Traffic Cops programme

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Beebo

Beebo

Firm and Fruity
Location
Hexleybeef
Last night the Police pulled over some bloke in a clapped out banger, which he had just bought for £100 with no tax MOT or insurance. He was already banned for a previous offence and was also over the drink drive limit!!

The guy had reached the point where he has nothing left to lose (other than a £100 car) so is quite prepared to break the law as the punishment simply does not fit the crime.

Even if he is locked up he will do the same when he gets out. as with his history of motoring offences he will never be in a position to tax, MOT and insure a car legally!

Even the cops said as much. God help anyone who is hit by him.

The current system simply isnt working. What is the answer?
 
Manonabike

Manonabike

Über Member
MMMMmmm hang them? :laugh:

Seriously, I really don't like watching these traffic cops programmes - I think those cops get a kick out of chasing people for the tv and what is more worrying I can imagine others cops thinking to themselves "I could do better than that, I could go faster....." I'd have no worries if those chases would not put people's live at risk.

Last year I nearly got run over by a car that was being chased by the police..... if that chase had ended in a fatality and the driver was being chased for, say not having road tax then what a stupid way to die.

I now that criminal needs to be caught but we need to find another way I think.
 
M

Mad at urage

New Member
Location
Just N of Cardiff
Manonabike said:
MMMMmmm hang them? :laugh:

Seriously, I really don't like watching these traffic cops programmes - I think those cops get a kick out of chasing people for the tv and what is more worrying I can imagine others cops thinking to themselves "I could do better than that, I could go faster....." I'd have no worries if those chases would not put people's live at risk.

Last year I nearly got run over by a car that was being chased by the police..... if that chase had ended in a fatality and the driver was being chased for, say not having road tax then what a stupid way to die.

I now that criminal needs to be caught but we need to find another way I think.
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It's a 'Reality TV' show: Even if the "cops" were not deliberately acting up for the cameras, do you think the producers are incapable of selecting appropriate exciting comments and gestures, using them out of context? If they followed you around, I'm sure they could get enough footage to put your job (or your cycling) completely out of context if it fit their editorial agenda. Quite why police organisations cooperate in this, is a moot point; presumably they see it as raising their profile and making them more "accessible" or similar.

Police will chase a car for all sorts of reasons, but they will not know at the start of the chase why that driver failed to stop when told to do so. They may start pulling someone over because of a tax disk, but why then does the driver speed off? Has he a dead (or dying) person in the car? A gun he will use to shoot someone or sell on to be used in a bank raid? He's just running for kicks? They have no way of knowing and the blame is solely on the driver for his attempt to escape.


Beebo said:
Last night the Police pulled over some bloke in a clapped out banger, which he had just bought for £100 with no tax MOT or insurance. He was already banned for a previous offence and was also over the drink drive limit!!

The guy had reached the point where he has nothing left to lose (other than a £100 car) so is quite prepared to break the law as the punishment simply does not fit the crime.

Even if he is locked up he will do the same when he gets out. as with his history of motoring offences he will never be in a position to tax, MOT and insure a car legally!

Even the cops said as much. God help anyone who is hit by him.

The current system simply isnt working. What is the answer?
Click to expand...

"You are a career criminal" was (not very) funny when it was the introduction to a (not very) funny BBC comedy: Living with the reality is much less so. There are those who really do not care and will not care how wider society punishes them and what the 'nicer' elements see as punishment, they seen as "an occupational hazard".
 
StuartG

StuartG

slower but no further
Location
SE London
I'm thinking some credit card type chip'n'pin device supplied by your insurer that you have to insert into the ignition. Makes thievery a bit more difficult too. Of course it would take 10/15 years to populate the UK car fleet ...
 
cloggsy

cloggsy

Boardmanist
Location
North Yorkshire
SquareDaff said:
Any TV Producers out there - think about doing a "Cyclists - the trails and tribulations of the daily commuter" program. There're enough numpties out there to make endless series of episodes!!
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Seconded! You only need to see some of the videos on YouTube of drivers hitting or narrowly missing commuting cyclists :angry:

Not good!
 
