Latest stupidity....
Discussion
www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5034868.html
Anyone like to guess at the cost of this ?
A MOTORIST has been fined for driving while holding an apple.
The solicitor for the young nursery nurse called the prosecution "nonsensical".
He also criticised police and the Crown Prosecution Service for ordering aerial photos and video shots from the force aircraft be pro-duced for the trial lasting more than two hours.
But magistrates ruled that Sarah McCaffrey, 23, of Hebburn in Tyneside was not in proper control of her Ford Ka when she turned left with an apple in her right hand.
She was fined £60 at the 10th court hearing into the case.
Anyone like to guess at the cost of this ?
A MOTORIST has been fined for driving while holding an apple.
The solicitor for the young nursery nurse called the prosecution "nonsensical".
He also criticised police and the Crown Prosecution Service for ordering aerial photos and video shots from the force aircraft be pro-duced for the trial lasting more than two hours.
But magistrates ruled that Sarah McCaffrey, 23, of Hebburn in Tyneside was not in proper control of her Ford Ka when she turned left with an apple in her right hand.
She was fined £60 at the 10th court hearing into the case.
The CPS do a great job under difficult circumstances...
Nope, only joking....They are bollox!
For criminal cases; thefts, going equipped, disorderly behaviour etc etc; they search for ways to discontinue cases, to lower the seriousness of offences and put every hurdle in the way of a successful prosecution. In some cases, they do a better job at getting the defendant off than the defence solicitor....
Easy motoring offences; now they should be easy to prove..
Nope, only joking....They are bollox!
For criminal cases; thefts, going equipped, disorderly behaviour etc etc; they search for ways to discontinue cases, to lower the seriousness of offences and put every hurdle in the way of a successful prosecution. In some cases, they do a better job at getting the defendant off than the defence solicitor....
Easy motoring offences; now they should be easy to prove..
mungo said:
In some cases, they do a better job at getting the defendant off than the defence solicitor....
Is that based on your vast experience then Mungo?
I'll treat streetcop's sweeping remark with the contempt it deserves. I don't class all police officers to be as stupid as some I have encountered - please don't do the same with the CPS.
penelopepitstop said:
mungo said:
Streetcop said:
In some cases, they do a better job at getting the defendant off than the defence solicitor....
Is that based on your vast experience then Mungo?
I'll treat streetcop's sweeping remark with the contempt it deserves. I don't class all police officers to be as stupid as some I have encountered - please don't do the same with the CPS.
I can only speak as I find; and I didn't class the CPS as stupid in the slightest. Quite the opposite. I mean, in the words of Homer Simpson 'if something is difficult to do; why bother'?
When you've seen as many cases discontinued by the CPS, where the defence has been happy to continue...you tend to get a bit cynical.....
Memo after memo from the CPS about why a case shouldn't be continued; reasons after reasons about why it might not win at court. If that is the case; why bother arresting/ROS anybody
The dedication of the CPS also causes some concern when time after time; the first occasion they see the prosecution papers is about 10 mins before going into court...
>> Edited by Streetcop on Monday 24th January 18:59
autismuk said:
www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5034868.html
Anyone like to guess at the cost of this ?
A MOTORIST has been fined for driving while holding an apple.
The solicitor for the young nursery nurse called the prosecution "nonsensical".
He also criticised police and the Crown Prosecution Service for ordering aerial photos and video shots from the force aircraft be pro-duced for the trial lasting more than two hours.
But magistrates ruled that Sarah McCaffrey, 23, of Hebburn in Tyneside was not in proper control of her Ford Ka when she turned left with an apple in her right hand.
She was fined £60 at the 10th court hearing into the case.
So what if it cost money. The fluffy bint wasn't in charge of her flippin' vehicle and they nailed her. Good on them. Might have been hard work but perhaps the silly girl will think twice about driving about with her head in the clouds and an apple in her hand...
Streetcop said:
When you've seen as many cases discontinued by the CPS, where the defence has been happy to continue...you tend to get a bit cynical.....
The dedication of the CPS also causes some concern when time after time; the first occasion they see the prosecution papers is about 10 mins before going into court...
And I've lost count of the time we've had to drop cases because of files not being submitted in time and lack of sufficient evidence when they are.
I'm not going to get into a slanging match about it but mistakes are made on BOTH sides.
I can't comment on the case in question - it does seem ridiculous. However, one thing I HAVE learned in my years at the CPS is not to believe what I read in the newspapers.
Please don't make sweeping judgements about the dedication of the CPS. I'm sorry you may have had bad experiences in the past but I can assure you it doesn't apply to the vast majority of us.
Jo (having just had a particularly upsetting case in court today so I'm just a little bit touchy...sorry
)mungo said:
But thats my experience. I am sure you are very different to the CPS people I have met though
Edited to change to: In my humble experience
>> Edited by mungo on Monday 24th January 19:16
Sorry if I bit your head off but yes I am.
I enjoy my job very much (not something most people can say) and I work damned hard. Most of the time I don't take offence at the comments made but couldn't help myself today.
