There’s a ‘Ten Thirty One’ in The Swamp
May 14, 2008 by inspectorgadget
In the last financial year, when Police Performance was our religion, we had a “Reward and Recognition” policy as part of our plan. This meant that we endlessly wrote letters to each others managers saying how good we were, the managers wrote back, on behalf of the Chief, saying ‘thanks’, and it all went into our Personnel Files.
Now that Citizen Focus is the new religion, it’s letters from the public that count. I received one the other day from Mrs Dorkins.
She wrote about how nicely she was told by Sgt Dan that there was nothing we could do about her burglary.
Down on The Swamp there was a three car pile up. A local criminal was ‘making off’ at speed from a patrol after a burglary when he smashed into two innocent drivers coming the other way. The police car arrived about three minutes later. This makes it our fault. The police driver has her ‘ticket’ withdrawn while we ‘investigate’ her actions.
The Control Room Inspector can see his pension and the last 25 years of his service going down the creek, so he calls the pursuit off, despite the fact that there are no serious injuries.
Result: A local burglar gets away, a police officer under investigation, a householder loses their property and two innocent drivers stare incredulously as we abandon the chase.
You don’t have to make it up.
Job’s FUBAR
i did hear that a while ago one force did a big publicity thing stressing that all the police want to do is get a car to stop. If the subject car chose not to, any subseqent mishap was not the fault of the police. Apparently it worked well. Maybe it should be country wide - if it’s true.
Well just as long as people cover their backs then. The people with dented cars won’t blame the cops but the lawyers for the various insurance companies……? They know that the thief is never going to pay and they don’t want to pay so…..
Any chance those lawyers get to shoehorn deep pocketed us into the equation, they will take it. Calling off a pursuit does suck and always leaves a bad taste but now we have written policies and health / safety culture it’s call off or risk getting sued into insolvency and prosecuted.
Never mind, at leat Peter Sutcliffe can get soem Human Rights lawyer on his case appealing some nonsense or other about his tariff and how unfair it all is. A woman as well - lets hope petey hasn’t smuggled a small toolkit into any of his interviews. 13 killings wasn’t it?
Citizen focus my arse!
FUBAR - absolutely.
Once the scum choose to ignore the blue lights and sirens then the law should reflect that everything from that moment on becomes their fault - any damage, injury, death etc all becomes the fault of the baddie. And how about creating a seperate offence of fleeing or evading a police stopcheck with a huge fine or even a prison sentence if it’s a repeat offence?
An old PC long since gone and retired from Innercity told me that in his early days in Glasgow he used to charge people with ‘Police Assault’ if they ran away from the Polis. That was after a good shoeing as well when they got caught I imagine.
@7 InnercityPC
Yeah, that’s what we want. Police lying in court. And then complain the Mags won’t take your word for it.
Cheers,
Ben
Who says they went to court. Anyone running away is guilty arent they. In those days crims used to plead to what they did.
‘it’s letters from the public that count’
Gadget, can you predict the future? what will be the next ‘currency’ for ‘Reward and Recognition’
Could it be blog hits or book sales, they both have public involvement so they must be a dead cert?
uhdd - blog hits hopefully!
Well it would help nullify the risk to pension
I live in Norwalk, CT USA and been thinking about moving, mostly for job related reasons,
but I have never considered moving to England. It isn’t this blog’s fault, what I read in English newspapers is the main cause.
I like this blog because it tells me the reasons why things are so, so screwed up there. I feel sorry for anyone living in Great Britain.
jack @ 13 can we all come and get jobs with your dept…. good dollar to the pound at the moment…. it will be like rats leaving as the ship is well and truely sinking
Funnily enough I’m on foot just now for similar reasons. I wouldn’t mind but the best kebab shop’s miles away!
Citizen focus is great. I had to explain to someone the other day that the reason they had to wait nearly 2 hrs for someone to repsond to the call “Someone is in my house stealing my things. He’s downstairs now. I can hear him.” is because I was on foot (like the good ole days) and she doesn’t live anywhere near a bus stop. But she could rest assured that a great number of people saw me walk/run the three miles to her house (because after about 1hr I was the closest deployable unit?????) in my hi-vis jacket (compulsory) in the fantastically hot weather (24c) and, as a result, felt safer. I did my best to try and keep the lady happy, as I slowly died from heat exhaustion on her kitchen floor, but think that even the most PR oriented PC would struggle to get a letter of thanks when they’re 2hrs late and make the demand ‘WATER, GIVE ME WATER!!!’ when they arrive.
I had the pleasure of watching four ptrol cars chasing a scooter aound my hood last night. I don’t think they got him, but it was nice to see them giving it a go.
ArmedPlod @ 6.
