Cheap Labour??

Recently having done a duty, I got a bit hungry on the way home so went into a local chippy. Armed with my £1.62, I wondered what I could get!

"How much for pitta bread and chips my good man?"
"£1.80"

I then look up at the menu.
"How much for pitta bread and small chips?"
"yes sir, thats small chips"

Ah right. So I look up again to which it says

PITTA BREAD - 30p
SMALL CHIPS - £1.20

"How is it £1.80 if small chips is £1.20 and pitta bread is 30p??"

"Oh sir, thats if you want the chips in the pitta bread"

You what?? I am paying you an extra 30p to stick some chips in a bit of bread?
Thats extortionate! Perhaps I used the same place as Another Constable??

Takes the piss.

Little Gits

Well, I assume they are little anyway due to their amateurness. I have a shared drive with several other residents, and last night there were two cars parked outside, mine and a neighbours. These "amateurs" decided to break into a car out there. They attempted to smash the lock off (and half the door) with no luck so then tried to bend the door back, which was sucessful. They then decided that there was nothing of value in the car, but decided to try and take the airbag.

Freaks.

Luckily it was not my car (obviously not worthy of stealing nor was my cd collection!).

However, rest assured for my neighbour, Scroatsville Police will almost definitly (not) catch the offenders!

1) Scenes of Crime come out. Lift some prints. Probably the owners.
2) CCTV. There is none.
3) Witnesses. None. Even if there was it was pitch back and they would no doubt be wearing hoodies and speaking in an unknown language which is comprised of the words "innit" "sorted" and "yo mofo"
4) Statment Taken. This wont yield much in the way of hunting down the offenders as the formentioned reasons.
5) If enough of these happen then the local policing team may come up with an operation to catch offenders. If they are lucky then they might catch someone, might not be the same offender, infact, in Scroatsville, probably not.

Scroatsville Police are then slated for not being able to catch the offenders. Damn why can criminals not leave fingerprints and a nice trail of evidence.

The Parent Test

Further to my post here, I have thought out a test for women to undertake before they are permitted to have children.

1) What would you call your child?

2) Do you have a partner/in a long term relationship?

3) Do you work/does your partner work? Please note, some types of employment are not acceptable.

4) Which do you prefer, Argos or Tiffany?

5) You have won a free holiday, where will you take it?
a) New York
b) Magaluf

6) What is your idea of "education"
a) GCSE's, A-Levels and maybe even University
b) A shag behind the co-op and the Radio Times

7) You know the local bobby's name because . . .
a) You respect him as a community figure
b) He arrested you last week yet again

8) Drugs are . . .
a) Something to stop a headache after a long day at work
b) Not enough to satisfy me anymore

9) A good night out is . . .
a) Nice meal with my darling partner
b) Not complete without a fight

The rest I shall leave to you all

What A Specials Documentary Would Be Like

Having been around on PS.com for a while you see various ridiculous questions come up time and time again which make you think "why oh why" or "oh my god, these people walk the streets"

There have been various topics on how come there are no documentarys on Specials. Well, its just as well that there isnt as it will probably be terrible!

All credit goes to Basil Fawlty of PS.com in this excellent thread here whichis absolutely hilarious and is why there shouldnt be one! A sense of humour is needed! Feel free to add your own scene!
Without further delay, here it is!

--------------------------------

THE WORD 'SPECIALS' FADES ONTO THE SCREEN, ACCOMPANIED BY A SIREN/TECHNO SOUNDTRACK AND SET AGAINST A FLASHING BLUE LIGHT IN MIDDLE

FADE OUT TO BLACK

Narrator: "Special Constables are unpaid volunteers that serve in police forces across the UK. In this series, we follow Specials at stations in three different counties, to see what they do, how they do it, and why."

FADE IN TO CRANE SHOT OF ANYTOWN POLICE STATION, ANYTOWN.

SC Jones (o/s): "I've been a Special for about 3 weeks now, and I very much enjoy it. I've done about 5 shifts, and have got the hang of it already!"

