# Another true UK police program Americans will be aghast at and Brits will find funny **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 15, 2013, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249 "2013-01-15T03:06:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/1 "2013-01-15T03:06:08Z")
Here’s a show dedicated to the 999 (think 911) calls that the police got over a short period of time. The program itself (i…e the entire series) was ace too. You will never regret watchign this, seriously. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH7KP8KxgMI) ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/2 "2013-01-15T03:23:23Z")
Why would you think Americans would be aghast? I think it’s very entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/3 "2013-01-15T06:58:55Z")
Rather than my watching a 47-minute video, can someone more dedicated to the topic summarize what may be appalling to Americans? ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/4 "2013-01-15T09:23:35Z")
Or what may be funny to Brits? ---
**Author:** ![Virgil\_Tibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@Virgil\_Tibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Virgil_Tibbs)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/5 "2013-01-15T10:36:35Z")
Tough crowd! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/6 "2013-01-15T10:47:46Z")
Saying “Here is a link to a lengthy video, the content of which I will only vaguely allude to and the specific points that drove me to post the link I will not mention at all - enjoy!” is definitely one of the top ten ways to annoy the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/7 "2013-01-15T11:03:03Z")
Police officers go about their daily business, which for the most part deals with domestics and drunks, in which the officers calm the situation, and which seldom involves guns. Compare that to an episode of Cops, in which police chase people in cars and on foot, are quick to draw their guns, and are very physically forceful in the arrests. Which makes for more exciting TV? Which makes for better policing? ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/8 "2013-01-15T11:37:29Z")
This just confirms what I’ve always believed: Everything is funnier in British. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/9 "2013-01-15T13:21:11Z")
Doesn’;t Jay Leno do this on the _Tonight Show_ every couple of months? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/10 "2013-01-15T13:23:02Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Police officers go about their daily business, which for the most part deals with domestics and drunks, in which the officers calm the situation, and which seldom involves guns. > > Compare that to an episode of Cops, in which police chase people in cars and on foot, are quick to draw their guns, and are very physically forceful in the arrests. > > Which makes for more exciting TV? Which makes for better policing? Having watched more episodes of Cops than you can shake a stick at, I can attest that a minority of incidents involve police drawing their weapons, said weapons are fired extremely rarely, and I have no idea what “very physically forceful” means, unless the typical scenario of putting arrested people in handcuffs is regarded as extreme force. As to U.K.-U.S. comparisons of effective policing, one measure of that is violent crime incidence, which has dropped off markedly in the U.S. in recent years, [not so much in the U.K](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/5712573/UK-is-violent-crime-capital-of-Europe.html). _“The United Kingdom is the violent crime capital of Europe and has one of the highest rates of violence in the world, worse even than America, according to new research.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/11 "2013-01-15T14:10:32Z")
Oh sure, you burn down _one little city_ and suddenly you’re the “violent crime capital of Europe”… ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/12 "2013-01-15T14:22:35Z")
Wooo! We’re number 1! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/13 "2013-01-15T16:13:47Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > Wooo! We’re number 1! As of 2006, your assault rate was more than five and a half times that of the USA’s and twice that of England and Wales. Of course what the figures don’t set out is that assaults that end in homicide are not included in the assault rate. Your homicide rate of 1.6/100,000 managed to [del]beat out[/del] kill off England with its rate of 1.1/100,000, but neither of you came remotely close to the USA’s 5.0/100,000, which went to number 1 with a bullet. Better luck the next time around! [http://www.civitas.org.uk/crime/crime\_stats\_oecdjan2012.pdf](http://www.civitas.org.uk/crime/crime_stats_oecdjan2012.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/14 "2013-01-16T14:28:10Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Having watched more episodes of Cops than you can shake a stick at, I can attest that a minority of incidents involve police drawing their weapons, said weapons are fired extremely rarely, and I have no idea what “very physically forceful” means, unless the typical scenario of putting arrested people in handcuffs is regarded as extreme force. > > As to U.K.-U.S. comparisons of effective policing, one measure of that is violent crime incidence, which has dropped off markedly in the U.S. in recent years, [not so much in the U.K](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/5712573/UK-is-violent-crime-capital-of-Europe.html). > > _“The United Kingdom is the violent crime capital of Europe and has one of the highest rates of violence in the world, worse even than America, according to new research.”_ Different countries have different definitions of “violent crime” and “assault” blah blah blah. Same old argument. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/15 "2013-01-16T14:59:14Z")
According to discussions on this very topic with Brits the argument seems to be that some good old fashioned assaults are no biggie as long as fists are involved, ditto for muggings. But you Americans are crazy and have to bring GUNS into it. The truth or which is better is debatable. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/16 "2013-01-16T16:13:34Z")
> [@grude](#): > > According to discussions on this very topic with Brits the argument seems to be that some good old fashioned assaults are no biggie as long as fists are involved, ditto for muggings. But you Americans are crazy and have to bring GUNS into it. > > The truth or which is better is debatable. Call me crazy, but I’m going with “the one that is least likely to result in death”. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/17 "2013-01-16T16:21:00Z")
Here’s the excitement filled [grand finale of the most recent season of Coppers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yJu3fERTdg). Watch it and try not to smile! [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yJu3fERTdg) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/18 "2013-01-16T16:58:04Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Police officers go about their daily business, which for the most part deals with domestics and drunks, in which the officers calm the situation, and which seldom involves guns. Funny, that sounds like my job. I was unaware I was working in Britain. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/19 "2013-01-16T17:23:56Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Funny, that sounds like my job. I was unaware I was working in Britain. Not to be rude or anything, but I think knowing what country you’re working in should be a requirement for any cop. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249/20 "2013-01-16T17:51:16Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Police officers go about their daily business, which for the most part deals with domestics and drunks, in which the officers calm the situation, and which seldom involves guns. > > Compare that to an episode of Cops, in which police chase people in cars and on foot, are quick to draw their guns, and are very physically forceful in the arrests. > > Which makes for more exciting TV? Which makes for better policing? Either way, it’d be more entertaining if you show it in fast motion accompanied by Yakety Sax. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-true-uk-police-program-americans-will-be-aghast-at-and-brits-will-find-funny/647249.md?page=2)