Police told not to police

This is an outrageous story which was sent to me by a serving officer (Yes, they do read this blog and are very supportive. Er, generally, of what I am trying to say). You will be reading about this in the nation's media.

Basically, a senior traffic officer friend of mine who works out of the 'Empire State Building' in London forwarded me on yesterday a lovely email stating in great detail how they are not to police many traffic misdemeaners such as no entry and no left turns - in fact a long list of traffic violations.

It's so that TfL and the local councils can start scooping up the revenue from a £100 ticket which is sent to the registered keeper every time they are seen committing an offence.

In extreme circumstances 'words of advice' may be offered to the errant drivers.

This is another case of us moving towards a police state, governed by camera and Big Brother spies. A police state is a corrupt state. So here we are again with legitimate, law abiding people getting hammered. Because you won't find those who don't register their cars, foreign drivers and those with false plates being at all concerned about this move.

Clearly, it's all about the money. Police officers have a discretion to issue words of advice, vehicle rectification certificate, a fine or a fine and points in certain cases.

However this is purely about getting the cash in to the council's coffers.

But also remember that when police officers stop people for small traffic infringments that they often find other evidence of criminal activities or intent.

So I send this message to the new Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson - this is not a good start to your job. Must try harder. And you MUST re-invest some money into your depleting road traffic police within London.

To everyone outside of the capital: remember that where London leads other councils will follow. This is the thin end of the wedge.

Average speed cameras mean no escape for drivers

So here we have it. Average speed cameras for residential areas. The Government again takes great strides in monitoring the population and Big Brother lives. Every week the police state takes a tighter grip on what we can and cannot do. Unbelievable.

I've flagged up before the issue of the cameras not covering every entry/exit. So if you know of a short cut, take it and knock some time off your journey the camera will calculate a higher speed. Try disproving your ticket in court. Because this automated and the authorities are making it harder for people to contest speeding tickets. It's called democracy Zanu Labour style.

Here's the story from The Times....

Cameras that detect a motorist’s average speed will be deployed at all entry and exit points to residential areas as an alternative to road humps and chicanes.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) has approved a new generation of cameras that are linked wirelessly and operate in clusters, meaning that speeding drivers will be caught whichever route they take across a wide area.

Unlike earlier speed cameras, Specs3 are digital and never run out of film. They read numberplates automatically and transmit data instantly to a penalty-processing centre.

Drivers who slow down briefly when passing them will still be caught because the cameras can be positioned any distance apart. There is no flash so motorists will not realise they have been caught until the penalty arrives in the post. They are harder to vandalise than Gatso cameras because they are suspended from arms on six-metre poles.

read more - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/article5645536.ece

That global warming is a real menace

Like many people I've struggled today in the appalling winter conditions.

This batch of snow is predicted to be the worst for two decades in this country.

But at least the skiiing resorts have done really well with record snow falls too.

Don't forget to enjoy it while you can. That global warming will make this a rare event.

Strange how those shouting loudest for green taxes go quiet at times like these. Or is it just me?

Hundreds of police officers escape speeding fines

And this headline only relates to ONE county!
It's all very well having a law to clamp down on speeding but please make it fair for each of us. Our stance has always been to object to serving police officers dodging tickets on a technicality. We know it goes on but the scale of what is really happening is truly frightening. Are these Boys in Blue ever responsible for their actions?

(On, and for you BiBs that will get in touch saying senior officers 'have a word' with offers caught speeding. Don't bother. There are thousands of British motorists who would like police officers to 'have as word' with them instead of handing fixed penalties. We can't have a two-tier system of justice).

Anyway, here's a report from the Yorkshire Post a supporter has sent me....

HUNDREDS of West Yorkshire police officers escaped speeding fines after being caught driving too fast on non-emergency calls, it has been revealed.

Speed cameras captured 437 police drivers breaking official limits over the past two years, according to information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

But only 29 officers paid a £60 penalty, with 390 claiming they were exempt from the charge because they were on "urgent police duties".

In the remaining 18 cases, no fine was issued because police were unable to identify the officer responsible.

Although none of the drivers was using blue flashing lights to indicate an emergency situation at the time they were caught speeding, under police rules drivers are allowed to claim exemption from fines and penalty points if they can explain how their vehicle's progress would have been impeded by observing the speed limit.

Read more at http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Hundreds-of-police-officers-escape.4937824.jp.

Captain Gatso
http:captaingatso.net