You have some good points there. I’m surprised that nobody has picked up on this.
It’s a question of common sense and proportion.
If a car thief drives into a school playground, don’t chase him.
If a mass murderer nicks a car and heads into the country chase him.
I don’t think we can ever get away from the point where an enquiry needs to be held if suspects kill or injure MOPs while escaping; all it needs is for the enquiry to be quick (ie completed within one week) and for the enquiry team to use common sense and proportion as per the above.
‘enquiry team to use common sense and proportion ‘
But that won’t necessarily give them the evidence they need for promotion.
I called off a pursuit once. We’d been chasing a known villain in a stolen car. Mid afternoon. We went towards a school and the lollipop lady was stood in the road with kids crossing.
Scumbag decides to take to the pavement causing kids and parents to leap out of the way. At that point I called it off, only to have a following ARV come howling past me and continue to pursue.
They didn’t catch him but did take time to come up to us in the canteen later and tell us what a bunch of wimps we were for abandoning the pursuit.
It’s a classic ‘damned if you do, damned if you dont’ situation.
If we don’t pursue, we’re giving a green light to every theiving scumbag who knows that the can steal vehicles at will and the police will do nothing to stop them.
On the other hand, if we do pursue and it all goes tits up, we described as reckless cowboys endangering the public needlessly.
I recall another situation a few years ago, the irony of which was lost on the complainant - a colleague has stopped a vehicle and is issuing an HORT1. At which point, teenage scrote, complete with spotty mate on the back, comes past on his motocrosser, pulls a huge wheelie and givies the ‘V’ sign to the police officer.
My colleague ignores him and continues to speak to the driver he’s stopped.
Moments later he gates a call - motorcycle v lamp post - two persons injured. Yep, you’ve guessed right - it was scrote and his mate. A broken leg and ribs plus some quality road rash for the pair of them. Shame. Was the bike taxed, insured and MOT’d? Was it road legal? Was Scrote junior old enough to ride it on a public road? I think you know the answers.
Imagine our surprise when my colleague gets a call a couple of hours later, to see the duty Inspector.
Seems that scrotes mum had phoned to complain that the police DIDN’T pursue and stop her son when we saw him. If we had, he would have stopped (no, really) and he wouldn’t have wrapped the bike round the lamp post.
Mrs Scrote had said that the police had ‘a duty of care’ to stop him injuring himself. The duty Inspector was obliged to log the complaint and pass it on to Professional Standards (Complaints and Discipline) who, thankfully, had a rush of common sense and threw it out.
You really, really couldn’t make it up.
And as for BRAKE, I honestly think they are a group who have theirs hearts in the right place but should really just shut the fuck up sometimes. There is a need for response in all the services and those fuckers will be the first to kick and scream if there was a significant increase in fatacs because the emergency crews had to drive at 30 or 70 and stop at every red light. rantover
This makes me so mad! I predict at least 50 replies to this post as it’s such an emotive subject.
Wouldn’t it be great if the blame for everything that subsequently happened did immediately pass to the shitbag once he FTS?
I’ve often thought about the ranting from the MOPs that would happen if we failed to use our exemptions (Speed and ATS) whilst attending “I” grade stuff. Maybe we should give it a go?
Those of you with young kids, ask yourself this: if your eight year olds are out playing in the street and a car gets nicked, do you want it pursued down your street at high speed?
It simply is not worth it, not for the sake of a car.
Yes, the scum will get away but you’ll come across them somewhere else, some other day.
Different story if pursued through non-resi areas - not saying there is no risk here, but that’s an acceptable level of risk.
I’m far from a bleeding heart, believe me, I just think it’s a matter of common sense.
Just like us nurses, Lions led by fucking donkeys!
funnily enough the same thing happenned to me once.
Involved in a pursuit and a nice member of the public coming the other way looking about six inches over thier bonnet said i was going to fast and on the wrong side of the road
…….it upset her so much she had to go to bed early!!!
ticket taken away, statement taken from witness, tried to stick me on for dangerour driving (even though the witness could not tell if male or female police driver/blue lights on or off/vehicle index/make of vehicle!!
Anyway after four week of throwing my teddy in the corner and refusing to drive any Police vehicle I had a 1.5 hour check run and recommended for an advanced
You couldn’t make it up!!
The inspector told me “unfortunately the customer gets what the customer wants.we have to be seen to do something”…
very wise words for that financial year.
it’s letters from the public that count
Is there a target to be achieved before progressing to the next rung on the greasy pole? If so, how many would you like?
Yeah, so much as mention the word pursuit on the radio in my Force and you get told to stand down whatever the circumstances.
I accept there are times when I won’t pursue and I have done this.
