I live in the states and have a question about the police in Northern Ireland. I've seen on the show multiple occasions of police officers being attacked, their requests being completely ignored and riots where officers get attacked and they seem to just let these people leave right after the situation is contained. Is this normal practice for law enforcement in the area, or just embellishments for the sake of story?
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In a lot of instances, arresting people during a riot, is just gonna lead to more violence. The police tend to use surveillance footage to identify the perpetrators and arrest them at home a few days later. It's actually a pretty effective method. Obviously if they are committing actual violence against civillians, then the police would intervene immediately.
It's drama, of course. But to an extent, yes. UK police are supposed to de-escalate rather than counting up the offences. Basically, in the scene depicted they get what they want or need, hitting them with charges for some stuff doesn't help and increases chances of people getting less cooperative and more violent as revenge or a feeling of being victimised. There is also a difference between letting someone off now, and waiting until you have much more later. Arrest for assault and you might miss the charge of drug trafficking later.
The policing situation in Northern Ireland is complex too. For a very long time, the British police there were seen by Irish republicans as tool of oppression of the UK state that they rejected. The unit was disbanded and reformed as part of the peace process, and now polices by an uneasy consent. That's part of what the show is about - policing a city where a group of people violently disagree with your very existence.
My take home from this is. Policing in NI is different to policing on the mainland due to the history and community divide. Therefore the show is not a representation of UK policing as a whole.
A journalist, who was quite outspoken about the NI constabulary, follows a group of NI police officers about for over a year and sees what it's like first hand
It has its own faults, but if you want to watch a documentary about modern policing in Northern Ireland, there is the The Murder Detective on Channel 4, about the killing of the journalist Lyra McKee and the police attempts to convict the New IRA.
The style of policing, accepting significant violence to go after larger catches, will seem familiar if you’ve watched Blue Lights. Main difference is “beat” cops play a much smaller role in real life.
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