Traffic cops in the UK

[Black Pussy]

Has anybody noticed how the standard/quality of Traffic Cop in the UK has slid down to a level where they dont deserve any respect anymore?
I used to see the traffic cops as a cut above the ordinary police, and have the greatest respect for them. However two officers I can and will name if anyone is interested from my town (Dunoon Argyll Scotland) went into court and perjured themselves to get me a six month ban and a £150 fine for something that never happened. This means I cant work so I signed on and got free glasses free dentist and paid my fine with tax payers money. Now the tax payer has to support me till my licence comes back. Meanwhile I will break the law by driving if I need to.
Good quality British police work.. Wheres the sense?. The police in this country have become the new gestapo.
No more respect for them. Or the courts. When did we lose our Police service and get a police force. There is a big difference between a police man (sworn to serve the public) and an enforcement officer (enforces the rules of a company) The courts and police are now registered profit and loss businesses. We dont have a fire force or an Ambulance force. Why do we have a police force and not a service. Why are we paying to be persecuted by a private company?.
Has anyone else had this or other bad treatment at the hands of the Justus (not justice anymore) system?.
anyway rant over dont let them get you down. Mick

Laws are for scared people mere mortals. Not immortals like me.

[den]

I got sent down because of a bent copper,and i have a record for gbh,,All because i would not grass.It was a case of "Ok - Beacuse you were there ill have you instead even though i know you didnt do it ".I have absolutly no respect for them either,I wouldnt piss on one if they were on fire,I avoid anything to do with them at all costs,,

[Black Pussy]

Yep im the same. Im forever pissing them off with my knowledge of the law and their lack of it so they set me up. I was charged with a speeding offence which was in glasgow 70 miles from here. They couldnt prove it so it didnt go to court. 5 months later Two wise monkeys came to my door to deliver a section 172 of the road traffic act for the speeding offence that wasnt committed. They couldnt deliver it as they did not know what or where the offence was. However they came to court and lied and said they did deliver it. Because I never gave them a name for who may have been driving my vehicle at the time of the offence that wasnt committed I was found guilty under section 172 failing to tell them who was driving at the time of an incident that never happened. The judge said he preffered their eveidence as they were more credible. Because its a question of credibility I cant appeal. As I never gave them any name of who could be driving I am guilty of the offence the judge said. The offence isnt speeding its failing to tell them who may have been driving. Absolutely f###ing mental. G day mate as they say in kalgooly district court. tie me kangaroo down sport.

So if they can break the law (perjury) I can ignore the courts ruling and drive.

I have collected 165 years in driving bans in my 37 years of driving (mostly before 1991). If they keep banning me I will make the guiness book of records and be famous ...

[Windmill]

Our Police in Lincolnshire are wonderful

Any watching, please remember I said that next time you have a camera out

[Black Pussy]

Im sure they are. The police here have wonderful face also. Especially in court . I ve been in courts a lot over the years mostly my own stupidity on the roads. Thats the first time traffic police (two of them) have ever lied. Is it a sign of the times were moving into?.
Its lowered my opinion of them (which wasnt that bad) to zero. Sorry, Im probably too old now for that to change. Our courts being run like a wild west hangin court. It seems the lawyers, procurator fiscal and the judges are playing some sort of numbers game. They would be better giving the judge a cash register. Apparantly a person who asks questions of police officers who are asking questions and making demands of that person, that person is being obstructive. Not allowed to ask what this is about or anything now. Being rewarded for pleading guilty early by reducing your fine sounds like coercion to me.
The British Justus system is in tatters and being run by tyrants and Police Officers are their enforcement officers. They are not policeman or woman. They are two totally different people. The same difference between force and service.
I think the rot is well set in.

[DAVID THOMPSON]

started going down hill here in the early 80's
dave

[Windmill]

I think the rot is well set in.

Totally understand how you feel and I probably would in similar circumstances. I'd point to an across the board drop in standards in all professions and everyday life in general, but then I'm a grumpy old man at 57 I guess. I could name plenty other "pillars of the community" whose lack of standards and sometimes downright dishonesty astound me.

