Anti-police sentiment refers to a social group or individual's attitude and stance against the policing system.[1]
The anti-police sentiment has been reported to be on the rise in Indonesia in recent years. In 2021, a police officer was recorded slamming student protesters in Banten.[2] In the same year, a woman named Novia Widyasari was found dead in front of her father's grave after she found out about her pregnancy in aftermath of the rape perpetrated by a police officer who was her boyfriend. The incident later raised the anti-police sentiment among the locals even further.[3]
The sentiment began to resurface after the murder of Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat in 2022. The killing was ordered by Inspector General Ferdy Sambo, his former boss. Police use of tear gas and incompetence in Kanjuruhan Stadium disaster also fueled this sentiment.
Anti-Garda Síochána (Republic of Ireland police) sentiment is common among Irish Travellers, a social group with high levels of poverty, unemployment and crime.[4][5] Gardaí were also accused of police brutality in the Shell to Sea protests of 2006–2011, and anti-brutality protests took place in 2007.[6] Anti-Garda sentiment is also common in Dublin's north inner city,[7] an area of high crime, deprivation and drug addiction. Local youths attacked Gardaí during the 2006 Dublin riots, sparked by a Love Ulster protest.[8] The Kerry babies case of 1984 also sparked anti-Garda feeling in the area.[9] The acronym AGAB, a variation on ACAB, is sometimes used.[10]
In Poland, the abbreviation HWDP is used with the meaning of "a dick in the police's ass." It often appears as graffiti.[11][12]
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Main article: 2022 Sweden riots § Role of the police |
A series of riots took place in Sweden in April 2022 after Danish-born, right-wing activist Rasmus Paludan attempted to hold a series of Quran burning demonstrations in the country. Counterprotesters responded by attacking participants and engaging in rioting, often getting into violent clashes with police. National Police Commissioner Anders Thornberg said that, in some cases, protesters "tried to kill police."[13] In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Kivanc Atak of Stockholm University interpreted the riots to be unusual as, unlike most incidents causing conflict between police and minorities, the unrest was not directed against a specific case of police misconduct nor even the subject in general. Manne Gerell of Malmö University further added that some of those involved in the unrest might have been seeking to vent general frustration against police, such as over the use of stop and search powers.[13] Anders Thornberg said some rioters were suspected to have "[had] links to criminal gangs" and that the police would look into it.[14]
Contrary to its European neighbours, England did not have a tradition of professional police forces. Crime prevention was carried out by a combination of the town watch and the parish constabulary appointed by the justices of the peace in each county. In Great Britain during the late 1790s, anti-police views were based on the possible encroachment of absolutism through professionalised law enforcement, the obstruction of the magistrates' power and skepticism towards trusting an unfamiliar organisation.[15]
In the 1950s, William Westley suggested that anti-police sentiment may come from the social stigma of working in dangerous conditions, having to work with stigmatized others, and at times unethical practices.[16]
In the 1970s, police departments began to become concerned about litigation over police misconduct.[1]
Distrust of police in the U.S. is sometimes mentioned in connection to police brutality and racial profiling.[17]
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In 1991, Rodney King, an African American man, was savagely beaten by four Los Angeles Police officers. The following year, the 1992 Los Angeles riots broke out in response to the acquittal of the police officers involved in the beating. This event brought large amounts of media attention to police brutality towards minorities such as African Americans and Hispanics.
The 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the ensuing outrage is considered a turning point in the U.S. dialogue of the "war on cops"[17] with the Black Lives Matter movement challenging the legitimacy of the police.[17]
Minority groups in disadvantaged neighborhoods tend to distrust police more[18] and feel that the "law is not on their side".[19]
The role of police in the restriction of youth freedom has also perpetuated anti-police sentiments among young people.[20]
During the George Floyd protests and the wave of racial unrest that followed, a surge in anti-police attacks was reported.[21] According to a 2021 FBI statement, "103 ambush-style attacks on law enforcement officers [took place] this year, which was an increase of 115% from 2020, and resulted in 130 officers being shot. Thirty of those officers were killed."[22][23] In April 2021, Canadian scholar Temitope Oriola expressed concern tensions between police and African Americans could lead to an "anti-police insurgency", drawing parallels to the armed conflict that took place between 1950 and 1994 in Apartheid South Africa. Oriola noted that the vast majority of anti-police brutality protests have been peaceful, and an insurgency in the United States would be far less violent than one in other countries.[24]
Former U.S. president Donald Trump has on several occasions condemned the anti-police atmosphere.[13][25][26][27]
Smartphones, allowing people to capture real-time recordings of confrontations with police and spread them across the internet, have been mentioned in helping extend anti-police sentiment.[26][17] Anti-police sentiment also manifests in music.[35]
Police have expressed feeling threatened by violent protesters and attackers, and a dissatisfaction with a larger gap between police and the community.[19]
Some have blamed media for fueling anti-police sentiment. Chuck Cantury Howard Safir identified "a war on police" in his letter to President Barack Obama.[17] Former FBI director James Comey addressed in 2015 by positing that "a chill wind [is] blowing through American law enforcement over the last year… and that wind is surely changing behavior".[17] Academics have theorized that "de-policing" may be seen in America as a response to police dissatisfaction in some areas.