A good policeman/woman

Un bon policier

can set a good example to the citizens
doesn't have any pent-up power issues.
honest
seeks to arrest criminals for punnishment and prevent
crime when possible
who can deal with people verbally
who catches those who break the law.
who does not abuse his/her power and enforces the
meaning (but not necessarily the letter) of the law.
who doesn't abuse their position of authority.
who doesn't misuse his/her authority
who enforces the law and is also compassionate
who follows the laws and doesn't take advantage of
his power.
who follows the laws while encouraging law-abiding
citizens to think of them as trusted friends.
who gets to know the community well
Who is diligent in taking down information at the
scene of a criminal offense.
who is gets his/her job done without anybody getting
hurt.
who is honest
who is not prejudice towards anything or anyone
who is truly there to support and help people, who
is not present to threaten.
who judges before using brute force, is not brutal,
can handle tough situations
who knows what to do when (s)he is needed.
who maintains law and order
who protects the people justly
who really watches out for the well-being of the general
public.
who understands that people sometimes make mistakes,
who knows that people don't remember the laws by heart
won't abuse their authority.

....c 'est important?....
assure la sécurité, renseigne, protège

d'honnête et d'intègre; qui s'investi

d'honnête, qui aime faire respecter la loi
d'inexistant, si la police fait bien son travail à
terme on ne devrait plus avoir besoin d'elle, et on ne devrait plus
avoir que des acteurs sociaux. (utopie?)
de motivé et attentif
dont on ne devrait pas avoir besoin
est aimable mais ferme quand il le faut et qui est
au service des autres.
fait respecter la loi.
juste
qui arrive à faire respecter la loi en utilisant
peu la violence
qui assure le maintien de l'ordre, qui a une conscience
professionnelle
qui doit faire respecter le droit
qui est honnête
qui fait respecter la loi
qui fait respecter la loi
qui fait son devoir en se soumettant à l'Esprit
des Lois et non leur syntaxe
qui n'abuse pas de son pouvoir
qui non seulement réprimande, mais est à
l'écoute des gens.
qui protège le citoyen
qui protège les citoyens, qui ne rompt jamais
avec les règles fixées
qui respecte les lois et les citoyens.
qui sait concilier son travail et le respect de l'autre

qui sait se faire respecter, et qui n'abuse pas de
son autorité.
qui sécurise
Un bon policier est un policier mort

Discussion

Hi, I have been to France many times and have family members that live there, but I have never known much about French law. From a couple of the French responses, I get the idea that you do not like the police very much. How is the system in France and what role do the police play in everyday life?

Hi Samia,

Je pense que les Français n'aiment pas beaucoup la police parce que'ils sont beaucoup plus indisciplinés que les Américains. Par exemple tous les conducteurs Français sont d'accord avec le code de la route, tant qu'on ne leur demande pas à eux de le respecter. Il n'y a qu'à voir le nombre d'infractions en matière de vitesse!!!

Prune

I know that a lot of the responses from the Americans show that there is concern about police officers abusing their power. We have seen, from the media, cases where police officers clearly misuse their power, especially through excessive violence and disrespect toward

potentially

law-offending citizens. It was not particularly clear from the French responses if this was in fact a concern for them. Do any of the French students feel that abuse of a law-officer position is a problem or fear in France?

Hi Prune, I think that Americans often disobey the driving laws as well. Are there other ways that you think the French are more indisciplines than the Americans? -Jen

Salut Jen

Je pense que les réactions en France viennent juste du fait que la criminalité est assez basse, et d'ailleurs beaucoup considèrent le métier de policier comme rien d'exceptionnel.

On entend par contre parler assez souvent ici des bavures aux EtatsUnis puisqu'ils contrastent fortement avec l'état d'esprit en France. Bien sûr, ce n'est pas les " gendarmes à St Tropez" mais je pense que tout cela est juste un probleme d'échelle de criminalité.

Heri

Salut

En ce qui concerne les forces de polices en France... on ne les apprécie pas vraiment. D'ailleurs on parle davantage de flics que de policiers. L'image que l'on s'en fait correspond plutôt à des hommes écervelés (moins que les militaires tout de même)

En fait, les français supportent mal ce que leur impose la loi. Pour nous on part du postulat que tout le monde peut vivre sans loi... enfin ça reste à démontrer !!! :))

A+

Vinz (c cler je seche l'anglais demain, il est trop tard)

Hey INT students!

I know that the Police are supposed to maintain law and order, so they should be models in the society. You feel that you have no obligation to respect them because of their unnecessary use of force and abuse of power. Consider this:

In Nigeria, my country of origin, the reaction to police was similar to that of the reaction in France, but for a different reason. The police system in Nigeria was imbedded in bribery and corruption. If you were rich, you could get away with about anything. People were thus, afraid to admit to witnessing a crime or any offense because if the offender was rich enough to pay his/her way out, the witness's life is probably in danger. Also, the police system was so beaurocratic that nothing got done unless you paid the police to "speed things up." So, for a while, people began taking the law into their hands, and they were better off.

However, when someone new came into Political power, there was a reform in the police system and the government introduced what was called "OPERATION SWEEP" which is a group of policemen who's job was to "sweep" robbers, and serious offenders from the society. These people used EXCESSIVE force if necessary to get their work done, but who cares? They were effective, and people were no longer afraid to rely on the government for protection.

So, I don't necessarily see excessive force as a bad thing-- only if used regularly on potentially law abiding citizens, which I believe is not the case in France.

What do you think? By the way, is bribery and corruption also a problem you have with the police in France?

Chidinma

engage