Any nonconforming minority group such as bikers are not and never were considered to be quite reputable and I suffered as a result of authorities prejudices in my younger days . I thought the general perception of motorcyclists had vastly improved in recent years, but maybe not Yep, it's not clever, fair or funny but that is the modern society I've seen evolve over my lifetime I suppose people of my generation have only themselves to blame for standing by and watching it happen..........Now I've depressed myself, it's still raining , better go and shout at the Telly again

[catman]

Not much different over here in the US, especially since 9/11. Reads that as "militarization" of almost all police departments, be they big or small. If they can't get you on whatever they pulled you over for, then they have much wider latitude to dig up something else and make it stick. When I first got my baghira, I got pulled over by a county cop for 10 mph over, as I was hanging tough around a curve . (This particular occifer has a strong dislike of motorcycles) He couldn't write the ticket for lack of a clean radar reading, so I got a ticket for "impeding traffic" No points on my licence, but the state gets their money and he gets to justify the pullover. You've really got to cover your arse...... I have got a
lot craftier since then. I don't much care for boozing it up and riding, but I do enjoy the occasional burger and beer, within limits. After blowing a .042 breath test for our fine occifer, (ONE beer with my meal) he couldn't do any thing about that either, so then came the empty threats from him, and the subsequent ticket for "impeding" I now have my very own breathalyzer. It can be a rough world for those that love bikes. At any rate, on the lighter side, I am happy to have found this site and be a member now. The wealth of info. has really helped in the build of my Baghira. Many thanks to Bill Jurgenson!!!!!! I service and repair motorcycles for a living at an independent shop, and really have gained a lot from his various threads. Hope to post info and photos soon...THANKS TO ALL,........ enough ranting for now, as there is not enough space for 53 years of accumulation.......

[Windmill]

They even pick on pensioners

Only kidding , when I can't ride the bike anymore I'm going to do this but it'll have an FJ1200 lump in it

[Linegeist]

Interesting thread. Sadly I find myself in agreement with much of what's written here. I've never been in trouble with the law, have an impeccable military background and am, to all intents and purposes, a model citizen. I just don't break the law - I guess it's hardwired into me ................... but the joke's sure wearing thin.

This doesn't stop me harbouring a deep loathing and an utter contempt for much of the gutter sweepings and social misfits that now represent the best the UK police seem to be able to field in the defence of what remains of 'society'. I rely on them only to supply crime numbers if required - they're singularly inept at anything proactive as far as actual crime prevention's concerned.

Most British cops can't even bother to be civil to their citizens, yet will happily demand respect in response to their surly and often overtly threatening grunts - or else. I've seen, first hand, the violent antics of the black-clad cowboys, swaggering around in their stab vests and weapon-belt slinger style rigs. A bit sad really. I watched those eternally nice met policeman (how the hell do the met keep getting away with it????) bludgeoning peaceful tie-and-Barbour wearing protesters at the pro-hunting demo in London a few years back - apparently just for fun .... certainly nobody kicked off OUR side of the police line, they were too busy eating their sandwiches - until the truncheons started getting waved about. I'd now watch one of our nice policemen getting a kicking .............. and I'd walk away. Seriously.

Too many of them are racist thugs with the social skills of dyspeptic stoats and I avoid them with the same care as those nice piles of dog crap that festoon so many British streets. I can't help thinking the country's got the police it deserves sometimes.

And I'M classed as one of the good guys!

[Black Pussy]

All that can be said to that is ("Your Correct") Its a shame the way our whole country is going. The polis (thats what they are now not police) became a force when we decked them out like robo cop. That was them giving up control of the people and going into defence and attack modes. If the world we live in wasnt so corrupt and the correct set of rules and social upbringing of kids (rather than the TV bringing them up) was applied, we wouldnt need to issue stab vests too our polis.
I also new our local (village) bobby's well. They have done away with them and their stations. I believe this is to defamiliarise them (polis) with the public. Getting them ready for the us and them situation the powers created.
Police persons need to realise that theyare the pawns in a game. A game that the scum in charge cant play without them.

We dont need riots or demonstrations. This cuntry is only worth its workforce. If they stayed in bed for a week this cuntry would be on its knees and they wouldnt be able to come and beat us up. They can only do that if we go out on the streets and riot or demonstrate. We can demonstrate by non participation in daily life (work). Its all we are worth to them.

[OLDMTNCARVER]

Try doing a search; Bell California Corruption.

An excellent example of what folks can expect from government in all areas these days.
The shame is most are blind, don't care until it affects them and then they're too soon to forget.