Narrator: "SC Jones is a Special Constable with AnyCounty Police Service, based at Anytown station"

CAMERA FOLLOWS SC JONES AS HE PULLS INTO ANYTOWN POLICE STATION CAR PARK IN HIS PERSONAL CAR. HE GETS OUT, TAKES THE BLUE LIGHT STROBE FROM THE DASHBOARD AND PUTS IT IN THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT, ALSO TURNING OFF HIS RADIO SCANNER.

CUT TO SHOT OF SC JONES IN LOCKER ROOM, PUTTING ON EQUIPMENT IN PREPARATION FOR DUTY.

SC Jones: "We get issued the same equipment as a regular, but I like to be fully prepared for anything I may come across on duty, so I took the liberty of supplementing the issued kit with some of my own."

AS SC JONES PUT ON HIS EQUIPMENT, HE SHOWS IT TO THE CAMERA AND DETAILS IT

SC Jones: "This, for example, is my SureAsHellFire 9TP 150v 100,000 LED 9mw torch, the size of a thimble and which nestles neatly onto the spare radio clip here on my body armour. We get issued Maglites but they're not bright enough and, well, I just like torches, 'cos they're metal and make things bright. Plus you can never have too many on you!"

"We don't get any places to put our necessary documents on our uniform, so I bought this A3 document holder, which clips onto my belt. I have all the essential paperwork kept in it, and am able to compile a full file from scratch whilst out on the street. I keep it in my car when I finish duty as well, in case I pull anyone over who is committing a traffic offence."

"This is my all-in-one wonder tool - it's got all the tools of a Swiss Army Knife, plus a laser pointer and seatbelt cutter. Some of my colleagues say I really don't need it and that they've gone some 20-30 years without ever having to need one, but you never know what you might face when you turn a corner."

"I have eleven pairs of boots, depending on the terrain I'll be patrolling on. I bring two at a time to the station and leave the rest in my car. Once I have about three months in, I'm going to apply to do the Advanced Driving Course so I can work with Traffic! Until then, I'm stuck on foot."

"I've also bought this utility vest as the duty belt isn't practical for the equipment I carry. Plus it kinda makes me look like a firearms officer, which is pretty cool! Right, I think that's everything, just need to go upstairs and do a little paperwork for a job I did whilst off-duty last week."

CAMERA FOLLOWS SC JONES AS HE ENTERS A REPORT WRITING ROOM...

CUT TO SC JONES IN THE 'IT ROOM' AT A COMPUTER TERMINAL, TYPING A REPORT.

Narrator: "SC Jones is composing a file for an incident he was involved in off-duty"

SC Jones: "A few weeks back I was with my training intake on a night out, when I saw someone drop some litter on the floor, with scant regard for the negative effect it had on the environment or that it would cost the taxpayer for it to be cleaned up. I joined this job to make a difference, no matter how small, and having now got the really cool warrant card in a nice holder with a big shiny badge, this was my chance to make good in the world."

Interviewer: "So what did you do?"

SC Jones: "Well I approached the guy and said I was a police officer, that I was disgusted he would have the audacity to foul the pavement, and that if he didn't pick it up straight away he would be arrested. The guy looked at me and laughed, so I showed him the badge and said "There's the badge, there's the proof. Pick it up now or you're spending a night in the cells."

Interviewer: "Doesn't a police officer's power in the UK come from the warrant card, not the badge?"

SC Jones: "Does it? Oh. Must remember that for next time. Anyway, I told him he was under arrest and took him by the arm and led him to the side of the pavement. He looked quite bewildered, but then all criminals do. I phoned 999 and requested a van. A van turned up and two officers came out. I relayed the circs to them, very proud that I'd had my first ever arrest. They looked less than pleased. One spoke to my prisoner whilst the other took me to one side and said some nonsense about wasting tieing up vans and officer's time, disproportionality, cost of keeping the guy in a cell, prosecuting him etc. compared to the offence and suggested I should just leave it. I wasn't having this - it was MY arrest and MY prisoner, and I insisted that this violation of Her Majesty's laws should not go unchallenged. So the officer sighed, spoke to his colleague and they came back to me.

