of course we need a police force but don't go on about the fearless British bobby when there are so many corrupt ones among them.
I am not sure there are that many corrupt ones, but there are certainly a lot of lazy ones (many of which are lazy purely because they can see a justice system that works against them in so many cases that they feel there's no point going after a lot of the regular offenders).
Then there's the fact that it's now a lot easier to get into the police force (well, was) and so the quality dropped, and training also appeared to be speeded up.
That and the, IMO, silly move to replace many fully trained officers with PCSOs (and word that now many new officers will have to begin as PCSOs before working up the rank, when I was always told before that the job of a PCSO was separate and not a foot on the ladder).
Add in other things like the problem with a lack of recruitment from ethnic minorities, not because of inherent racism but because many communities feel that it's bad to go into the police force - the whole 'selling out' argument and so on, and it's no wonder the police is in such a state - irrespective of the current wave of savings and cuts.
I've had loads of bad experiences with the police, but also many good ones. I've been harassed and threatened by both police officers and PCSOs in my day job (funny how a press card can suddenly make many of them change their attitude) but also met and known very honest and dedicated ones, including friends of the family that I've known since a child - who have gone on to very senior roles (but I won't name them).
Judging the police is just like railstaff on this forum. Good and bad, but mostly good. I just wish it was more good, and that would mean tighter rules of acceptance and better training and discipline - something that seemed to get worse long after Maggie was in power. I'd say nearer to the early years of New Labour.