But it doesn’t sit well with me knowing that some scrote has driven off and will be driving like a **** whether he has a police car behind him or not.
Yup, as someone said earlier, damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
Bill @ 24
Can we assume that if the thieves are ignored, they will decide to obey traffic (safety) laws (even though they have ignored other laws) and drive safely?
I agree that there are times you have to discontinue a pursuit, but then you just have to hope and pray that the thief will eventually slow down before someone (else) gets hurt/killed.
Another way of looking at it is that a motor vehicle is a deadly weapon (it packs more punch than a .50 cal rifle). Letting someone just drive off is a bit (trying not to stretch the analogy too far) like letting someone run away because they have a high power rifle and might shoot toward you and hit an innocent bystander. Chasing him is a bit like shooting back at an armed subject: sometimes you can’t because you would become a major hazard to bystanders, but you always have to balance the risks. Letting him go doesn’t make bystanders safe, just safer from you.
Roy - no.
But they tend to drive quicker with the cops behind them.
Like I say, I’m all for catching the b*stards (and punishing them, which is another story) but there ARE common sense reasons, occasionally, why pursuit should be discontinued.
Bill
Definitely agree with post #6, if the baddie crashes it is their fault. Only time I see it being blamed on the police is if they hit something. The criminal is responsible for their actions, they made the decision not to stop, and so they are responsible if they hit anyone/thing. I was always taught the common sense rule that if the police ask you to stop, then your carefully stop. I’ve never been killed in a pursuit yet…. that said never been stopped yet either!
As for Citizen Focus, maybe we should mix it with a “no pursuit” policy and hope the thieves write letters of thanks “Thank you for not chasing me, I spent the loot on note paper to write you this message!”. Ridiculous!
The thing that really winds me up is this, we have tactics for stopping these things quite literally dead, at the point that they fail to stop why do not start setting up the requisite postive road blocks. I dont care if it transpires that its just joy riders and they die. Its no joy for the people that lose loved ones, or the person that is never going to walk properly again or has to eat meals through a hole in the stomach for six months while their body repairs itself.
You dont stop we will make you stop, and manufacturers have to take some of the blame, the technology is there to fry the engine management system by radio transmission and if they wont do it volutarily then the govt should legislate for it, car pinched with keys or without. VRM and VIN passed to Manufacturer that has to maintain a 24 hr phone line, input detail into computer radio signal sent vehicle immobilised.
Not that much different to the emergency lines that have to open for hazerdous loads.
And as for motorcyclists just knock them off do it to a few the message will get through and if not …………. well darwinism at its finest.
I remember a few years ago when I was in a marked car watching a stolen motorbike ahead of me driving on the pavement at around 45 miles an hour. It was passing young kids and the entrances to houses. I was absolutely adamant he was about to kill someone.
The rider didn’t realise I was behind him and I closed the distance but waited to see what he did next. He did a quick turn to his right and started coming down the pavement on the opposite side of the road albeit now in my direction. Now he was looking over his shoulder at a group of chavs and laughing his arse off. As he accelerated towards kids on the pavement (but not fast as before) I swung my car on to the lowered kerb and parked up. Nice and legal. Had he been looking my way, he could have slowed and with the steep kerb, would have had to try and dump the bike as there was not enough space or time to turn. Instead, he carried on waving at his mates and giving them the rods, turning his head only at the last second to see the nearside of my car looming. A skid on to the side of the bike followed. It was beautiful.
No helmet, topless and a shoddy rider = pain.
And there was no problem whatsoever when I explained my actions to supervisory who came to see the dent in the side of the car.
I don’t advocate for one second that my style of ending a pursuit becomes the recommended way but I’d rather the kerb be marked with his blood instead of some poor bastard on his way to pick up the kids.
IG for this moment in time I’m the public and believe that you are fantastic. Now stick that in you personal file. Whoever thought that policing would be hijacked by new labour bullshit.
the trouble is with calling off a pursuit-sorry, a follow-when there are ‘no substantive offences’ or ‘it’s just a stolen car’…you don’t know why they are FTS. It wasn’t that long ago that a car fts in TVP and a kidnapped child from Wales was found on board. Suppose that had been called off? Obviously some will be too dangerous to continue,but that should be the decision of the following-trained-driver.
luckily we have an adjoining force…. we follow for 40 mins up and down the motorway hoping they will cross the border.
2 mins into that force area…. car t-pac’ed baddies detained, job done, while our force control room wring their hands shouting that we are not to cross the county border….
nice
( a big thankyou to S*rrey Police for arresting our baddies over and over again)
[...] policing or showing ‘citizen focus’? 14 05 2008 Inspector Gadget has been writing about the latest load of codswallop that frontline police officers have had poured [...]