Police (UK) get away with most speeding tickets

[ThermalRunaway]

More than 50 police officers were fined for speeding in the Avon and Somerset force area last year while not on an emergency call.


Figures obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show police vehicles triggered a speed camera 640 times.
In almost nine cases out of ten, the penalty was cancelled, but officers were fined in the remaining cases.

Full story at BBC News Online.

 

[ThermalRunaway]

'In a statement, the force said some of the speed camera activations could have been caused by members of other constabularies passing through the area'.

Oh well, that's alright then!

 

[justDIY]

didn't you know, police are above the law!

case in point, in the US, it's illegal to carry a firearm inside the passenger compartment of an automobile, loaded, unloaded, locked, etc.

but there are 1000's of police doing it regularly, they claim they need constant and instant access to their firearm to do their job. sounds like BS to me. it's purely a case of DO AS WE SAY, NOT AS WE DO!

 

[Hank Fletcher]

Coffee + SuperCharged Vehicle + Constant Aggravation By The General Public + A Little Free Time On The Job + Knowing You'll Never Get Caught =

 

[Leftyretro]

Coffee + SuperCharged Vehicle + Constant Aggravation By The General Public + A Little Free Time On The Job + Knowing You'll Never Get Caught =

Plus a strong need to get to the donut shop while the treats are still fresh

Lefty

 

[Styx]

OK so a women is reported that a crazed man has broken into her house and she needs help NOW!!!

would you
a) have the police obey the speed limit & Traffic lights and more then likely arrive far to late to save the women
b) they do what they have to to get to their destination

What about Ambulances
your father is having a heart attack would you
a) have the ambulance obey the speed limit & Traffic lights and more then likely arrive far to late to save your father
b) they do what they have to to get to their destination

What about if you are in a RTA and you are trapped/mangled in yr car and the other car is on fire would you:
a) have the fireservice obey the speed limit & Traffic lights and more then likely arrive far to late to save you and the other cars occupance
b) they do what they have to to get to their destination

sure there will be some elements of the force that abuse that right (shite goto get home fast), but in the grand scale of things.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

That's all well and good, I don't think anyone complains about emergency vehicles breaking the speed limits DURING an emergency call - but it's a different matter with police vehicles routinely speeding whilst NOT on emergency calls. All emergency calls are logged and recorded, so it's trivial to tell if it's a genuine reason or not!.

In such emergency calls the emergency vehicle will have it's lights flashing, and (possibly) it's siren in operation - truck drivers have sealed recorders in their cabs, why shouldn't emergency vehicles as well?, and make the drivers responsible for their actions?.

 

[mdanh2002]

By the way, wonder in the US/UK if anyone dials 911 and just hang up without saying anything, will the police investigate who the caller is and visit his place (assuming call from a fixed line). Here in Singapore, when we dial 999 (emergency service), the police won't come unless the caller describes the problem to him...

One year ago my fixed phone's keypad had a problem with the '9' digit. Whenever I picked up, it dialled 999... and I always heard 'emergency service' on the other end and just hang up of course. This kept on going for a month, and no police visited my house.

 

[justDIY]

I do some work for the county 911 dispatch center, they don't "automatically" send someone the instant you call.

however, if you call and report some sort of problem (violence, medical, fire, etc), you'll get an automatic visit, even if you change your mind.

it's also interesting to note that presumably lots of small communities are unable to indentifiy cellular callers instantly. this is due to the extreme expense of the e911 system that the phone company provides. our dispatch center is equipped with e911 phase 1 which provides the calling number and cell tower quadrant. phase 2, which is in planning but has no money yet, provides the callers name and gps location.

so despite the phone companies (in the us at least) advertising that your phone contains GPS to help emergency responders locate you, chances are they've got no idea where you are (or who you are) either, unless you're lost in a major metropolitan area that can afford the phone companies "premium" service

this really ticks me off since there is a $6 fee on my phone bill to fund e911 ... and there is a 911 operations tax on my property tax bill too. if the phone company is already charging me for e911, why do they charge the county for e911 services as well. sounds like double-dipping to me!

 

[mdanh2002]

so I can make nuisance calls to emergency service every once in a while for fun, without having a policeman visit my house

You said that the police stations has no ideas where the caller is, but I wonder if the mobile provider keeps a record of the caller's locations (or at least the base stations where the call was made). In my country there's a bus & underground train guidance service. You just need to sms/call providing your destination (zip code, landmark name, etc.) to the service number and they'll reply instructing to how to take bus/train to go there. So I guess if the company wants it can have some information regarding the caller's location?

Also in Singapore, on most mobile providers, on your phone's screen it will show under the provider's name the name of the nearest landmark. So if i'm near the airport it would say 'Airport' But this is not very precise, sometimes the information keeps changing even if I just move inside my room. Wonder if this is determined from the base station location, or from GPS?

 

[justDIY]

all the 911 dispatch centers have to be at e911 phase 1 at least, there was some recent laws forcing them to implement it. so they will know what quadrant of the tower you are in (NW, NE, SW, SE). Phase 1 also gives the LAT/LON of the tower, and a signal strength. So they'd be able to find you eventually, as long as you stay put.

They also see who your provider is, and can call them to get the name on the account for that number, so they _can_ identify the number if they really need to.

That's pretty neat your phone shows a general location.

With my old service through Nextel, I was able to access the gps in my phone (which even worked indoors sometimes), without having to pay for any service. With my new service I don't get anything for free. I can't even look my call log without paying a fee!