The other officer said he had the guy's details, and if I REALLY insisted on doing this then a summons would be far more appropriate. I could live with this, so the other officer dearrested the male as I had no idea how to do that as we'd not covered arresting people in training, and the officers advised me to ask my Specials Sergeant how to do a summons file. And *presses print* THERE she is! All set and ready to be sent to the CPS so that this blaggard can pay for his crimes."

Interviewer: "What's your take on off duty intervention?"

SC Jones: "At the end of the day, I swore an oath to uphold the law. I didn't swear an oath to uphold the law when I book myself on duty. Remember the old adage: A police officer is NEVER off-duty. If I see an injustice being committed, no matter where (except if I'm out of my force area or any neighbouring jurisdiction), no matter when, no matter what, then I, as a super-hero crime fighter, shall not hesitate to intervene to protect the good citizens of this city. One shouldn't let little things like risk to personal safety or not having any protective equipment or backup get in the way of doing your duty".

Interviewer: "Erm, ok. So what happens now?"

SC Jones: "I'm plopping this into the 'Admin Out' tray then finding a regular I can go on duty with

CAMERA FOLLOWS SC JONES AS HE ENTERS THE SERGEANT'S OFFICE...

To be continued! Keep up to date on the documentary by looking at the thread here

Can I, Can I?? Please Sir!

When people first join/are interested in joining there is the ever increasing amount of questions which are asked.

There are sensible ones:

"Can I arrest people?" (yes you can)
"Do I get to drive?" (yes you can mainly)
"What duties do I do?"


Then you get totally realistic ones (not!)

Can I get an advanced driving course so I can bomb about in Volvos with the blue lights and sirens and ram people off the road and hit the over the head with my baton, oh can I buy a bigger baton as the one that the force has issued me isnt long enough, and oh oh can I turn it into one that zaps people and oh can I be a PCSO as well and be PSU trained as I will need that every day of the week incase Mrs Miggings down the road ever has problems whilst I am off duty and need to turn into robocop and save the day as in now a sworn police officer and have to report every offence I see and will I get paid, I think I should get paid as I am giving up my own free time to do this for free so should get paid, and they should teach me to fly the force helicoptor even though its based the other side of the county and has a full time pilot assigned to it and doesnt actually need a special to do it but hey, oh does the helicopter have blue lights on it because that would be sooo cooool. Oh and back to batons, can I have two at the same time because then I can do some Jedi moves and kick some ass with both of them, and what if I need to carry them off duty incase I need to arrest someone for parking on double yellow lines, can I have my airwave with me?

No? Oh.

The Bitter End

A recent thread on PoliceSpecials.com got me thinking. Why do we do what we do? Obviously not the pay.
Give up hundreds of hours to do this "wild exciting" role. But what does it entail?

Losing your humanity as you simply become a resource. You are no longer allowed to express emotions, eat in public, drink in public, not allowed to laugh and have a joke.
You get treated like shit by the public who seem to blame you for the lack of delay/police policies/that the offender cant be identified with zero evidence
That as we do it for free we are more than willing to spend 8 hours watching some drunk in a cell which another officer has brought in and gone home
There are numerous other things which im sure you all know of!

It gets to the stage where I think to myself "why do I bother doing this?"

I have been to numerous incidents where all I have had is grief for "how long it took me" to get there and how crap I am. Yes sir, it did take me ages, even though I had the call 5 minutes ago. Quite tempted to say "yes I do apologise, but had I not decided to come in this evening then you will still be waiting so shut up and be glad that im here dealing with you"

On another note I revamped how my blog looks as it looked a bit depressing!

Unmarked Car

Recently I have had the chance to take out an unmarked police car equipped with lights and siren. This is a rarity as the only departments to have these cars are traffic and the proactive area teams. However, after befriending a sergeant, he is more than happy for me to take this car out if its available.
Now, the local "professional scumbags" know all the unmarked cars as they have nothing better to do than to commit crime and therefore obviously want to know what cars the plod are using. To the ordinary members of society, they have no clue.
So I am driving along to a non urgent job when what comes screeching round the corner at umpteen miles per hour? Johnny Happy and his mates. So I decide to follow them to see what naughty things they get up to with them totally oblivious to what is behind them . . . that is until some magical buttons are pressed and the car turns into a christmas tree on wheels!

