Equality of the sexes

For years women have been claiming that they are capable of doing the same as men. Well now it seems they are right!

I have noticed that young women have been getting more violent recently. For years there have been lads who go out at night, deliberately looking for trouble. Now, it seems that there are some women who go out with the same intentions.

Call me chauvenistic, but I was taught to treat women as the fairer sex. I've lost count recently, of the number times I have had to use all my strength and UDT skills, to control some drunken fat sl*g!

Are women getting more violent, or just getting more drunk? I suspect it is the latter. However, it doesn't help when the national association for the blah blah blah, say that women are an easy target for police. I would argue the opposite. Most male coppers will probably let a women get away with more bad behaviour than a bloke, purely because they do not like laying hands on women.

I think this is a site that is going to be more common!

Another Way to Stay Out of Prison!

For years Police Officers have been battling with the CPS to get cases to court. Identification of a suspect is always an issue. They are often quite insistant on an idenitity parade being conducted (nowadays done by video). If the witness picks out the suspect, then it adds weight to a case. The job wont get anywhere near a court, if there is nothing else to link a suspect.
Well apparently, the identification of a suspect by the witness is no longer good enough, according to Judge James Tabor QC.
Apparently, the witness in this case could not possibly have been able to recognise the offender after a 3 second glimpse. Providing the identification process was complied with correctly and an initial description obtained, which was not markedly different than that of the offender, I cannot see how the Judge can come to this decision.
It is not as if the suspect was a pillar of the community. He had already admitted to a burglary, which as all police officers know, is only because he was bang to rights.
The judge obviously thinks that the suspect is a jolly decent fellow, who has admitted to his misdemeanours. As he denies this case, he could not possibly be guilty.
I only hope someone has the guts to appeal this decision. Otherwise, it sets a dangerous precedent.

Pretty Pictures

Who uses the internet the most? I've no idea on official figures, but I would imagine, young people must be near the top. What do some of the less desirable amongst them like to do? That's right, post their exploits on the internet, as a badge of honour! We can see all types of criminal damage, assault, general anti-social behaviour on Youtube and other video sites.

Well, now they don't have to bother. Why, well the government have made Police Forces do it for them.

Ok, that's not strictly true, but I suspect that will be the result of crime mapping. Lets face it, a lot of our neanderthal youth take great pride in being the 'baddest dudes in the ghetto'!Now they can have a league table of their exploits!

Meanwhile, what use will these crime maps be to anyone else? The housing market is on its last legs as it is. What chance to sell your house, now that everyone can see the crime rate for the area.

Vernon Coaker says it will empower people to get involved with their neighbourhood police. Last week, we were told to reassure the public, because they had a higher fear of crime than reality. How is letting them know the exact crime levels going to achieve this?

All I can foresee, is having to do pointless tasks, because Mrs Smith has complained about the level of theft. She has her prize dahlias to worry about. (The fact that the theft figures relate mainly to 'lost' giro cheques, has got nothing to do with it.) I will then have to make regular patrols to reassure her we are taking her complaints seriously.

This is just another piece of pointless bureaucracy, that will do nothing to make the streets any safer. Mr Coaker, stop meddling and leave us alone to do our job.

Well knock me down with a feather duster.....

Shock horror, Government statistics turn out to be rubbish!

Isn't it about time we stopped waisting millions of pounds producing statistics, that are worthless? The powers that be, keep saying that the public has a misconception of the chances of becoming a victim of crime. Surely, the public's perception of crime, is the only genuine way to measure if we are doing our job properly. Bouncing out fake statistics, is not going to change their perception.

Proper old fashioned Policing, is the only genuine way!

Damned if we do........

Maybe I'm just getting more sensitive in my old age, but I'm a lit bit fed up of mis-reporting by the media. This headline, is a classic example. The Police were not 'chasing' anyone. They were responding to an incident of a man seen with a handgun. As it turned out, it was just another wild goose chase, where no one was found. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but what if it had proved to be real? The headlines would be slightly different.

Any death on the road is a tragedy. Any death involving a Police vehicle is awful. However, let us face facts here. My force has a fleet of about 100 resonse cars. Each of those cars, clocks up roughly 30,000 miles a year (75% of which is not response speeds). That equates to 3 million miles a year. I have been doing the job for 20 years and in that time, no one has died as a result of a crash involving the Police. That's 60 million miles with no fatalities.

Obviously, in other force areas, there have been fatalities. (Currently averaging 40 a year in England & Wales). There are 43 forces, most of which are bigger than mine. Lets say the average number of cars is 150 (It's probably much higher). So, that's 6450 response cars, which equates to 193,500,000 miles per annum. That equates to one death every 4,837,500 miles. When put into perspective, are the figures that bad?

The average death per year figure, measure deaths involving police. That could mean, drivers failing to stop for police, innocent people killed by driver's failing to stop, rubberneckers, dozy idiots ignoring 'Police Slow' signs, as well as deaths as a result of a police car collision.

So, what do you want? A police service that ambles along, at snails pace for fear of causing a collision, arriving too late to be of any use, or one that responds promptly, at the risk of the occasional crash?

In the ideal world, we would have both. However, back in the real world, I know which I would choose.

Thankyou Karen Matthews!

Out of all the sorry mess, that is the Shannon Matthews story, we have Karen Matthews to thank, for raising the lid off, the total sham, that is our welfare state.
For years, Public Service bloggers have been telling tales of the 'underclasses'. I think most middle class people, thought we were making it up. Well, at last, they now realise that the benefit claiming, immoral, self-centred pondlife, do exist.
I guarantee, that there thousands of kids like Shannon, up and down the country, who have similar feckless parents. I've probably met hundereds of them, just in my neck of the woods!
Let's hope that this case, will cause the government to look closely at the'benefits culture'. Stop paying people to breed like rabbitts, with no ability or desire to 'look after' themselves.

Norman Bettison got it right on Panorama. Don't look to blame anyone, other than Karen Matthews for the way she brought her kids up. It's about time she and those of similar ilk, took reponsibility for their own actions.

Stunning bit of kit!

So, all frontline officers are to be issued with a Taser. Well, maybe not Metpol officers, but at the moment, all us county mounties.
Amnesty International are appalled at the prospect. Their spokesperson, Mr Sprague said Amnesty was especially concerned about the welfare of vulnerable people who had "emotional" problems or were under the influence of drugs. No mention of the police and public that might be protected by their deployment, oh no.
I don't know about other forces, but in mine, the deployment of Taser has to be authorised by the Ops Room Inspector. To those not in the job, that means, an officer cannot take it out of their holster, without prior authorisation (except in spontaneous life or death incidents). Even if Taser deployment is authorised, any officer using it, has got to be able to justify it's use. No doubt, there'll be another 6 page form in triplicate to be completed.
At the moment, we often either have to put our own or the publics lives in jeopardy when a 'knife' incident occurs, as we are instructed to wait for Armed Response Officers to attend with Taser. That usually means a delay of 20-30 minutes. Is that acceptable?
I've seen the effect of it's deployment. 99% of people sh*t themselves, when they see those little red dots on their chest. If anyone is stupid enough to continue, then they deserve what they get.
I've no idea what the training will encompass. However, you can be rest assured that it will be thorough and effective.
I hope that Taser will not be used for your everyday angry drunk, but just used where offenders have weapons or are so dangerous, that they cannot be restrained by ordinary means. No doubt time will tell.