Coppers, eh?

This week’s little story is about the boys in blue, and I’m wondering why they can be so unpleasant. It didn’t happen to me – I guess they don’t think it worth their while trying to catch me out, old grey chap, and I’ve got lights on the front and back of my bike, and an audible signal, by way of a bell, thank you very much. It happened to number one daughter this week, who survived the ordeal.
On Tuesday Sam had her wing mirror stolen – returned to the car after work, and it was gone. She rang me, and I thought she was safe to drive home. The next day a police car pulled her over, for not having an off-side wing mirror. Having pointed this out to her, and agreed that he wouldn’t be nicking her, he wrote out an order that she must replace it within fourteen days, and get a certificate from an MOT garage to confirm that she had: all quite acceptable. Then he asked her is she smoked, and if she had any illegal substances in the car, which of course she didn’t. Failing this he did a full inspection of the outside, found no bald tyres, which she doesn’t have because she had a full set just before the MOT, and then said ‘you know your tax has run out’. Poor Sam, her heart skipped a beat or two, as she wondered how that had happened, then pointed out that it said 31/03/10, and that we are still in March, whatever calendar the rozzers are working to. No arrestable offence, and a disappointed copper.
What I don’t understand is the attitude of the man. Sam is in her mid twenties, mature student and works in a lady’s outfitters, and dresses the part. Does she look as though she drives around with a stash? The thing that actually mortified her, and she won’t forget, is that when he took her details, he asked ‘is it still miss?’ Cheeky bugger.
And what I shall never understand, and this happened all through High School, is that my daughters wouldn’t dream of doing wrong, would be terrified of getting caught, and are basically on the side of community and society. Why do the enforcers of order – teachers, coppers, etc., go out of their way to alienate those people who would otherwise be on their side, and who then become anti-authoritarian?