RE: What Traffic Duties?

Friday 22nd March 2002

What Traffic Duties?

ABD keep the pressure on


Author
Discussion

XPLOD

Original Poster:

53 posts

273 months

Friday 22nd March 2002
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I wholeheartedly agree. I know of one former colleague, (a traffic officer) who arrested far more people for drugs, going equipped and other matters as a result of stopping motorists, than most divisional officers. The good thing about traffic duty, is that you are not responding to crap, e.g. shoplifters, juvenile nuisance etc... You need to do your traffic bit, i.e. attend RTAs, stop a few lorries etc.. but put the right officers in a 250bhp Volvo and you can be very proactive in tackling crime. Also, the little scrotes tend to pull over when asked, rather than when they see a Ford Fiesta with its blues on and think they'll take a chance and put their foot down.

mondeoman

11,430 posts

273 months

Friday 22nd March 2002
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Oh no - I'm actually gonna agree with plod for once I think thats all most of us ask for - pull us if we're going mad, but lets get sensible with the application of the "law". What ever happened to the balance bewteen justice and law??

hertsbiker

6,371 posts

278 months

Friday 22nd March 2002
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quote:

Oh no - I'm actually gonna agree with plod for once I think thats all most of us ask for - pull us if we're going mad, but lets get sensible with the application of the "law". What ever happened to the balance bewteen justice and law??



agreed!

relaxitscool

368 posts

273 months

Friday 22nd March 2002
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Have to disagree. Speed cameras are supplementary to officers. If anything, officers are freed up to stop more cars cause they don't have to sit in one spot pointing a laser gun so often.

The reason there is a rise in street crime is simple. There aren't enough officers and the courts are too easy on them when they do get caught.

nonegreen

7,803 posts

277 months

Friday 22nd March 2002
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Lets face it, this government are just jumping from hot topic to hot topic like a bumch of yupies on the exchnage floor. We do not have the resources and infrastructure available to address any of the issues whether it is health, education, transport, law and order, food and agriculture or even financial services.

In all cases the reason for this is because the political trash don't listen to those who know, they operate like bloody Microsoft and just patch up the cracks as they appear. I wonder how long before the whole thing goes pear shaped and caves in on them, like Argentina?

Sorry guys but its Friday and Ive had a bad week (bloody clients)

Jason F

1,183 posts

291 months

Saturday 23rd March 2002
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quote:

Speed cameras are supplementary to officers. If anything, officers are freed up to stop more cars cause they don't have to sit in one spot pointing a laser gun so often.



Why would they need to sit in one spot in the first place?? Unless of course it is outside a school, at which point I can't see why a camera isn't sited permanently to protect the kids. Unless of course it is all about revenue and not at all about safety.Surely not..

relaxitscool

368 posts

273 months

Saturday 23rd March 2002
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quote:

Why would they need to sit in one spot in the first place?? Unless of course it is outside a school, at which point I can't see why a camera isn't sited permanently to protect the kids. Unless of course it is all about revenue and not at all about safety.Surely not..



The theory is that speed cameras are put in spots where excessive speed is in evidence, and aim to reduce this. The Police, need to be seen to do something about it. If a camera was not there, then an officer would have to be there with the aim of reducing the speed used.

For instance a member of the public writes to the Chief Constable complaining that people speed up and down their road. The letter is passed down the chain of command until it reaches a officer who has to be seen to do something, so he goes and stops people for speeding on that road. If you put a camera there, the officer can do something more useful.

I'm not saying cameras are the answer (cause their use can be shockingly abused), but they do free up Police time. Whether you like it or not, speeding, like other laws has to be enforced.

nonegreen

7,803 posts

277 months

Saturday 23rd March 2002
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quote:



For instance a member of the public writes to the Chief Constable complaining that people speed up and down their road. The letter is passed down the chain of command until it reaches a officer who has to be seen to do something, so he goes and stops people for speeding on that road. If you put a camera there, the officer can do something more useful.



For this read Some barmy old woman who is 3 weeks from the terminally bewildered club, or some shirt lifting green whos back from the public bogs doing what they seem to think is perfectly acceptable writes in and says " ooh they come down here at 90mph ( this is tosser speak for 38 mph"). Chief constable gets on blower to his mate from the lodge who lives on the same road, tips him the wink then despatches plod to go and nick a few people, before departing for his weekly visit to miss whiplash.

Kin great really useful and responsive.
quote:

I'm not saying cameras are the answer (cause their use can be shockingly abused), but they do free up Police time.



Top man, I agree absolutely.
quote:

Whether you like it or not, speeding, like other laws has to be enforced.



Like archery practice, HASAW, petrol spillages, TWOC offenses? All of which are mostly ignored

Surely a better response from the chief constable would be " So go visit the estate agents and move" or "Sorry too busy nicking little scrotes for mugging and such to bother with this" "If you are unhappy with the road use contact your local council or the highways agency"


>> Edited by nonegreen on Saturday 23 March 21:33

JMorgan

36,010 posts

291 months

Saturday 23rd March 2002
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A work mate lives in a street where it is used as a rat run at speed. So residents complain to police who set up a speed trap. He was caught along with several other residents.

relaxitscool

368 posts

273 months

Sunday 24th March 2002
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quote:

Surely a better response from the chief constable would be " So go visit the estate agents and move" or "Sorry too busy nicking little scrotes for mugging and such to bother with this" "If you are unhappy with the road use contact your local council or the highways agency"



An even better one would be 'sorry my officers are to busy dealing with other matters, would you mind awfully if I stopped living in a world of statistics and let them get on with their jobs rather than setting and meeting targets'

Jason F

1,183 posts

291 months

Sunday 24th March 2002
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quote:

The theory is that speed cameras are put in spots where excessive speed is in evidence, and aim to reduce this.