[LANDSURFER]

My experiance has been slightly different.
I have decided not to break the law.
I don't seem to have any problems with the police.
Do you think there may be a connection ??
It's a choice we all have .......

[catman]

Sometimes, its not about breaking THE LAW, its about whether THE LAW has taken an interest in what you're doing. I have had a cop give me the benefit of the doubt, and also been given a very hard time by a cop when I was doing nothing wrong. It comes down to individuals. It seems that law ENFORCEMENT attracts many who have a predisposition for minding other peoples business, and at the same time have their own axe to grind

[Linegeist]

My experiance has been slightly different.
I have decided not to break the law.
I don't seem to have any problems with the police.
Do you think there may be a connection ??
It's a choice we all have .......

I meet people who think like this every day. Their attitude is "If you don't do anything wrong you have nothing to fear." Unfortunately, history teaches us that this is often a dangerously complacent mindset. Consider the sheer volume of new laws passed by the last Labour government in the UK, the transgressing of which could land you in a confrontation with authority even though you knew nothing of the new law you'd just broken.

You can be arraigned in the UK for doing nothing - all you need to do is sit in your house for a couple of months and do ..... nothing. Ignore all those letters and demands you get - TV Licence demands (even if you don't have a TV), vehicle SORN declarations, Poll Tax (even though you never leave your house or use any of their 'services'), Census forms (it's an offence not to, natch'...)...... and they'll eventually come for you and stick you in front of the beak. There you get a fine, where you effectively have to pay for them coming to get you. Unless you're elderly, in which case they find your skeleton a few years later.

But don't worry. if you don't do anything wrong ........................

I would suggest you are controlled and herded by today's law when it's supposed to protect you. The scary part is that so many people have lost sight of that fact, and their freedom has been leached away in return for an existence in a paper cage.

And look at the laws we are expected to obey. Speeding - where is the public interest in prosecuting a middle aged lady with a clean licence for doing 35mph in a 30mph limit on a deserted road at 0830hrs? Wouldn't it be nice if the resources devoted to the rash of 'Safety' Camera Partnerships could be directed at shovelling up the uninsured yobs, the tailgaters, the light jumpers, the brain-dead morons who overtake you on blind bends - or worse, meet you coming the other way. The traffic cops have been hugely reduced since the cameras came - but of course the cameras only catch 'speeding', conveniently ignoring all the other antisocial road-going behaviours we now have to endure. The result is that our motorways have become nightmares populated by selfish people with no thought for others, country lanes have become racetracks for children in their mum's cars and uninsured drivers have multiplied year on year. Ipso facto? The UK's reaping what it sowed.

I can remember when sensible coppers (remember them?) would give you a stern wigging if you didn't actually endanger someone by driving a little too enthusiastically - but the machine-driven system sorts everyone into the same black or white category with no sense of proportion. You either crossed an electronic line or you didn't and, if you did, then you pay them money. No advice from a traffic cop. No chance to explain that you sneezed and your speed momentarily slipped up by 5% before you could correct it. Nope - it's pay up and move on to make way for the next one. And don't start me off on the insurance companies who then legally make thousands from increasing your premiums for the next 5 years............. for doing 35 in a 30 limit on a deserted road.

But don't worry. if you don't do anything wrong ........................

From being judged by a trained copper watching your road-going antics and deciding whether or not you need a talking-to, we've slipped somehow to a system of trial and justice by machine and are milked each time we stand on one of the lines in life's increasingly regulated pavement. And no - I've never had a speeding ticket or been done for an offence - I just detest the corrupt self-serving system that so many Brits support so blindly.

My wife and I recently lived in France for some years, and the feeling of freedom was palpable. Sensible laws administered by sensible cops (who carried guns but who could be talked to and reasoned with). Break the speed limit in Versailles for example and you get a dressing down from a Gendarme - unless it was excessive (note the word' excessive'). Even the French speed cameras are set to record those who are driving well over the limit - not those trying to obey the rules but creeping accidentally over an arbitrary line. We found we had respect from the French authorities instead of the blanket "Paint 'em all the same colour and process 'em......" approach of the British system. I think something's gone horribly wrong with the UK system and it doesn't look too good for the future.

But don't worry. if you don't do anything wrong ........................

I hope you're joking but, sadly, I suspect not.