to changeintwoways. First, in response to an increasingly motorized society,and therefore increasingly motorized crime, thepolicethemselvesstartedpatrolling in cars.As a resuh, indi vidual policeofficers became remote figures and stoppedbeing thefamiliar faces that they once we re. Asign of thischangewas the newtelevision police drama, ZCar s. This programmeshowedpoliceofficersaspeop le with real problemsand failings who didnotalways behave inthe conventiona lly poli te and reassuring manner.Somepolice were relieved to be presented as ordinary human beings.But the comparatively nega tiveimage of the police whichthi s programme portrayedcaused uproarand several seniorpolice officialscomplained to theBBCabout it Atthe same time, the police foundthemselves having todealincreasingly wi th public demonstrations and with theactivities ofageneration who hadno experience ofwarand therefore noob vious enemy -figure on which tofocus their youthfulfeelingsof rebellion. Theseyoung people started to see the po lice asthe symbol ofeverythingthey disliked about society.Police of ficers were no longerknown as bobbies but became the fuzz orthe co