I also thought that as speed was the only reason people crash (According to HMG) and that Cameras are purely there for safety, then the best way to protect kids would be to site cameras outside of schools.

In all fairness in Billericay I did indeed so a mobile speed trap sited outside a school 3 weeks running. Shame it was a f*****ng SUNDAY. And the camera was completely hidden behind a large white van, so definately all in the interests of 'safety' then

I agree that often excessive speed does kill, but the places where I see cameras this is NOT the case (about halfway down a hill in the middle of a country lane where the limit drops to 30 at the top of the hill then rises to 40 about 100 yds past the camera..Hmmm)

nonegreen

7,803 posts

277 months

Sunday 24th March 2002
quotequote all
quote:

An even better one would be 'sorry my officers are to busy dealing with other matters, would you mind awfully if I stopped living in a world of statistics and let them get on with their jobs rather than setting and meeting targets'



Sounds like that comes from the heart. So the big problem comes back to the civil service and their sodding stupid targets...NUKE WHITEHALL.

tvradict

3,829 posts

281 months

Sunday 24th March 2002
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quote:

...NUKE WHITEHALL.


Can I do It Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease

nonegreen

7,803 posts

277 months

Sunday 24th March 2002
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quote:

quote:

...NUKE WHITEHALL.


Can I do It Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease





No, Kin no chance, why should you have all the fun? :

Jason F

1,183 posts

291 months

Sunday 24th March 2002
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I have a similar if long dated plan.. Get 'em from the inside..

tallchris99

216 posts

272 months

Tuesday 26th March 2002
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Quote:The reason there is a rise in street crime is simple. There aren't enough officers and the courts are too easy on them when they do get caught.

well this is just not true. Studies have shown time and time again that it's the fear of being detected that deters crime not the fear of a large sentence. so if the police were more competant at catching criminals the rate of street crime would go down.

Jason F

1,183 posts

291 months

Tuesday 26th March 2002
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quote:

well this is just not true. Studies have shown time and time again that it's the fear of being detected that deters crime not the fear of a large sentence. so if the police were more competant at catching criminals the rate of street crime would go down.



What studies ?

Surely if the Punishment were Severe enough, then people would fear the getting caught.

Plenty of people have no fear of detection as they commit crimes in blatant circumstances often in full viee of CCTV et al. We have the most CCTV in Europe, but still Piss Poor detection rates..Why ?
Poor Plod is too busy going to lesbian help groups and filling in forms as to why the disabled 90yr old citizen can still become a decent Police officer. I really do feel sorry for Plod, it must be disheartening to see the same scrotes caught time and again only to be released for pittance reasons. (they do go out now and again to catch real crims though -anyone doing 43mph in a 40 limit)

The Govt must allow us to be able to defend ourselves and our property to a higher degree than is currently possible in order to reduce car jackings, muggings etc..

Oh dear, I've gone off on one again.. sorry...

relaxitscool

368 posts

273 months

Tuesday 26th March 2002
quotequote all
quote:

well this is just not true. Studies have shown time and time again that it's the fear of being detected that deters crime not the fear of a large sentence. so if the police were more competant at catching criminals the rate of street crime would go down.



Experience shows otherwise. There is 15 year old car thief in my area who was given a curfew of 8pm - 6am by the Magistrates as part of his bail conditions. Curfew checks were made every night, and every night he breached them. We'd catch him, put him before the next court who would promptly bail him with the same conditions. This carried on for about 2 weeks until the courts got sick of me doing my job and REMOVED ALL of his bail conditions (god forbid they remand him!) so he could roam about freely and steal cars. There's support for you.

Was he scared of detection? NO. Do long sentences work YES. He's now surviving a substantial term of similar offences. He won't be committing crime for a while now and some nice person won't have there car nicked.

XPLOD

Original Poster:

53 posts

273 months

Tuesday 26th March 2002
quotequote all
Several points to prattle on about:
I remember being on an attachment to the traffic department, and dealing with the letters from locals complaining about "all the nutters who tear through these roads, it's a rat-run, my kids play round here.. blah blah blah." So a colleague and I set up a laser speed trap. And who did we catch? Yes, locals. The people who lived on that particular estate.
Just a note on the less traffic policing = more street crime. It is not easy to make comparisons accross the country. The experiences of the Met and say GMP, are very different to say Devon and Cornwall. The point is resources are finite, and it is up to Chief Officers to deploy their numbers as appropriate. The Met has responded to the surge in street crime by redeploying traffic officers, as they were seen as the obvious resource to use.
I would cite the evidence of forces such as Kent and Surrey, who have adopted "intelligence led" Policing plans. These forces have, I understand, reduced the ranks of the traffic dept. and boosted community officers and proactive teams. This results in improvements in the dreaded statistics for certain things, in certain areas, such as juvenile disorder, or TWOCs from a certain area. The point is, deploying Officers in a certain way, should lead to results being achieved that reflect those deployments.
It is different up and down the country, and some force areas have a lot more speed cameras than others. I will try and find out if those that have embraced the speed camera have reaped benefits in other areas.

CarZee

13,382 posts

274 months

Tuesday 26th March 2002
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Cheap shot it might be but...
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"intelligence led" Policing
This is a nonsense... an oxymoron..

what does this say? that previously policing was "stupidity led" ??

Some days I wish I were the funny f'ker paid to sit in an office and come up with this sort of bullshit flannel.. but then I remember that if I was I'd be attending community meetings with a tit on my head telling people that speed kills .. so I'll pass on that opportunity if it were ever to come along..

No offence to Rob & JohnR (and any other plodsmen on here) but I don't see how this sort of flannel can allow you to be proud of the work you do (and god knows, coppers *should* be able to take pride in their profession.. )