See someone with Bolt Cutters - what would you do?

[yello]

The offence of going equipped is very much in use, and also very well known - I don't think you'll find many officers that haven't arrested someone for it.

That's interesting, I didn't realise that, and it raises the question in my mind of exactly what constitutes 'equipped' and for what purpose. Clearly, many objects can be used for a wide variety of illegal purposes.

I'd imagine there's a lot more involved than strict letter of the law when deciding to pull someone (as you refer to CC). I find it interesting that despite the efforts of lawmakers to codify as precisely as possible that there's still this necessary personal judgement involved (and therefore an element of subjectivity). As someone said upthread, damned if you do and damned if you don't.

 

[CopperCyclist]

That's interesting, I didn't realise that, and it raises the question in my mind of exactly what constitutes 'equipped' and for what purpose. Clearly, many objects can be used for a wide variety of illegal purposes.

TwickenhamCyclist posted the law. The what purpose bit is easy - if it's going to be used in a burglary, theft, or fraud it fits. The questions of what constitutes equipped is more difficult, and there's loads of case law on the subject. For example, if you give a screwdriver to your friend to carry for you, then stay with him, haing access to it at any point you want, that DOES count as equipped even though it's not even on you. There's loads of stated cases for loads of scenarios.

The object can be absolutely anything, you can think outside the box for that one. I know of a successful arrest of a known distraction burglar where he and a colleague were arrested having been found driving a car, with two water works uniforms plus badges in the boot. The uniforms were taken to be the object they were equipped with, the belief being they would use it to commit a distraction burglary.

 

[yello]

So if you recognise someone with previous tooled to potentially make a repeat performance, then that's a straight forward pull. I reckon that's straight forward enough.

Where life becomes difficult for you I suspect is with the tooled up unknown (as in the OPs case), or the known baddie with tools outside his trade (as it were). That's when other factors (even how busy you at the time I suppose!) come into play. Tough calls. I wouldn't want to have to make them.

 

[Gixxerman]

It can happen.
I was leaving hospital one night after visiting my mum who had a broken leg.
I was traveling down the Lincoln bypass, and a police car was sat at a roundabout.
I noticed that after I passed it, it pulled out and began to follow me.
Just before we reached a layby, he pulls passed and put his blues on, and we pull into the layby.
I am a bit confused as I have not done anything wrong as far as I can tell.
He comes over and asks me if it is my car. I say it is and then he asks the registration number. I tell him the reg number and he takes some more details off me and goes back to his car. A few minutes later he comes back and thanks me for stopping and tells that they are stopping all new-ish BMW's as they have had a spate of thefts of BMW's in the area. He says that everything is in order and a can go.
I was quite simply stunned (in a nice way). I was not in the slightest bothered that I had been stopped. In fact, I was preasently surprised by it all.
I told him how good it was that they were being so proactive. We both left with contented smiles on our faces.

In another incident, I was followed home for some 14 miles or so by a police car (that I assume was also going from Lincoln where I work, to my home town). He stopped me about 2 miles from home in a small village. Again I was surprised as I had not been doing anything wrong. He says "I know this might sound strange, but I have just stopped you to tell you how good your driving is". He said that my road positioning, observation and car control were excellent. Again, I was quite stunned.

It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it feels good.

 

[Chutzpah]

I saw this and thought of this thread:

http://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/LocalPages/NewsDetails.aspx?nsid=24298&t=4

Video number two shows some thieves in action. Awesome chase down by a security guard.

 

[punkedmonkey]

I saw this and thought of this thread:

http://www.avonandso...?nsid=24298&t=4

Video number two shows some thieves in action. Awesome chase down by a security guard.

Ha that's awesome! Video one is pretty good as well... though the bike appeared to be locked to that stand with a bit of string.

Interesting the tactics they use- on both occasions they arrive with bikes to try and make it look legit.

 

[CopperCyclist]

Ha that's awesome! Video one is pretty good as well... though the bike appeared to be locked to that stand with a bit of string.

Interesting the tactics they use- on both occasions they arrive with bikes to try and make it look legit.

Agreed on the awesome security guards both times! The arriving on bikes is normal I guess - the one time I've caught a bike their exactly the same thing happened, they arrived on two cheap stolen bikes, and nicked a more expensive one.

They also used the same technique as video one, and I was surprised then as I still am now about how rubbish a bike chain can be if a thief just yanks on it!