"Oh I am sorry I was driving like that im really sorry"

*Checks PNC/Local system*"Ahh, so you have driven like a muppet before laddy?" (there is intel that the car has been driven like a race car!)

"nooo not at all!"

"Are you familier with S59 Police Reform Act"

"oh shit, dont take my car off me"

Anyway, he got a warning for it as he had not had one before so was fortunate enough to keep his car!

The local scroates also get a nice shock when you get right up to them and jump out on them, whereas in a marked car they will see you a mile off, and well, leg it!

Its mostly however, the ability to shock motorists. I was following a car which had gone through a red light (not just changing, but blatently red) and stopped them. They did not expect it at all. What was their defence?
I was in a hurry?
I didnt see it?
I am too pissed to notice stupid things like that?

Nope, none of the above! All they said was "had I see you I wouldnt have done it!!"
Madness!!

Marked cars may show a great presence on the roads and deter people from doing stupid things at that time, but if your not there then maybe they will do those stupid things!
Simple fact of the matter is that you shouldnt do things that are illegal, and plain stupid at anytime of the day whether or not there is a police car! More unmarked cars I say to bring up driving standards!!
On another note, got quite a few people on their mobile phones! Hoorah I am sure I hear you say!!

And finally - you never know - that car behind you may be an unmarked plodmobile!

What Is The Police

"The police are a group of people, often they hang around in large groups and can often be seen sitting around in their cars waiting for the innocent motorist to come past. When they are called they inform us that it is not a police matter, or if we are lucky they will come out if we mention the words "knife" "gun" "sex" or "fight" and may even come with some of their collegues.

When they turn up and realise that none of the mentioned words are infact present, they piss off. They like to abuse and target the innocent motorist. An innocent motorist is a car which is being driven with the driver failing to wear a seat belt, on their mobile phone, driving with fog lights on or committing other moving traffic offences. When the police cause the innocent motorist to stop, they do not politely discuss the issue, but rip into a huge wave of abuse and profanities and are rude to the innocent motorist.

When the innocent motorist has a chance to get a word in edgeways, and ask the question "shouldnt you be out catching real criminals" the officer will reply with a tone of importance about himself "people like you are crminals and thus I will treat you as one matey boy" The police will then give the motorist a fine for whatever they fancy without informing them of the dangers of what they have done. The motorist will then drive off with a feeling of joy as they have come across an officer of the great british police service."

Sincerely, Joe Public

What has happened to the police today. Gone are the days when the ordinary citizen will respect the police, and the polie would be polite and courteous back. The public feel that they are being targetted and that we are failing them on other areas. What is Joe Public more concerned about, someone driving at speed or big groups of kids being intimidating? Someone who is wearing no seat belt or people breaking into houses? Its obvious! By no means am I saying one crime is worse than the other, but the public want something doing about certain issues and that is the fear of youths and being broken into. Surely this is what needs focussing on more, or at least enable the public to see that this is what we are doing, but sadly, its the motoring offences for which we are most likely to come across ordinary citizens and it is here that their view of the police will occur.

This is where a problem starts for there are some officers who are rude but dont realise it and first impressions are very very important. When this member of the public goes off on their way, they will forever have this experience in their mind, and most of the time if the police officer was rude, it will stick in the mind more.

So Joe Public, I apologise for how the police seems to be now days and that we are not all bad!

On another note I soon have an attachment to a proactive squad which targets prolific offenders and those who break into peoples houses and nick cars!
Oh and once again the weather is crap yet it was lovely yesterday! Wish it would make up its mind!

Speed Camera's

Ahh, the lovely thing that is a speed camera! A very very hot topic indeed!

Lets face it, driving standards in England are terrible! You have people who never signal, people who drive very slow, some drive very fast, and some just cant drive to save their life and are a danger to everyone else on the roads!