 

[Roff]

didn't you know, police are above the law!

case in point, in the US, it's illegal to carry a firearm inside the passenger compartment of an automobile, loaded, unloaded, locked, etc.

but there are 1000's of police doing it regularly, they claim they need constant and instant access to their firearm to do their job. sounds like BS to me. it's purely a case of DO AS WE SAY, NOT AS WE DO!

Code of Federal Regulations
Title 18 > Part I > Chapter 44 > § 926a
§ 926A. Interstate transportation of firearms
Release date: 20050803
Notwithstanding any other provision of any law or any rule or regulation of a State or any
political subdivision thereof, any person who is not otherwise prohibited by this chapter from
transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm shall be entitled to transport a firearm for any
lawful purpose from any place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any
other place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm if, during such transportation
the firearm is unloaded, and neither the firearm nor any ammunition being transported is readily
accessible or is directly accessible from the passenger compartment of such transporting vehicle:
Provided, That in the case of a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver’s
compartment the firearm or ammunition shall be contained in a locked container other than the
glove compartment or console.
**broken link removed**.
html

From https://www.handgunlaw.us/documents/USRVCarCarry.pdf

Why would you have a problem with police carrying firearms in their vehicles? Are you saying they should be unarmed? Or are you saying that the general public should be able to operate under the same rules as the police?

 

[ThermalRunaway]

I think the firearm issue is a completely separate one. The police are trained in the use of their firearms and are trusted to carry the responsibility of being in posession of one. It would be silly to assume you could place the same trust in the general public, because of course there's always someone who would want to abuse the system.

The speeding issue is different. Again the police are trained in using their vehicles at speed, and they are trusted with the responsibility of the speeds they can potentially do on public roads. However, it would obviously be very irresponsible for an officer to speed on public roads unless there were a genuine need to do so. Therefore, any officer who is caught speeding whilst not on an emergency call should be fined. They are supposed to set an example so in my opinion it is grossly irresponsible to abuse their position on public roads.

Brian

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

The speeding issue is different. Again the police are trained in using their vehicles at speed, and they are trusted with the responsibility of the speeds they can potentially do on public roads. However, it would obviously be very irresponsible for an officer to speed on public roads unless there were a genuine need to do so. Therefore, any officer who is caught speeding whilst not on an emergency call should be fined. They are supposed to set an example so in my opinion it is grossly irresponsible to abuse their position on public roads.

Interestingly an off duty speeding policeman not far from me was recently JAILED!. He was caught going home from the pub by a fixed speed camera, so he made up a story that he wasn't driving, and a French man he'd met in the pub was driving! - assuming that as the name and address he gave was in France it would be dropped. In the event the police followed up his claim, to find no such person or address - and as he had given this as evidence in court he was jailed for contempt of court. He also lost his job, and his police pension!. A happy outcome all round I thought!

 

[ThermalRunaway]

Indeed!

For that kind of misbehaviour, it was probably right for him to lose his job. If he's willing to trick and lie his way out of a small fine in front of a court, what other dodgy dealings would he be willing to do?

The jail sentance is a bit tought though. I'm not sure it wasn't deserved, but they certainly didn't hold back did they!

Brian

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

The jail sentance is a bit tought though. I'm not sure it wasn't deserved, but they certainly didn't hold back did they!

Judges take contempt of court seriously!

Now mugging and killing an old lady would probably only be a small fine!, but lets not go there!.

 

[Sig239]

didn't you know, police are above the law!

case in point, in the US, it's illegal to carry a firearm inside the passenger compartment of an automobile, loaded, unloaded, locked, etc.

but there are 1000's of police doing it regularly, they claim they need constant and instant access to their firearm to do their job. sounds like BS to me. it's purely a case of DO AS WE SAY, NOT AS WE DO!

Fortunately, the statement in bold print is a false one. Most states recognize the second amendment, and allow the general law abiding public to carry concealed firearms. Some even allow you to carry it loaded and on your person (which is really the only way that is useful).

I think the firearm issue is a completely separate one. The police are trained in the use of their firearms and are trusted to carry the responsibility of being in posession of one. It would be silly to assume you could place the same trust in the general public, because of course there's always someone who would want to abuse the system.

Believe it or not, even some of us "common folk" can identify a person who may be endangering the lives of us or our families, and be trusted to defend ourselves. As it were, most criminals prefer their victims unarmed, and they won't wait for the police to arrive. Most of the general public can be trained in the use of their firearms.

 

[Sceadwian]

There's nothing illegal about carrying a concealed firearm, so long as you have the proper permit for it and are complying with the various protocols they have in place, I've never looked into the details of it though, don't know if it's illegal to carry in the passenger compartment or not, I'd love to see someone point out the law which unequivocally makes it illegal in all circumstances.

 

[Sig239]

There's nothing illegal about carrying a concealed firearm, so long as you have the proper permit for it and are complying with the various protocols they have in place, I've never looked into the details of it though, don't know if it's illegal to carry in the passenger compartment or not, I'd love to see someone point out the law which unequivocally makes it illegal in all circumstances.

Laws differ by state. Unfortunately for you, New York is one of the most difficult states to get a permit in.

Here in Ohio and many other states, you pay an application fee (around 50$), pass a background check (national and local: no felonies, no domestic violence, no drug charges, no history of mental illness), and take a 12 hour firearms course and you get a concealed carry permit which allows you to carry in MOST places. It should be noted though that you don't need a permit here to carry a loaded handgun in plain sight (but no one does).

Rudy the republicrat thinks the second amendment is about hunting. READ IT AGAIN RUDY!

 

[Sceadwian]

Yeah, just try to walk out in public with a loaded handgun in plain site, you'll be on the 8 o'clock news faster than you can snap your fingers =) If nothing else they'll be able to arrest you for disturbing the peace because people are gonna wig out when they see a gun.