Do police officers have to give you their badge number?

Do police officers have to give you their badge number?

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Tango13

8,398 posts

175 months

Friday 4th May 2012
quotequote all
Derek Smith said:
I was sent on a betting, gaming and lotteris course at GMP, run by the chap Green. It was national so there were officers from all over. Despite the title not being the most exciting it was probably the best course I ever went on. I knew nothing about gambling before going there and after the week I joined two casinos. All human life there is. It was pointed out at the beginning of the course that Jones, Smith, Brown were all common and the others, who had posher names, didn't want to associate with us. It was a bit of a running joke. One bloke was Welsh so I assume he would have been ignored by the posh ones in any case.

We got to this casinso. I won't name it but it was in the Wirral. The casino, as most would do, put a really attractive female on the reception desk. She was about 18 and didn't really know what she was supposed to do if there was a problem. Green, the super, was quite officious in his manner. He would demand entry rather than ask. He showed his warrant card and demanded entry for a supervisory visit. We had to be let in immediately. She, however, had other ideas.

She demanded that we sign in. Green refused to sign in and said that he wanted to see the manager but that we should sign in. So there was Green, Brown, Jones and me. The girl pressed the emergency button and three heavies suddenly appeared, one of whom bumped into me a couple of times. The manager appeared, recognised Green and was at once apologetic. The girl was a bit upset that she was being blamed for something she hadn't done and this was apparent in her manner. The manager called the girl over and she appeared from behind the counter to show us legs that were very nice and clothed in black stockings that had the then fashionable random lines across them. After she walked past I turned to the heavy, who had taken a step back, and said, 'That's the worst case of varicose veins I've seen on a girl that age.' Not a glimmer.

The manger reappeared with the girl, the latter going behind the desk, and the former appologising to each of us individually. I was going to mention being bumped into but didn't want to amke a fuss. This did not go for the girl.

To give her her due, she had a bit of bottle and just as the three of us were turning away she demanded to see our warrant cards. The manager having by now left it seemed churlish to refuse. So three different warrant cards, all different to the one she had seen earlier. The silly girl pressed the button again and the heavies appeared. I wasn't going to be pushed and showed my warrant card to the bloke and said that if he touched me or obstructed me I'd shut the place down for the rest of the night.

Manager appeared, closely followed by Green, closely followed by tears from the girl.

We then went into the club. A waitress came up to us and asked if we would like something to eat. As we'd just eaten I was about to refuse but Green picked this up and nodded. I assumed he wanted to forgive and forget. So I asked for a sandwich. Beef I said. Where I came from this wold have been two slices of cut bread, two thin slices of beef and a bit of garnish.

I got steak, rump, with four large slices of bread, a side salad and chips.

It was delicious.

It was a fascinating course, We spent one night in bingo halls and the next in casinos. Bingo, the best odds you can get, was very cut-throat. We saw women pushing others out of the way to get to the fruit machines during the break. One women was knocked to the floor. I was going to help her but her language!

I discovered that there was a way of getting evens in a casino.

When I was running a shift the lads dealing with a serious assault outside a casino in Brighton were not getting the full cooperation of the staff. They called me. I demanded to see the manager in the same tone of voice that Green used. The chap almost ran to get him. He turned up after some time but rather too cocky for my liking. He started to speak to me and I held up my hand. 'This is not a social call. I want to see your cheque books.'

That got him. He flustered a bit and I said that unless they were forthcoming immediately there would be a report submitted that he was uncooperative. I found an 'error', two cheques either side of midnight from the same signatory. I pointed it out. He excused himself and then his staff began to be more helpful.

I got a real kick out of that. I reported him for his attitude and the cheque offence for which he received a caution.

I enjoy craps - dice if the swear filter is too officious. It is fun and you actually take part. Further you have to think. The odds are quite straightforward and it is easy enough to calculate. Played sensibly it is the best odds you can get if the dice run kindly. I always lose though.

If you look at your time in the casino as a night out and take, say, £50 to lose then you can get a cheap meal, eaten with a floorshow of your fellow gamblers. Any untoward conduct is stopped. The staff are normally good looking and very polite. If you are new they are helpful. It is a fun evening.

Edited by Derek Smith on Thursday 3rd May 20:54
Please excuse my ignorance but the bit in bold, what was the offence?

Derek Smith

45,514 posts

247 months

Friday 4th May 2012
quotequote all
Tango13 said:
Please excuse my ignorance but the bit in bold, what was the offence?
There were, in those days, I have no idea if it still goes, limits as to the amount a punter could put onto a cheque each visit. Most casinos would not record time of a cheque being cashed but if you check the cheque register then it is obvious when they were done. So a day is from opening time to closing time, which will include two dates. If they cash cheques either side of midnight - very common in those days - it appears to the casual reader as if it was in two separate visits. The register shows all though.

It is petty but then petty is what I, as an inspector, did so well. I had an inbuilt ability.

There are lots of regs. You can't tip the croupier so the bloke ont he door tends to get the tips. In a Brighton casino the chap on the door was keeping more than the agreed amount to himself. He was cautioned when he went out to move punters' cars. It went a bit far and he was quite badly beaten. His story was that yobs did it whilst two witnesses said that there were two dark suited heavies following him.

We didn't get the offenders but the licensing inspector made the casino a target for a while. Cheque cashing was the least of their worries.

That said, most casinos cooperate fully with the police. They break the law with regards searches on the PNC and such but in general they avoid the endemic criminality there is in many other countries.

Tango13

8,398 posts

175 months

Friday 4th May 2012
quotequote all
Derek Smith said:
Tango13 said:
Please excuse my ignorance but the bit in bold, what was the offence?
There were, in those days, I have no idea if it still goes, limits as to the amount a punter could put onto a cheque each visit. Most casinos would not record time of a cheque being cashed but if you check the cheque register then it is obvious when they were done. So a day is from opening time to closing time, which will include two dates. If they cash cheques either side of midnight - very common in those days - it appears to the casual reader as if it was in two separate visits. The register shows all though.

It is petty but then petty is what I, as an inspector, did so well. I had an inbuilt ability.

There are lots of regs. You can't tip the croupier so the bloke ont he door tends to get the tips. In a Brighton casino the chap on the door was keeping more than the agreed amount to himself. He was cautioned when he went out to move punters' cars. It went a bit far and he was quite badly beaten. His story was that yobs did it whilst two witnesses said that there were two dark suited heavies following him.

We didn't get the offenders but the licensing inspector made the casino a target for a while. Cheque cashing was the least of their worries.

That said, most casinos cooperate fully with the police. They break the law with regards searches on the PNC and such but in general they avoid the endemic criminality there is in many other countries.
Cheers Derek thumbup