tallpaul

Thanks It refers to the police though...not doormen...

You don't have to...you just choose to....and then rely on the police to clear up the crime. Don't get me wrong, it is the job of the police...and they should sort it for you afterwards.. HOwever, I think the public, the retailers ie: everyone else also has a duty to stop crime or reduce it. Too often, people are willing to walk by and not get invovled. It's someone else's problem...so the majority live in fear of the minority..and that's not right...is it? There's a phrase which I particularly like, it goes; "The world isn't a dangerous place because of the evil that people do, but because some people are willing to stand by and do nothing"...

Have a look at what Tescos are offering; http://direct.tesco.com/q/N.1999564/No.30/Nr.99.aspx

If I have a choice, I don't drink in the kind of establishments that require doormen....

Does that work the same way for your car insurance..? Insurance companies inflate premiums, in places like Sheffield, due to the amount of thefts of and from motor vehicles. Does your blase slant on life extend to that sort of theft too..? Just curious...

It could have been a number of things...from responding to an accident, to reports of pedestrians on the motorway, stray dogs, stranded vehicles....to things like a drunk driver being reported by another motorist who's following him down the motorway..

Shoplifting is a problem which we all suffer in return...ie: raised retail prices.... However, all too often, the things that are stolen are resold....and are bought by otherwise normally law abiding people... often on little money...who see the temptation of a £1 packet of bacon as opposed to £3 packet very tempting.... When you get onto the bigger items, even more people get tempted...and the cycle revolves... The shoplifting of bigger items is getting much harder, with better security tagging, detectors etc etc...

S**t happens. People don't (and I certainly) didn't join the police to be popular and respected by 100% of the people 100% of the time..... It doesn't bode well for police public relations... but what does? When a copper dies, it's forgotten about the next minute a big story appears in the news.. "You're only as good as your last job/assignment" is a phrase I've often heard.

I'm not defending him in the slightest. His actions have made my work and that of my colleagues all the more difficult...with people's whining and whinging about it. Afterall, this thread and the time i've spent on it..is just one example. Neither you nor I know the real truth of the incident..and perhaps we'll never know. I do know that i've attended incidents, been flashed by cameras and then later been cancelled...only to then return to the police station. That has been the truth..but someone cynical might think I blue lighted only to get back to finish on time. What's this 'policey' sounding names? I've declared that i'm a copper..and whilst i'm not defending this policeman..i'm pointing out the advantages to looking outside the box at the big picture and not simply jumping on the bandwagon..

great reply Barnie41, but I'm guessing that PeteC will be like many critics of the police..only vocal when it suits them...and later all to eager to dial 999 when one of their offspring throws a tantrum in front of the TV, half with through an episode of 'Trisha'...

Ok, you're right. I apologise. It's not a case of proving you wrong, Darbees. It's just that each incident is judged on it's merits. The superiors and CPS did feel it appropriate because (i'm guessing) they obviously felt he was lying to them. (I don't know the facts, so like my advise suggests, I'm wary of trying to state them). Just because his barrister might want it "thrown out" doesn't mean that it will be..and it wasn't. The CPS and the Police felt that there was a likelihood of a conviction and so they continued to press the case. Now, some might say that the police authority has acted with integrity and transparency by brining one of 'their own' to task and to court. Whilst others might say it was short sighted as a not-guilty plea would look even worse on the police with the public backlash. Perhaps the second ones were right afterall. This case might in the end of serious repercussions for all of us, police and non-police. Do you, as a law abiding - tax paying - member of the public really want the police to be watching their speedometers when they next attend you depot or house. With the cops thinking, "Is this an emergency?", "Could there really be a prowler?" "should I put my foot down in case Mr Darbees is in danger....as it's also near to my mealtime and I don't want to get done for speeding"..etc.etc.. I know, as I'm also a tax payer, that if I should dial 999 when off duty..I want those police there in the shortest possible time...not dilly-dallying thinking about their driving licences en-route.

I've read a lot about Kilamanjaro, but haven't climbed it's 19,340 feet. The point being it doesn't really matter what books you have on your shelf. Most of the above I agree with. However, your last line was incorrect. The police are allowed to speed in any vehicle if it's being used for 'Police Pursposes'. So you'll find, in your many books behind you a case where a police officer attending a court appearance, where he was called at the last minute, gets flashed by a camera whilst driving his own vehicle and was found not-guilty; Because it was 'any vehicle' and it was being used for 'police purposes'. Your opinion, whilst not always savoury is nice to read. However, you must be careful before you write what IS and ISN'T allowed to happen, unless you are in possession of the full facts. Otherwise, you just make yourself look illinformed and silly and I wouldn't want that.

Being obviously either poorly educated or poorly informed, you'll not know that under the circumstances which you describe, the police will be EXEMPT from the speed limit. So you, or someone else if you get them to write the letter for you, will be wasting your time. People like you are a pleasure to deal with "professionally". Thank you for being one of the many perks of my job :thumbsup:

You really need to do some reading up on law (specifically the Police Acts, the Road Traffic Acts and some others), the magistrates and the criminal justice system Darbees. Police officers and I quote "are exempt from speed limits if to adhere to them will hinder their progress". So the court has to decide whether or not the police officer 'might' just have been attending that emergency at the same time he was due to collect his take away meal. If there is enough doubt in the court's mind...then the defendant should be found not-guilty. There was, and he was. That is the basis of the justice system in this land. Now if there was no emergency occurring at that time, ie time of camera activation, you can bet that the decision might be been otherwise. My views aside..... The officer in question will have known there was a static Gatso camera at that location, he will have driven up and down that road many many times before, often several times per shift... Why on earth would he speed past a camera knowing he would be flashed. You just don't risk/do it...

I've not read anything on this thread from you that was derogatory towards Magistrates, only police...

