A good police officer ...
Un bon policier ...
cares about the safety of everyone, does their job properly,
creates a safe environment.
focuses on the aspects of life that are truly a problem and not focusing on the minor traffic violations.
follows and enforces the law.
has good instincts.
has good judgment and is trustworthy.
honest, dependable, respectful,
is fair and applies the law in a just manner.
is honest, strict and hard-working.
is not corrupt. uses force only when needed
is one who does his/her job and doesn't think that he/she is above the law.
isn't grumpy.
is friendly.
dislikes violence.
isn't prejudiced.
keeps order and stops law-breakers, while applying common-sense and discretion.
keeps the neighborhood safe, does not abuse his or her powers, is in tune with what is going on in the neighborhood, cares about well-being of others
protects the general public.
protects the ones that need protection, is not corruptible, supports people rather than the government
puts the public need before his/her own.
is not prejudiced.
is brave.
Respect the law and serves the community
stands up for what he knows is right.
thinks before acting, is not eager to shoot, has no outstanding prejudice to compromise his actions
who knows how to handle different situations and make quick and precise judgment.
will let you go without a ticket and only a warning while being polite.
C'est quelqu'un qui n'abuse pas de son pouvoir et qui fait respecter la loi en restant humain.
doit être intelligent.
donne un sentiment de prospérité à ses concitoyens.
est attentif, motivé et a la vocation de pratiquer cette profession.
est impartial, ne joue pas de son autorité et protège la population.
est incorruptible, qui aime se dévouer et venir à l'aide d'autrui.
est quelqu'un qui sait faire respecter la loi en gardant un point de vue objectif et qui n'abuse pas de son pouvoir.
est quelqu'un qui sait faire respecter la loi sans faire d'abus de pouvoir de son statut.
est un policier qui respecte scrupuleusement la loi et qui rassure les citoyens par sa présence polie, mais ferme
n'abuse pas de son pouvoir,honnête, attentif.
n'applique pas toujours la loi.
ne donne pas d'amende sans raison.
ne profite pas de sa fonction.
ne va pas au bar pendant la pause de midi.
protège la population des criminels.
qui n'accepte pas la corruption, qui veille à protéger les citoyens
respecte les citoyens, veille au maintien de la sécurité,
sait juger d'une situation.
fait appliquer les règles.
est courtois.
Discussion
Apparemment nous avons la même vision du bon policier.
Il est dit, en résumé, qu'un bon policier ne profite pas de son statut et doit savoir faire appliquer la loi intelligemment.
Les adjectifs "incorruptible" et "protecteurs" semblent être ce qui décrit le mieux ce type de policier.
Pensez-vous que cette image du bon policier se retrouve dans la réalité (au USA) ?
En France, ce genre de policier est plutôt utopique. Même s'il existe des policiers tolérants, la plupart d'entre eux verbalisent les gens pour un rien.
I think that the good police officer image is a reality. We might not think about it immediately because we hear more often about corruption than the good deeds of an officer.
I agree with Charlotte. I know many officers who work hard to create a safe environment. In my own life I have not experienced any abuse of a police officer's position, although I am a bit naive to corruption. There are cases shown in the news of police officers who make biased decisions or who take advantage of their position to benefit themselves, but I believe most police officers work hard to prevent that.
I have to agree with both Charlotte and Juliann, but it is curious that despite the corruption and things that can happen to police officers, the comments made on both sides to not sound as if people have had bad experiences. It must be much more likely that people have good experiences than bad if almost all of our comments are written in a positive way (without bitterness and such).
Pour compléter ce qu’à ajouter Julien Lauterie sur les abus, en France nous avons beaucoup de contrôles automatiques de vitesse et des contrôles sur les feux tricolores commencent à arriver. Le moindre petit écart du code de la route se retrouve puni d’une lourde amande et d’un retrait de points du permis de conduire. De ce fait l’image de la police en France est peut être un peu plus négative qu’aux USA. Cependant avez-vous aux USA des contrôles automatiques avec des radars fixes sur les routes ? Et avez-vous un comptage de points sur votre permis de conduire ? Car en France nous avons 12 points, et lorsque ce total arrive à zéro, nous devons repasser le permis de conduire.
The US also has automatic speed controls. I think the laws in the U.S. vary by state - but this is to the best of my knowledge. If you are caught speeding or running a red light by a camera, you will recieve a fine. However, in order to actually count to the points on your license, you must have been caught by a police officer. We also run on a system of point on our licenses in the U.S. When you are caught by these cameras, does it also affect your insurance rate?
Non l'assurance n'a que faire des excès de vitesse, elle se préoccupe seulement des accidents.
@DANIELLE WANG et @Daniel Prud'homme
En France la prime d’assurance est calculée en fonction d’un bonus. Au départ le bonus est de 0% donc nous devons donner 100% de la prime d’assurance. Ensuite chaque année 5% est retiré au pourcentage total, pour la deuxième nous avons donc 95% puis 90%, 85%... Le taux augmente s’il nous arrive un accident responsable. Il peut arriver également qu’en cas de grave infraction comme conduire en état d’ivresse importante ou/et d’avoir consommé des stupéfiant, d’être interdit d’entrer dans certaines assurances et de devoir aller chez des assureurs beaucoup plus cher, sans qu’il y est eu d’accident responsable.
Il est vrai que parfois les policiers abusent un peu de leur pouvoir. Un "ami" policier m'a même avoué que parfois avec ses collègues, ils se lancent des défis dans le genre "celui qui fera pleurer le plus de filles aujourd'hui". Heureusement ils ne sont pas tous comme ça.
I guess I should pay more attention to laws regarding driver's licenses; I didn't even remember that we had a point system.
@ Noujoud
Your statement makes me think of something that might happen in a movie. Also, on the subject of crying and police officers, I know of many instances (some of them people I actually know) of people purposely crying when stopped by a police officer in the hopes that they will take pity and not give them a ticket. Does this ever happen in France, or do police officers always give you a ticket if they pull you over?
@Erin O'Brien
Pour la petite anecdote, ma femme a grillée un feu rouge une fois et le fait qu’elle soit enceinte et au chômage l’agent de police a réduit son amende de 90 euros à 22 euros, elle aurait du avoir 4 points en moins mais elle n’en a eu aucun de retirer, comme quoi il ne font pas que faire pleurer les femmes.
@Denis
The insurance system seems to be very organized in France. In the U.S., there are so many different insurance companies with so many different policies. Some reward you for being a safe driver - others start off very cheap, but if you get into even one accident your rates sky-rocket into the air. It is quite surprising to see such a simple policy.
Good news doesn't sell as much as bad news so the reputation of many cops seems to be tarnished by the few bad apples or even just good ones who make mistakes. I think people's negative views of police are valid, as a result of their personal experiences, but of course don't desribe all or most police officers.
@Denis
I think that it is nice that the police there reduced the fine based on circumstances. I don't think we do that here and if people want to have a reduced fine or contest a fine they have to spend money and time in court to do so and as a result many people find it easier to just pay the ticket. Are there other things where police take into account your situation before they punish you?
One interesting thing about Massachusetts is that you are allowed to get a certain number of points each year - and then it resets! This is so surprising to me and doesn't make any sense at all. People ought to be held more accountable for rekcless driving. I suppose this does explain why boston drivers are so terrible!