May "The Force" Is With Us

[MalcGE]

So what's the crack with teams of Police M'Bikes in the Midlands. Seen them in Cov Twice and now Solihull. Packs of 10 ish, whatching wots occuring and pulling over selected cars/vans.<br>
<br>
They don't seem to give my Jag a second glance. In Cov, Stan in his Vectra nipped up the inside of me in a Bus Lane then cut in smartish, they were all over him like a rash. DERV Check, Lights Check, Road Tax, Seatbelt, Mobile Phone, Uninsured, Kojak Tyres ????????<br>
<br>
Wots it all about

<p></p><i></i>

[1300dolly]

the the local biker boys of for a ride so they get seen making use of our tax money. when they get bored a game of tag starts or they play 'snooker' with the colour of cars as the 'balls' (or so the urban myth goes<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :lol --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/laugh.gif ALT=":lol"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> )<br>
<br>
Justyn

<p></p><i></i>

[Carsreunited]

Sounds like an anpr squad.<br>
<br>
A camera may be sited which you drive by, reads the plate and flags up cars that aren't shown as Insured, Taxed etc or involved in crime. <br>
<br>


<p></p><i></i>

[dollybird72]

Some petrol garages have ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) so that they can spot a 'bilker' (person who fills up with petrol and drives off without paying).<br>
<br>
Good to see the boys cracking down on crime.<br>
<br>
Susie

<p></p><i></i>

[alun n]

Cracking down on crime????<br>
<br>
Nope, just hitting the easy targets; any perpetrator charged is a 'solved' crime so the real unsolved ones get diluted. tony and pals pat themselves on the back as it shows they are hitting their targets and being 'tough on crime and the causes of crime' just like they promised. Meanwhile every day you read of more and more assault, stabbing, beating up and worse of pensioners etc etc. (Wouldn't have happened in Bethnal Green forty years ago though...)<br>
<br>
Those ten blokes on bikes would be far better employed on their feet walking the towns and suburbs every day and getting to know the public.<br>
<br>
No wonder they ditched the whistle; it relied on another bobby being in earshot!

<p></p><i></i>

[1300dolly]

sorry Alun but i have to dissagree with you on this , you imply that an uninsured/un mot'd driver is a easy target but and the end of it all the car should not be on the road , what if god fobid you, or someone you loved were involved in an accident regardless of who was at fault , the uninsured driver does a runner which then causes a lot of unwanted heart ache and grieve trying to sort out not just the paperwork but getiing a new car ,time of work ect which wastes your time the police time (which we pay for) and all the rest of the grieve involved. I have though my previous job seen the carnage and aftermath of such accidents(which is one of the reasons i quit ) and also been involved in the confiscation of uninured vechicles.(appoximatly 50 cars a week in southampton)<br>
uninsured drivers put up the cost for everyone else as a percentage of the policy goes into a fund to compansate the victim.<br>
Justyn

<p></p><i></i>

[PurpleBargeKen]

Keeping in with the theme (for once<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :D --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/happy.gif ALT=":D"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> ). I used to work at Charing Cross Hospital up until 2003. We were seeing one patient who was a known weapon carrier. Our security weren't allowed to help. So we phoned the local nick in Hammersmith and asked for assistance (we were only 3 mins away). We were told that <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>all</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> the available officers were called out on an emergency and no-one could attend. <br>
<br>
We then got pretty pissed off and called 999. A couple of bobbies responded, they were somewhat unhappy (tough) but searched the patient anyway and found nowt. Patient was sorted after a few minutes and I went home. Just past the nick I saw 2 Transits, 3 patrol cars and roughly 10 -15 bobbies pulling cars/vans, etc over for vehicle checks. This was the dire emergency?!? I was actually hoping that they would pull me over so I could give them a piece of my mind. We always used to prioritise bobbies, etc when they came in to CXH and this was the thanks we got. Still p*sses me off when I think about it (this might be somewhat obvious)<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START ;) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/wink.gif ALT=";)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
<br>
I agree with the views re: uninsured drivers, etc but the focus has shifted to hit the largely law abiding motorist.

<p></p><i></i>

[dolomiteman]

...I agree with everything you say, but the resources currently put into this problem seem drastically disproportionate to the overall problems this country currently faces. With ANPR if an untaxed or uninsured car is spotted on the road it should be a case of automatic fine being sent to registered keeper, not a team of 10 pursuit bikes!<br>
<br>
A neighbour buys cars without registering them and then when the tax runs out he abandons them outside our houses. My neighbours and I report him each time to both the police and local authority but it takes over a month to see action...why? because they cannot pin it on him and therefore it is a 'bad' statistic.<br>
<br>
Current govt policy of targets has created a triage mentality; 999 rings, hmm, reckon its solveable? Yes, we respond; no, we wait to see what 'more important' crops up.<br>
<br>
Drug related burglary? Lets do the homeowner for smacking the burglar first...easy target!

<p></p><i></i>

[Carsreunited]

The thing with anpr is that if your neigbour drives past a site, he sets it off and gets pulled straight away. Possibly nicked if they can't satisfy themselves as to his identity.<br>
<br>
THe other thing is that alot of people who drive around in unregistered, intaxed and uninsured cars, have committed numerous other offences, some of them very serious. Alot of intelligence gets fed into the pnc. For example, you see a car acting suspiciously in your road, call the old bill, give them the reg and before they turn up, it drives away.<br>
<br>
Now, fast forward a week, that same car goes past an anpr, it gets triggered as a vehicle of interest all because of your call. It gets stopped and more than likely searched. Chances are there might be drugs, stolen goods, weopons etc in the vehicle. Job done.<br>
<br>
They have the sheer number of bikes because the anpr gets triggered so much. Its mostly manned by the disbanded ex traffic bods anyway so its not taking people from your beat or station.<br>
<br>
Just thought I'd clarify!<br>
<br>


<p></p><i></i>