I am going to give a balanced view of speed cameras firstly!

"I got caught speeding"
Oops! There would have been many signs saying that there are speed camera's, and they are all bright yellow/green
Speed limits are law, they are to be obeyed and are there for a reason!
If you didnt see the signs, the bright yellowness of the thing, nor didnt know what speed you were doing, what hope is there if a child were to run across the road? Think about that!

"They are just a revenue generator!"
So its 0300 and you are driving down an empty dual carriageway, its a 50mph limit zone, you are driving at 60 or 70. Is this going to cause an accident? Is this dangerous? I dont think so! During the day when its busy or wet ofcourse its a totally different matter!

However, we are still back to the whole "its the law" thing here and if you dont speed you wont get caught! This also links back to if you cant see them, then tuff! All very confusing isnt it!

"Does speeding along kill though?"
It is a factor isnt it, but what about drink drivers? dangerous drivers? unlicenced drivers? cars in dangerous condition? need I go on? Did I miss the government sticking cameras up everywhere that can catch these types of drivers or is it the fact that only police officers can catch these?

Speed camera's where there have been loads of accidents caused by speeding motorists - yeah go for it!
Speed camera's down a nice long straight stretch of road which has had no accidents - no.

There should be more invested in forces roads policing units and road crimes units as it is these that can make a huge difference when sorting out issues of road safety. A Speed Camera will flash you, you might not even notice so you dont know you have done wrong, where as getting pulled over and getting told why you have been stopped, you will learn a hell of a lot more from that experience whether or not you are given a ticket. More often than not, a telling off and lecture works wonders where as a ticket can make the driver feel resentful. Does a speed camera tell the difference between different weather conditions, times of day, etc etc? No!

I would also like to add by the way that I have a clean license and dont speed ever . . . ok thats a lie! I do have a clean license though and hope to keep it that way, but the way camera's are popping up everywhere it will become ridiculous and I no doubt will end up with some for being very very dangerous driving at 33 in a 30! Damn - lets hope the drunk drivers are going to get caught as frequently as minor speeders!
Anyway, a balanced view here so what do you all think then? Answers on a postcard :)

The Youth Of Today!

Now days, say the word hoodie and automatically you get images of obnoxious little shits who hang around the streets urinating up peoples fences/cars drinking white lightning throwing rubbish into residents gardens shouting and swearing, and generally being little shits!

This breed of human tend to have the following features:

• A Cap
• Tracksuit bottoms, often seen withthree stripes down the side
• Trainers which often have a distinctive "tick" on them, and these individuals often talk about how "Phil J is spor'ing his new nik-iees for shaw"
• A thick jumer with a hood which is usually placed over their cap
• Have a limited vocabulary which mainly features profanities between words
• Tend to walk like they have shit in their pants
• Usually hang around in large groups outside the local Tesco Express

Now that we have established the breed of individual we are talking about, apply it to your local area! They are everywhere! The problem we have is that we get loads of calls from people expecting us to turn up and shoot them all (or similar!)

There are several types of calls

1. Youths are congregating not drinking just quietly talking as its 19:00 and not late
2. Youths are walking home after being at a local event
3. Youths are drinking and being abusive
4. About 50 youths are fighting and have weapons

People are under the impression that every youth is up to no good (number 1 & 2 of the above) but still call us, again and again the same night! We go to them at normal speed (this type of job is NOT a grade one! Yet we are expected by the residents to be there as soon as they call!)

Number 4 of the above is what happens when we dont attend as quick as the residents like, so they exagerate and make us risk our lives attending the job (if we are blue lighting it somewhere believe it or not we might crash! The blue lights are NOT, I repeat, NOT a shield of invincibility!) we get there to discover that the youths actualy fit into category 1 & 2.

Category 3 however, is what we get most of. We get there and they are all drinking being abusive and a pain in the arse!

When I (and many of you) were kids, yes we did some naughty things but did we get scared when the police came? Hell yes! We were even more scared if they took us home and would never ever play up with the police!

