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[JamesV6CDX]

We have 10 in ours, also I very rarely use the control room as I have a data pad to do checks. Granted if other offences come to light it slows the process down. But its very rare I have an hour at it now, restructuring & redeployment spring to mind.
I concur that most bobbies I know hate traffic & can't think of anythin worse to do, when in reality its one of the easiest processes in theory (apart from the bad RTC's). The goalposts keep changing all the time now and with traffic being the fancy spangley fast response money eating pit that it is that the first budget to be chopped. Long gone are the days of the T5's, Rangies, and other specialist vehicles and half of the time we can't persue as its too dangerous and as much as I hate to admit it with some of the loons on the road I won't risk mine or anyone else's life in catchin em.

Data pad? You lucky beggar!! Much easier than trying to share airspace with god knows how many places 

[JamesV6CDX]

Anyhow, have to pop out, but have PM'd you for a chat 

[Dishevelled Den]

Must admit one of the things that really infuriates me is drivers on the phone.  when I'm workin & have some 'down time' there's nothing I like more to do than preying on drivers on the phone. I can go through a book in about an hour quite easily, but then I get whined at by joe public sayin "Have you nothin else better to do? Why don't you go catch burglers or rapists" Love it, absolutely love it  If they only saw the carnage that I've seen in my short career that driving whilst using their phone creates, I think they'd think twice 

When I was in uniform there were a few individuals who were sore on motorists and took cynical delight in turning them over as it was an easy clearance - some of the more fervent officers were in fact the worst offenders in terms of their less than disciplined observation of motor regs when driving their own vehicles.

In relation to lippy drivers, the realisation that three, sometimes more, heavily armed police officers would be taking a moment or two of their time ensured, for the most part, that overt dissatisfaction with this inconvenience was kept to a minimum.

Then, that was in the heady days before cellular telephones.

but targeting drivers on the phone is the (relatively) easy bit. Joe Public would feel less alienated if they ever saw a copper dealing with incidents such as those above, but (like above) they get fobbed off - assuming they get through to their local nick in the first place. I've tried phoning them in the past but the phone just rang out, had to go there in the end.
A recent occasion of seeing someone texting while waiting at the lights was .................... a copper.  He just f***ed me off when I intimated a slapped wrist. 

............. and why is the chip on a copper's shoulder inversely proportionate to his size?

Yes, this forms part of the problem Andy and I preface any remarks having the understanding that policing today bears little resemblance to the time I had a uniform on my back – but a constant remains, and that constant is the essential element for putting a uniform on in the first place, the desire to uphold the rule of law and to help people in need.

In my time there was no social networking, no instant communication, no human rights legislation, no cadre of ‘professional’ people touting to help those who deemed themselves to be hard done by at the hands of the constabulary so, in many ways, it was easer to police - but just because so much has changed over the years, there should be no lessening in the desire within any police officer to respect the law, act upon information received, protect people and property and help those in need.

I’m disappointed to see how policing has become so adversarial now. The police must understand that, without public support and goodwill, the job becomes very difficult to do – yes, the law must be enforced but to try to do so in a heavy handed manner simply asks for trouble.  I’m very familiar with this difficulty for, as a uniform officer, the mere fact that I wore the uniform made me fair game for those all who wished to murder me and I can, through bitter experience, assure any officers now serving that this is a situation best avoided.

To illustrate a point, last year I was driving my own car along a certain motorway.  Having just joined the carriageway I fetched up behind an old Mercedes 230 weaving across two lanes.  Not having radio equipment I made a three 9 call to report this and was assured that it would be attended to.

I had to make four further calls as the drunk’s attempt to drive was becoming more dangerous by the minute and there was still no police presence to deal with it.  By chance a traffic Discovery had obviously stopped some motorist on the shoulder and as I approached the stop I got onto the horn, lights and started to give to crew the fingers to attract attention.

It worked, I could see them running back to the Discovery and setting off after me.  When they drew up along side I was able to look up and mouth to the observer to open his oppsing eyes and pointed to road up ahead which, to his credit, he did.  And so the light of day suddenly dawned on him that this Merc needed attending to, which it was in fairly short order - but the point was well made to me, and it did nothing to sway me from the opinion that there was, and remains, something radically wrong in policing today.

So, if the police are to expect the support of the public then they must demonstrate that they deserve to be supported – it’s as simple as that and before any on my ex-colleagues (not members of this forum but who read my contributions to it) decide to castigate me for expressing my opinions, I would remind them that I have walked the walk - at a time when it very dangerous to do so - and am well qualified to voice my opinion on the worrying change in the emphasis of policing today.