I realise people have had bad experiences with the Criminal Justice System - it's far from perfect I know. It's just a shame the enormous number of successful prosecutions involving great teamwork between CPS and the police don't get the same publicity. C'est las vie I suppose
Blimey, if I was a real criminal (murderer/rapist/serious fraud/mugger etc) then I'd be laughing all the way to my next job. What chance to they have of catching me if they're prioritising young ladies like this ?
Then again, I can see the point, she's an easy target and guaranteed income. A mugger is much harder to catch and prove a case against and as he'll (hopefully) be locked up, it's a cost rater than income.
Then again, I can see the point, she's an easy target and guaranteed income. A mugger is much harder to catch and prove a case against and as he'll (hopefully) be locked up, it's a cost rater than income.
The other thing that I get tired of Penelope..and it's not directed at you personally...
But the general public and especially the complainants/victims...aren't able to engage in 'dialogue' lets call it with CPS...especially when a case is discontinued....
The police get it in the neck..."We complain to the police and bugger all gets done" etc etc.
You must feel it yourself..if I could just draw your attention to your introduction on your 'profile' page;
I am happy to try and help if anyone has any genuine queries - what I will not do is suffer any abuse or try to explain or defend every numpty decision that is made by my colleagues across the country!! The main reason being that I will probably agree with you.
>> Edited by Streetcop on Monday 24th January 19:30
But the general public and especially the complainants/victims...aren't able to engage in 'dialogue' lets call it with CPS...especially when a case is discontinued....
The police get it in the neck..."We complain to the police and bugger all gets done" etc etc.
You must feel it yourself..if I could just draw your attention to your introduction on your 'profile' page;
I am happy to try and help if anyone has any genuine queries - what I will not do is suffer any abuse or try to explain or defend every numpty decision that is made by my colleagues across the country!! The main reason being that I will probably agree with you.
>> Edited by Streetcop on Monday 24th January 19:30
penelopepitstop said:
Streetcop said:
In some cases, they do a better job at getting the defendant off than the defence solicitor....
Is that based on your vast experience then Mungo?
I'll treat streetcop's sweeping remark with the contempt it deserves. I don't class all police officers to be as stupid as some I have encountered - please don't do the same with the CPS.
erm are the CPS civil servants?
Streetcop said:
The other thing that I get tired of Penelope..and it's not directed at you personally...
But the general public and especially the complainants/victims...aren't able to engage in 'dialogue' lets call it with CPS...especially when a case is discontinued....
The police get it in the neck..."We complain to the police and bugger all gets done" etc etc.
You must feel it yourself..if I could just draw your attention to your introduction on your 'profile' page;
I am happy to try and help if anyone has any genuine queries - what I will not do is suffer any abuse or try to explain or defend every numpty decision that is made by my colleagues across the country!! The main reason being that I will probably agree with you.
>> Edited by Streetcop on Monday 24th January 19:30
And I stand by it. Mistakes ARE made and I couldn't possibly defend every decision made by my colleagues - just as I'm sure you couldn't yours. As I said before, the Criminal Justice System is far from perfect. The several changes at top level since the CPS came into being in 1986 haven't helped us as they all had their own ideas as to how we should be working. But I'm not going to make excuses.
I agree with what you say about liaising with victims and witnesses. Things I hope will start to change as more emphasis is now being put on their views. Certainly the Direct Communication with Victims scheme has been up and running in North Yorkshire (and other areas) for some time where lawyers have to write and explain the reasons for cases being dropped or charges substantially altered, and in the more serious cases meetings are offered.
Witness care departments are being set up but this is still relatively new so I suppose it will take time for the benefits to filter through (for witnesses AND the police hopefully).
I'll wade in....
I have met many cps lawyers. These range from diabolical to brilliant. I used to play rugby with a chap, similar age to me, to say he was dedicated was an understatement. He managed to get results.
On the other hand, if my case was being dealt with by one particular individual I knew it would go pear shaped. That person really should not have practised law.
To generalise is wrong, the justice system has flaws, but the individual lawyers are in a similar position as us police officers, the end of a process. It just depends how much effort they (and us) put into a job.
I have met many cps lawyers. These range from diabolical to brilliant. I used to play rugby with a chap, similar age to me, to say he was dedicated was an understatement. He managed to get results.
On the other hand, if my case was being dealt with by one particular individual I knew it would go pear shaped. That person really should not have practised law.
To generalise is wrong, the justice system has flaws, but the individual lawyers are in a similar position as us police officers, the end of a process. It just depends how much effort they (and us) put into a job.
chrisbb said:
Who pays the CPS? The tax payer? If so it's not the scumbags that they don't prosecute is it?
Like everything else in our "Police Service" haha it will be driven by targets and standards.
It would be interesting to know if it is possible to complain about CPS (you can about Cops, however ineffectual it is).
Also, as I understand it, the CPS "test" is two pronged (i) the conviction test and (ii) the public interest test. How is this in the public interest ?
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