Is their pay really that low, though, or is that a meme or a thing of the past? From Tucson PD’s website
Maybe it doesn’t make them rich, no, but it’s certainly not what is considered low-paying in this city.
Still looking for other salary info, but I found this from the City of Jackson website:
*Salary
Police Recruit - $23,750.00 (Annually), after successful completion of a 14-week training program. $28,887.00 (annually), after one year of employment.*
From here
Well, they probably get to beat more people and have other perks in Jackson to make up for the low pay. 
I pretended I was back in the US and voted “Much respect for the boys in blue,” because the answer for the Thai police would skew the results too much and probably should not be counted in this poll. Largely a bunch of corrupt clowns who can be efficient if there’s a reason for them to be, such as political pressure, or you slip them enough money. Hell, pay them enough and they just might arrest anyone you want them to.
They do keep the streets safe, though. I can walk any and everywhere in Bangkok safely no matter the hour, but I’m also well aware that’s because of some rather extreme extrajudicial pressure the local cops exert on the bad guys.
I’d be wicked scared to be one some of those beats. The officers are one to a car. The night my son was carjacked, I stood in the street and talked to an officer in a bad neighborhood (well we were arguing really) while people crept back and forth behind us in the shadows of the houses. It freaked me out to think he was out there policing by himself.
They mostly do a fine job. I’ve only had one experience I didn’t care for, but I wasn’t doing something legal at the time. Most people that I know that flat out hate them are up to no good when they encounter them.
They seem more or less okay. So I just voted “meh.” I haven’t had much experience with them, though. The last time I did, though, was a bad experience–not like beaten up bad, more like incompetence/laziness. I got mugged and was trying to report the crime and then just get a police report (so I could get my stolen library book/netflix DVDs fees waived). They kept telling me that the cops who I called when it happened had never filed the report and then kept trying to get me to come in at weird times so they could find the cops who failed to do so. I really didn’t want to be out walking around at midnight, though (especially since I was JUST the victim of a crime) and they wouldn’t let me just refile the report, so in the end I didn’t get the report. The whole attitude really pissed me off, too. No one was the least bit apologetic for their laziness and/or corruptness.
I don’t hate the police personally. Each cop is different, depending on the person. The one time I’ve been pulled over the cop was very professionally and I didn’t have any issues with him, even though I got a ticket (which I deserved).
BUT: historically the police don’t have a really good relationship with people of color (my biggest fear is being pulled over in some podunk southern town in the middle of the night). I acknowledge just how much they could fuck my shit up, so I try to avoid them as much as possible.
I just spent two weeks on jury duty in Compton, CA. During voir dire, there was much discussion regarding jurors’ attitudes towards policemen. Sadly, these fell along stereotypical lines – the black jurors and the latino-with-accent jurors typically framed the question as, “Are there any circumstances in which I might actually believe a policeman’s testimony?” This seemed to cut across economic boundaries, as there was a retired black man who owned several rental properties and seemed rather content with his life, and a younger black man who, as far as I could tell, was a researcher in the mental health field: they didn’t trust cops at all.
And more sadly – this is probably an over-simplification, but Compton is basically poor and mostly black, and during the day time, I could not find anyone breaking any traffic law at all. That’s probably learned from experience.
When I was young and poor and looked much more hispanic, and my sister was hanging out with the guys who broke into the various stores in our (NYC) neighborhood, I knew that the cops were the people to avoid, but now I’m a bland middle-aged guy, and when I stopped at a restaurant yesterday whose name implied that they intended to sell high quality hamburgers, I counted SEVEN police cars in the lot. My only thought was, “This must be a good place to get a burger.” Some others’ experiences would lead them to think, “I’d better make sure the lights on my car work ,and double-check my registration sticker, and hell, maybe I’ll just go to a different restaurant.” Which is sad, because that place (The Locker on Hawthorne and Torrance Blvd in Torrance), makes a damn fine, if over-priced, burger.
In any case, I think there are people who have generally negative experiences with cops that they can back up with anecdotal evidence, and there are others, like me, who’ve only interacted with them when getting well-deserved traffic tickets, and find them to be generally likeable guys who have difficult jobs.
[aside]
In the trial, the problem wasn’t actually who to believe – I assumed the cops’ testimony was basically true, and they didn’t prove the case, and some other jurors suspected the police had possibly embellished things, and also didn’t prove the case.
[/aside]
I wonder how much the police pay for their burgers?
None of my experiences with police have been good, so I’m a bit jaded. In theory I think they do a thankless job and are needlessly hated. On the other hand, as long as we never interact ever ever then we’ll all be just fine.
Which police? Nacionales, Civiles, munipas, foralitos, Ertzantza, Gendarmerie, MDPD, Philly PD, Federales, FBI…?
I worked in a fast food place when I was in high school. We gave the police free meals. This led to a pretty regular police presence in our store, which the manager figured was a good thing.
I work with/for the police, but am not a peace officer myself. They are mostly normal people, but have a bit of an edge that most “civilians” don’t - it is necessary for dealing with their “regular clients”. Unfortunately, this edge can influence some of the less intelligent/experienced/well-trained ones and their interactions with the general public. The blue wall can have a negative effect as well. But with those caveats, I do think they are in a usually near-impossible situation at most times - they are expected to be a tool of law and order, but also never impede on any rights in doing so - and make a series of serious, difficult snap judgements between those points regularly. And deal with the consequences.
Generally, they do a good job. My one complaint is that they always defend other cops who don’t do a good job.
I think they’re like any other occupational group. Most of them pretty much want to do their job, earn their paycheck, and go home. The nature of their job demands a sort of hyper-vigilance that I imagine isn’t really healthy.
Some individual police officers are, I’m sure, outstanding, wonderful, upstanding people. Others are absolute dirtbags. That’s not unique to their profession - you get the same general spread in lawyers, or politicians, or any other job that allocates an individual power.
Of course there’s room for improvement - again, just like any other profession. But overall, I believe that most police are honestly trying to do their best in a thankless, frustrating and occasionally highly dangerous job.
In my encounters with them they’ve been nothing but professional and courteous. Mind you, that’s how I also treat them.
I feel the same way, with the caveat that i think every single one of them would lie and cover up for the bad cops. Most never get put in that situation, the ones that do always do the wrong thing.
I’ve always had good encounters with them. And a standing police force is necessary for those of us who are unwilling or unable to defend ourselves from the ogres of society, of which there are many. They have to deal with a public that hates and fears them and instill law and order some how - of course there is always room for improvement, but generally I think they do fine.
I guess I see the top two responses as not being exclusive. I have a great deal of respect for them, but no one is perfect so there is always room for improvement. I live across the street from a high school and on Friday and Saturday nights, there is a sheriff pulling past our house, up to the school about every hour after midnight. They are quite active in our neighborhood.
Two weeks ago, a cab stopped at the end of our driveway, the guy staggered out, and as the cab drove away, he grabbed onto our tree, slid down it, and decided to take a nap at the base of our tree. We were unsure of what to do - no reason to call the cops, he’s sleeping, but still, we were uncomfortable going to sleep ourselves, as we had no idea who it was. 15 minutes later, a sheriff drives by on his usual route, and within 5 minutes there were 4 sheriff’s cars at the end of the driveway, waking up the poor sucker and hauling him off. No action on my part needed.