Police car chases

[Darbees 10]

The fact that.......................... then we'd all benefit.

Seems we agree then.

[coconuts 10]

have seen tonite in the paper about police that they are cutting costs. they have sold the training centre in ecclesfield and 100 police have lost there jobs. well thats what they say but they have prob have sold the site made money and move the police to a different site with a pay rise which we have to pay for in tax etc.

[Squiggs 11]

Does anyone know if the range rover cars that are on the motorways, marked as traffic officers, do they have the same powers as the police ? Am I right in thinking that they aren't police driven ?

Kath

Think of them as Police 'helpers' - no legal powers, but can do all the stuff like putting cones round stranded vehicles, directing traffic away from problems, picking up debris etc

 

 

I just thought this bit was worth repeating for anyone who hasn't read it yet.

 

Just to drive home the point that there is ABSOLUTELY NO NEED for ALL 3 LANES OF THE MOTORWAY TO SLOW TO 65MPH just because there is a black/yellow chequered vehicle driving along.

[Squiggs 11]

The police are very responsible when it comes to driving. The police driver training is the highest standards out of all the emergency services in the UK, so the best drivers tend to be police officers.

 

 

...goes to dig up the thread about the fool doing the thumbs up to the speed camera......

[newvanandman 10]

Yes, how could they be so stupid as to try and catch a criminal?

 

A criminal????

No they are the bad basturds who leave their bin lid open an inch,or put there rubbish in the wrong coloured bin.

[lalaland 10]

have seen tonite in the paper about police that they are cutting costs. they have sold the training centre in ecclesfield and 100 police have lost there jobs.

Police officers don't loose their jobs in cutbacks, it's normally done by natural wastage, as in they don't recruit to refill posts lost due to retirement or movement in to other areas. Police civilian staff have in the past lost their jobs due to cutbacks.

 

well thats what they say but they have prob have sold the site made money

If a site has been sold then would you really have a problem with the funds from that sale being used elsewhere in the public service? Surely it makes sense, if money's tight, to reallocate those funds where they are more needed?

 

and move the police to a different site with a pay rise which we have to pay for in tax etc.

I'm not sure how you jump to the thought of a payrise here, but police pay is quite strictly governed and controlled. Officers can't just have payrises at the whim of a force. In fact it's almost the opposite. I am sure many of you will remember the governments handling of the pay dispute last year, as we approach the next pay negotiation it appears we may be heading down the same path.

[lalaland 10]

...goes to dig up the thread about the fool doing the thumbs up to the speed camera......

 

As with any job or trade, sadly you'll always get an idiot that ruins the reputation for the rest who work hard and keep standards up.

[coconuts 10]

as i said the training centre has been sold to either netto or lidl to be used as there offices. the police say that they are losing there jobs but they are just moving to another site near manvers so they are not losing there jobs at all.

[lalaland 10]

Says who?

 

I'm better than a response driver any day!

 

The national standards.

 

The ambulance service sends it's instructors to the same driver training center that we use. The ambulance service instructors are trained to the same standard that police response drivers are trained to. These instructors then return to the ambulance service and train the ambulance drivers.

 

Police driving instructors, that train response drivers (and ambulance instructors), have to do the response course followed by a 6 week instructor course and further training.

 

When I was on my response course it was pointed out to us by our instructor that all police officers permitted to use the emergency equipment are actually trained to a higher standard than ambulance service drivers and that only ambulance service instructors who train ambulance staff are trained to the same standards as standard response police drivers. We were also informed that if you were to leave the police and join the ambulance service you could transfer your driving qualification across with the only requirement of a 10 minute check drive to demonstrate your standard, however people leaving the ambulance service to become cops cannot transfer their driver qualifications across and must start from scratch without any driving authority at all and retrain.

 

This is also reflected by the Institute of Advanced Motorists in their exemption list,

Membership of the IAM is usually offered only to applicants who have succeeded in passing the IAM's Advanced Driving Test. However, since this test is based on the police system of car control, police officers holding one or more of the qualifications listed below are eligible for full membership of the IAM without further testing.

 

*Police Advanced Driving Certificate

*Police Advanced Motorcycle Certificate

*Police Standard Response Driving Certificate

*Police Standard Response Motorcycle Certificate

 

If you are the holder of one or more of the qualifications listed below you are eligible to become a member of the IAM without the need to take the test.

 

*CAR/LGV/MOTORCYCLE EXAMINER'S WARRANT (DDE)

*CAR/LGV/MOTORCYCLE EXAMINER'S WARRANT (DSA)

*FIRE/AMBULANCE SERVICE INSTRUCTOR'S CERTIFICATE

*ARMED FORCES INSTRUCTOR'S CERTIFICATE

*CLASS 1 ROLLS-ROYCE/BENTLEY CHAUFFEUR'S CERTIFICATE

*GRADE A CARDINGTON SPECIAL DRIVING TEST CERTIFICATE

 

The above quote is taken from http://www.iam.org.uk/aboutus/jointheiam.htm and shows that standard response police drivers are able to join and are exempt from their test, however only ambulance drivers qualified to an instructor level can enjoy the same benefit.

 

Further to this, police drivers involved in pursuits are normally qualified above the Standard Response level with a minimum of the additional Initial Pursuit course or the Advanced Pursuit course. I believe that at this time it's only the police, SOCA and possibly a few other law enforcement sides of the emergency services and government that train to those standards to further improve their driving (as there's no need for other services to be pursuit trained).

 

I'm certainly not knocking the ambulance drivers and certainly not saying they are poor drivers, far from it, they are extremely good drivers. However police drivers are trained to higher standards, especially those involved in puruits.

[zippy 10]

I just thought this bit was worth repeating for anyone who hasn't read it yet.

 

Just to drive home the point that there is ABSOLUTELY NO NEED for ALL 3 LANES OF THE MOTORWAY TO SLOW TO 65MPH just because there is a black/yellow chequered vehicle driving along.

 

Highways Agency traffic officers can an DO use their police powers to stop and dirct traffic, failing to heed a direction from a HATO is treated exactly the same as failing to stop for a Constable ( as was the case when we actually had proper Traffic wardens)

 

if the sheeple ar that unobservant not to spot the clear Highways agency markings .... however HATOs are in contact with the RPU police officers either direct by airwave radio or via the HA motorway control rooms

[zippy 10]

Says who?

 

I'm better than a response driver any day!

 

probably yet another numpty who thinks all police officers are trained to 'advanced' standards rather than just RPU/ ARV/some dog handlers / some 'area car' drivers ...

 

to be honest i'd prefer a IHCD D2 driver over a police 'response' driver any day of the week

[lalaland 10]

probably yet another numpty who thinks all police officers are trained to 'advanced' standards rather than just RPU/ ARV/some dog handlers / some 'area car' drivers ...

Or rather someone who knows that's not the case at all, if you'd read the whole thread before replying you'd see that's certainly not my line of thought and that I provided quite a lengthy reply explaining the reasons behind my comments.

 

And while on that subject, there are a number of officers not in the departments you mention that are also trained to police advanced standards. While I agree that it's not all police officers, I think it was misleading for you to say that it was just those that you listed above.

 

to be honest i'd prefer a IHCD D2 driver over a police 'response' driver any day of the week

I wasn't trying to get this in to a peeing competition, just commenting regarding the standards of drivers in a hope to help people understand that these drivers are trained to high standards and that plenty is being done to keep the public and all those involved as safe as possible.