But it has...and you are too blind to see it obviously. If the police were so corrupt and one rule for them etc...they prosecution would never have reached court. Can't you see that? The picture of the speeding offence would have been deleted, or simply put down to a cop responding to a job. But no it wasn't. It was investigated and when the reply/answer didn't seem good enough, it was deemed appropriate to send the officer to court. If that's not being honest and transparent to the public, I don't know what it. Afterall, if they had simply deleted the photo or deemed no further action to be taken, nobody would have ever found out about it. If a court of the land later decided that the officer could possibly be telling the truth and have found him not guilty. That is the justice system of this land. The same courts that often let burglars, muggers and rapists walk free because they aren't positive of their guilt. As for your tarnished views on the police. You are either so narrow minded, or the human race has changed over night. I suspect probably neither, but you've made your mind up on each one from the start, perhaps based on one bad experience. It's like visiting several hotels in a year and finding receptionists to be difficult and rude. You then can't say 'all hotel receptionists are the same'......There are just too many for them to be all the same. Afterall, it's what you're saying the very essense of stereotyping that we all dislike displayed by others.? I find it bizarre and hard to believe that you can dislike an entire body of people, ie The Police Service, that is designed to keep law and order and you safe. The same people that will rush to your aid when you dial 999.. You are perhaps one of those types of people who have made your mind up and it will never change. If so, crack on with it. There are many others that, dare I say it are more mature (you do sound young) and support the police and realise that there are good and bad people in every walk of life. I get the feeling that you wanted to be a policeman at one time. Perhaps you either failed the tests/entrance interview..or did you commit some small offence at school or afterwards and was prevented from joining. Now you've got a job...MMmm..perhaps as a security guard. (I read in a post that you watch CCTV in your work)..and secretly you wish you'd been a cop. More money, more respect, you can do it better than those doing it now. etc.. Your views on this thread are i'm afraid just that, views/opinions. Many are written with out knowledge and experience. I notice on one post you state that the police don't deal with 'Gypsies' as they would be accused of being 'racist'. Absolute rubbish. 'Gypsies' as you term them, are dealt with for offences just like another other member of the public that steps out of line. Many of the 'top offenders' from that community in our county are currently serving prison sentences. Now how can that be? Did the turn up at the prison and volunteer to be incarcerated? No, they were caught be the police, witnesses provided statements, courts convicted them and they went to prison. It's obvious that you views have tarnished and clouded reality .... You'll have to start thinking outside the box or get left behind.

it'll have been an accident further along the motorway network

"The oldest profession in the world" Unlikely to be curtailed any time soon.

Rest assured buddy....lots are getting caught....

That's about right....perhaps a little bit high..but in the region of £1m isn't uncommon. You've got the initial cost of the vehicle being written off, then the wages and equipment of the emergency services at the scene. These can often exceed 20 staff. Then there's the hospitalisation at the A&E, the doctor's wages, NHS costs etc. Then the aftercare costs. The loss of wages etc etc. Then if the patient deteriorates and dies, the cost of the funeral and eventually the insurance costs to pay out the benefits owed to the widow or next of kin. The ££££ figures are amazing...

Please don't get defensive. I'm not wishing to be rude to you, nor publically prove you wrong. I'm just saying that information can get blurred when passed from one person to another. I'm only giving you the information which I know to be correct, after a dozen years of policing. If you think I don't know what i'm talking about, then so be it. 'Charge for the use of the helicopter'???? I'm not going to ridicule you, but that's complete nonsense. It's simply funded through other means. Insurance companies nor individual persons do not get charged when the helicopter is used. I don't know why they didn't allow the bike to be taken. It could be a variety of things. Perhaps the true identity wasn't known at that time. Presume it didn't have number plate on...and your relation/friend didn't have a log book with them etc. It'll have been checked against stolen ones back at the depot. That's the only reason I can think of, off the top of my head. The police dont decide whether or not there's enough evidence. The Crown Prosecution Service does. This government body exists, but very few people either know about, or care to find out. Everyone knows the police and it's much easier and more satisfying to blame the police. I'm not arguing with you, and I hope I'm not sounding rude..i'm just giving you the benefit of my knowledge and experience in the hope that you and other readers will be better informed. Respectfully, Paul

I'm not saying you're lying...but what you have written in factually incorrect. Firstly, if there are no forensic examinations of the vehicle, then if the owner is there and can recover...then that is what is done...every time. USually thought, the owner is uncontactable and that's why it's recovered. The helicopter lifts with the sole intention of capturing offenders and ensuring safety of the public. Fact. Don't think anything other. People who are found guilty, don't get off scot-free. He will have either been found not-guilty by a court, or there wasn't enough evidence to charge him in the first place. The cops do the job to catch people and put them away.....Most cops would want mandatory 5 year sentences for first offences. It's neither in our interests nor moral grounding to hope that people 'get off'.

I'm glad that you realise/point out that the majority are decent. Isn't that the same with all professions? The majority of butchers, teachers, doctors etc etc are decent. However, i'm not sure about this 'quietly get on with their work' idea? Isn't the idea of the police to 'police'. Thus meaning maintaining order, preventing and detecting crime, and enforcing the laws. Includes the regulation and control of a community, esp. for the maintenance of public order, safety. You'll find that 95% of people have no contact with the police whatsoever, for years. Most of the people that I know have either never been stopped by the police or if they have it's been once or twice in many years of driving. So perhaps you were doing something that needed being dealt with, that's why you were stopped. The best alternative, for people like your goodself, is the Gatso camera. Neither boorish or arrogant, it's diversity aware and has no discretion.

A decent lock that is placed around the steering wheel, ie: autolok takes some considerable amount of time to remove. Often, it's impossible. The main factor, is such a lock makes thieves look for another target...