Further entanglement within the policies...

This post is in direct response to comments on my last post. Thought that perhaps I could clarify things even further.

I really, really like the phrase "Unresponse car". It makes me laugh. I must remember to use it in polite conversation at work. So here goes..

I'll award 10 points for using it with colleagues.

I'll award 15 points for using it in conversation with a sergeant.

I'll award 25 points for using it in conversation with Inspectors or above...

And of course, 500 points if it can be used on the radio!

Go on, I dare ya!! I'll listen out on my radio channel for anyone resulting a job with the Unresponse Car bit added in.. ;-)

Pursuit policy is one of the funniest, or is that one of the saddest things we have???

Basically.. as an non Area Car driver, once you activate your blue lights, if the car that you are trying to stop fails to do so and actively attempts to make off from you then you are basically stuffed... If you are very lucky and the area car isn't 25 miles away getting a tyre changed, or at workshops having a piece of reflective striping and 3 panels replaced after a pheasant took out a wing mirror then you might be lucky and someone with the ability to pursue the vehicle may turn up before you have lost sight of it (yeah, right!)

If you are very, very lucky a Traffic car might be nearby. Be nice if it was Pat & Carl, they'd just ram it off the road right? Not in Southernshire. We might scratch a police car... So the Traffic car gets STINGER authorised (that's the spike strip thingy right). But strangely, he's the only person able to use STINGER and he's BEHIND the chase.. fat lot of good that is!

Long before he gets close the control room will stand the chase down because it went more than double the local speed limits and as such could endanger lives..

What if the offending vehicle is a motorcycle? Not even allowed to attempt to pursue it! Not even the Traffic car can do that!!!!!! WTF?

Criminal Scum use cars. It's a fact. We all know it.. that's why the roads are so heavily policed in this country. Because criminals use them! That's why we have things like ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) fitted on big posts around the countryside on major roads, also fitted in to random police cars etc, etc.. soo.... all the criminal scum have to do is drive fast, drive wild.. and the police won't be able to get them, we might know what they are driving, but we can't get them to stop...

Police are subjected to more and more restrictions with every year that passes by.

It is a terrible tragedy when a member of the public (MoP) is injured or heaven forbid killed by a police vehicle which is actively attempting to carry out it's lawful duty. It is definitely right that an investigation should be carried out to make sure that the officer was acting in the correct manner and carrying out his lawful duty, and hat he should have his lights/sirens active if appropriate etc so as to warn the public as best possible, but to restrict the police to not being able to bring criminals to justice is more criminal than the people we are trying to stop.

I swore an oath to uphold the law, yet by following policies I am then breaking that law because I am in direct dereliction of duty right?? after all a criminal is being allowed to get away.

NOW a Scenario.. we all LOVE Scenarios right?

What would you do if........?

........ you were driving down the road and you saw Mr Mugger Senior take a handbag from an old lady, hit her around the head with a baseball bat, push her to the ground, jump in to a sports car and race off................

A. Follow force policies - stop to help the old lady and call in the details of the offending vehicle as it's driving off in to the sunset.

B. Call for an ambulance to attend the scene of the old lady as you can see some MoPs are helping her out and sitting her up, try to follow the offending vehicle and adhering to force policies while it makes off in to the sunset.

C. As per "B" but with one difference. You see the offending vehicle. You are in a fully marked police vehicle and you have seen someone commit a serious arrestable offence, read indictable offence for post 2005. You hit the button for lights and sirens and live out Pat & Carls day time adventures as you chase down Mr Mugger Senior in his sports car, at the very least calling out for a pursuit type vehicle to take over, but at least you are getting his direction of travel and relaying it to those officers to catch up and intercept..

D. Stop, get out, sit in the gutter and cry because it's all too much to comprehend and it's far too complicated as you might have to consider force policies, and is the pension really worth all this hassle?

E. Get up from your desk and say "sorry, what was that on the radio?" Get ignored and go back to your computer account and forever more be known as the Station Cat because you never leave the station.. "well after all, I'm going off duty in 2 hours, I have to de-kit!"

So which do you do?

A, B, C, D, E?