Today however, they shout abuse, throw stuff at us, even attack us! What has happened? Is it Tony Blairs tough on crime stance gone wrong? Parents not caring? Political Correctness gone mad? (answers on a postcard, or well a comment!)

I arrested a 15 year old drug dealer a while back and the abuse he gave was just awfull! And to be dealing drugs at that age? What has happened??

Whatever it is, it needs addressing! I bet that if we didnt have all this juvinile nuisance, there would be plenty of officers to go after "proper criminals" (apparently road traffic offenders are not criminals . . . ?)

As always, comments are welcome (and encouraged!)

Never any bobbies, Never any cars!

"Ah yes, another rant" you may be thinking! Well, this kind of is and isnt, but mainly is im afraid!
Went to the nick the other day with the intention of getting a car and going out on my own for a bit doing some jobs and talking to a few people, all is well until I get to the station, and there are no cars. So I go looking in other departments who have cars and none are available or there is nobody about! "Right ok then" I say to myself and go over to the people who "run the joint" and talk to the sgt there who tells me its handover soon, she will try and get me a car for later. Now this sgt is good and has got me some good cars before so yeah thats great, I will crew with a regular for a bit then come back. End up doing some shitty job taking enough statements to last me a lifetime! Have a few blue light runs which end up with no jobs at the end of them so great!

Go back to the nick and get hold of a car! Hoooraaaah!! Or not. Another sgt point to points me and TELLS me to give the keys to someone as they have no car. So me being a bit pissed off at this point do this, and look for a car myself (as these others apparently cant be arsed to as they are that keen!) Dont find any so go back out again with the regular.

Lets fast forward a few hours . . .

The officer that took my keys hasnt left to sodding station yet, there is a yard full, I shit you not, FULL of cars which have NOT moved in the past 8 hours! This really pissed me off, I was very keen to go out and do some jobs, and when I do I get shed loads of jobs done, why is today any different? What pisses me off about this?

Well, this sgt (the second one) I dont think likes specials at all, he doesnt know what I am capable of, what I do, that many other sgts let me get on and do things as they know I am more than capable of doing them, that I dont just turn up for the sodding village fetes, that I do whatever I am sent to, that some regular officers even ask me on some aspects of the law, that I do shed loads of hours, that I dedicate my self to doing the job when I am on duty (look at my head grow) so why can I not be trusted to take a car out for a few hours whilst this sgt is on??

So there is a yard full of cars but where are the bobbies? Well, the one that I had to give the car to was still sat in the office doing, well, bugger all to be honest, just seemed to be on the intranet, a few others were tied up with paperwork which would take them a few hours to finish off, another was in custody and was going to interview the suspect and a few other cars where the keys were nowhere to be found! Why did I have to give the keys up? Why cant people not be so selfish and give the car up if they are not going to use it? I can understand giving a car up to someone but if they are not going to bloody use it!!

So next time Joe Public moans that they never see any bobbies on the street, its probably because there are never any cars available in the same yard where a dozen are sat!!

Taxi Drivers

People will soon start to think I am a bit of a moaner!!! But I am not . . . honestly!

Todays topic (rant) is that of taxi drivers!

As you will probably know, taxi drivers are pretty much self employed, they have their own car or use a pool car, and they pay the firm for jobs at a set rate (for example £100 a week) but keep all they earn from customers!By the way, in this post I am talking about the private hire cabs!

Over the past few weeks I have been stopping quite a few taxi's at night, in particular Friday and Saturday nights!

So, here it is, Top 5 Taxi Pet Hates!

1) Exemption from the RTA (apparently)

2) No Seatbelt and No Fare

3) Speeding

4) The attitude of them when you pull them over

5) Condition of their cars, often having lights which have blown

I am sure many of you can relate to the above! Now, taxi drivers DO provide a good service, and I use them occasionally too! I by no means have a personal vendetta against them!

So firstly, the RTA exemption they believe that they have! They can stop where they want be it on a corner of a road (literally on the junction), in bays marked "Police Vehicles Only", on zebra crossings, doing U-Turns when not allowed to . . . need I go on? They dont seem to realise that they can not do this!! And when told this the usual reply is "I am waiting for a fare" or "Fuck off or ticket me" the latter being my personal favourite! Why? Because I will ticket them!!

