Quote Originally Posted by Seamus Fermanagh
And my Euro-compadres wonder why we're just a LITTLE skeptical about leaving personal safety in the hands of the police?
This was my first thought, too. Mind you, our coppers would be keen to try out that sort of thing too, but the judiciary would stamp on them.

Thus, I would offer that the problem may not be the police force, but your legal system. To an interested outsider, the courts over there seem to have significant problems with delivering real justice - as in decisions that are just, but go against the popular or governmental fiat. Plea bargaining, localised racial intolerance, religious pressure groups, and so on appear to undermine your justice system. Appeal to the Constitution tends not to be available in most cases because of cost, and no doubt time.

This story would seem to be a minor example - the judge appears to allow such behaviours and doesn't throw the whole thing out of court, embarrass the police and award costs against them.

It's a long tradition of police forces across the globe to "fit villains up" because they just know they're villains. Indeed, most police consider every citizen a prospective villain. It is for the courts to stop them and set their boundaries.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
On the personal safety tangent, I should ask where is the constitutionally guaranteed armed rising against an oppressive government? Waiting for the Hildabeast to attain office?