Globalti

Globalti

Legendary Member
Mad@urage said:
It's a 'Reality TV' show: Even if the "cops" were not deliberately acting up for the cameras, do you think the producers are incapable of selecting appropriate exciting comments and gestures, using them out of context? If they followed you around, I'm sure they could get enough footage to put your job (or your cycling) completely out of context if it fit their editorial agenda. Quite why police organisations cooperate in this, is a moot point; presumably they see it as raising their profile and making them more "accessible" or similar.
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These TV cops shows and the Immigration show are part of a genre that I call "public revenge" programmes; they make it look as if the Police and Immigration are winning the war against all the low-life who spoil our little island, giving the viewing public a salacious thrill and with luck even convincing a few that Police and Immigration are good at their jobs.
 
summerdays

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
I saw on the road.cc site that they are bringing in a new regulation to help deal with uninsured vehicles whereby they can be taken and crushed even if not on the road (not if they are SORN'd though).

http://road.cc/content/news/34659-new-regulations-regarding-uninsured-vehicles-go-parliament-today
 
subaqua

subaqua

What’s the point
Location
Leytonstone
wow, you moan when the police don't seem to be doing enough to prosecute dnagerous road users , yet when they do you moan. no wonder the service is at its lowest morale level .

was watching one last night where the police driver pulled the pursuit up as it was getting too hairy and he said after that its not worth it if theres a risk of an injury.

playing up to the cameras ?? dunno.



the Chip and pin device sounds good but it will take less than 6 weeks for the criminal fraternity to get round it.
 
joebingo

joebingo

Über Member
Location
London, England
Mad@urage said:
It's a 'Reality TV' show: Even if the "cops" were not deliberately acting up for the cameras, do you think the producers are incapable of selecting appropriate exciting comments and gestures, using them out of context? If they followed you around, I'm sure they could get enough footage to put your job (or your cycling) completely out of context if it fit their editorial agenda. Quite why police organisations cooperate in this, is a moot point; presumably they see it as raising their profile and making them more "accessible" or similar.
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Ummmm..... No. We can't do that, if we were to start misquoting and using things out of context, we would be strung up by our balls and forced out of business. We would face being sued by any contributor to that particular story, and would face all sorts of ramfications from the Police.

Obviously, the camera being present does change the situation, but it doesn't change the way the Police deal with it or act.
 
byegad

byegad

Legendary Member
Location
NE England
reiver said:
I know there is great opposition to the Americas "3 strikes and your out" rule; however in this case it is possibly the only answer, clearly this is at least his 2nd offence, so short prison sentence then if he does it again remove him from society permanently!
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+1 for the programme is not particularly good. Looking as it does at extreme behaviour.

However I agree that the present law is inadequate. Our local free paper reports more than one motorist a week pulled over for driving while banned which also means no insurance or MOT and frequently no tax.

Thrre and you're out in the USA means any three crimes and you go down for a long time. Maybe we should go for three of the same type of offence and you go away for decades? How else do you deal with someone who continues to break the law after several captures for the same offence.

As the law stands I'd risk driving after a ban as the punishment is minimal and the chance of going to prison after a second or third offence is also minimal.

Not that I'm likely to be banned.
 
Brandane

Brandane

Legendary Member
Location
Costa Clyde
Mad@urage said:
Police will chase a car for all sorts of reasons, but they will not know at the start of the chase why that driver failed to stop when told to do so. They may start pulling someone over because of a tax disk, but why then does the driver speed off? Has he a dead (or dying) person in the car? A gun he will use to shoot someone or sell on to be used in a bank raid? He's just running for kicks? They have no way of knowing and the blame is solely on the driver for his attempt to escape.
Click to expand...

+1 to all of that.

I may be slightly biased as a (prematurely) retired cop with 19 years service with Strathclydes finest. I once had a letter published in the Daily Express along the lines of Mad@urages' post.
The Police are damned if they do, and damned if they don't. Would you be so keen on the Police abandoning a chase if your child had just been abducted and was being held against their will in the target vehicle? That's jut one scenario; but as stated in the quoted post, the Police do not always know the reason why a driver refuses to stop. There are a lot of very nasty people out there; it's not always as simple as tax discs and insurance being out of date!

There is also the matter of securing evidence by getting the vehicle stopped there and then, rather than giving the criminals the opportunity to dispose of evidence if the Police go down the line of "It's ok, we know who it is, we'll catch them later".


It will be a sad day for us all, and a licence to do as they please for the criminal fraternity if they just have to break the speed limit to avoid arrest.
 
D

davefb

Guru
there was a couple of bikes nicked in manchester a few months back... the coppers go into a load of grief because , since the thieves werent wearing helmets it 'was 'elf and safety' to not chase em.. loads of the usual moaners..

they nicked em a couple of days later... without a chase that wouldnt have just risked the crims lives, but the coppers and anyone on the road...
http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereve...eves__because_villains_werent_wearing_helmets

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereve...6152_nochase_bike_theft_suspect_dies_in_crash



in fact, there was a massive moan when a bloke legged it on a bike after a stop and did die... he was on speed , uninsured and still his family seem to blame the coppers..
http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereve...of_biker_alan_long_disgusted_over_police_case
 
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