Second point, no seatbelt with no fare in the car. Stop the car and ask them why they are not wearing it and do they have an exemption certificate. Sometimes they will reply saying "sorry sorry sorry sorry" in an effort to make you not ticket them, or simply try and be smarter than me and say "I dont have to wear it, im exempt" . . . oh no your not, only with a fare!! Oops! Im sure you all know my views on not wearing seatbelts from aprevious post!!

Thirdly, speeding. They dont seem to notice a car with shiny reflective bits on it that resemble a battenburg cake behind them with blue cruise lights on!! Now it really winds me up, we all know that speed can kill etc etc but to put at risk those of people you are carrying is appauling!! And when stopped they dont seem to care, they dont realise that getting points will effect their job! If they lose their license, they are buggered!!! If only they can see this!!!

Fourth on my list was the attitude some of them have when pulled over. Some are nice and take on board what they are told, others couldnt give a toss to be quite honest!!

Some replies:

"ticket me, see if I care"

"yeah and?"

"oh fuck off"

Now how rude and obnoxious are some of these!! Its no wonder in one night I have pulled over the same drivers several times (not deliberatly but because they have committed another offence, often the same one and only when I am talking to them does it click I have!)

This shouldnt happen!!

Finally the condition of their cars, some of them have lights that dont work etc etc, is this really the condition that a taxi should be in? Minor thing it may be but none the less!!

Enough ranting now about taxi drivers! Perhaps an operation is needed to try and bring up the standards of taxi drivers and their vehicles in my town! I anyone has any experiences of this please do let me know!

Seatbelts and Mobile Phones

This topic is one which really bugs me. I am one who will happily give out tickets to anyone not wearing a seatbelt or who drives on a mobile phone. Some people think this is quite "power hungry" but I myself couldnt give a toss if people think this. Its illegal, as is theft, robbery and murder. I am not comparing these crimes, but there is a point to this. Reading on a forum I go on which is a car related one, several members are police officers and one of them attended an RTC last night to which a girl in the back was not wearing a seatbelt.

This young girl suffered severe injuries and is likey to require constant care for the rest of her life, if she survives. This is tragic and was so easily avoidable.

Now, back to the ticket issuing part...some members on there are saying how they always see people without seatbelts on and on their phones, with police cars being about yet nothing ever gets done, and they want to see people getting pulled over and ticketed! Whats the problem I hear you ask?? Well, I dont mind giving them out, but people are also saying "your just picking on innocent motorists, go catch real criminals" etc etc. What are we supposed to do???

1) We do as the public want and ticket these people, yet are seen as being power hungry and picking on innocent motorists
2) We let people carry on and go and catch "real criminals" and the public will think we are a lazy bunch of gits who couldnt give a toss!!

So which one is it?


Mobile ones is another one that pisses me off. Why do it? Are you really that busy that you have to talk and drive at the same time? I doubt it, unless of course you drive a BMW and are in your suit, because quite clearly you are exempt from the mobile phone laws and the Road Traffic Act!!

Is it that hard to stick an earpiece in that comes with your phone, or to pull over, or even, shock horror, wait until later to ring them back!!!

I was in a plain car the other week (no lights and sirens unfortunatly) when at some traffic lights we came alongside a car with the woman on her phone, it was a nice say so had the window wound down. My collegue beeped the horn, she looked and I shouted at her to get off the phone. Guess what she did?? Apologised and put the phone down... If you thought that you are wrong!! She smiled, waved, carried on talking, and drove off!!! Anyway, we stopped her a bit further up and gave her a ticket, and it was the age old excuse of "sorry, it was only a quick call" Oh but that child was only quickly crossing the road infront of you but you hit them as you were to busy farting about on your phone (hypothetical situation). She saw my point.

It just really really winds me up, such a simple thing as well! But at the end of the day, whats a £30 fine to them?? Hopefully it will be put up to £60 and three points, perhaps people will get the message then!!