Very nice policeman today, VERY decent.

[anonymous-user]

Would a covertly armed officer making a traffic stop typically say "Hello, I'm an armed response officer"?

As for making things up, there's a thread running nearby about an imaginary prosecution in Scotland. The internet has neither rhyme nor reason.

[Mk3Spitfire]

I have seen that thread, so fair point.

As for id'ing himself as AFO, don't know. Maybe came out as part of the conversation. Maybe a bit of showing off. Who knows except for the cop and possibly the OP.

[mel]

I'll side with the op on this as a very similar thing happened to me in Kent. Except it was an pretty new X5 and had two coppers in it. No doubt at all it was genuine as the thing lit up like a christmas tree and I have since seen it travelling under blues in convoy with a marked vehicle. No stab jackets, no visible side arms they simply pulled on those little screw up baseball caps with a checkered band and police written on them. Again I passed the attitude test and was given words of wisdom, they also actually said that "traffic would have ticketed but we're a bit more lenient as we are armed response"

[mel]

I'll side with the op on this as a very similar thing happened to me in Kent. Except it was an pretty new X5 and had two coppers in it. No doubt at all it was genuine as the thing lit up like a christmas tree and I have since seen it travelling under blues in convoy with a marked vehicle. No stab jackets, no visible side arms they simply pulled on those little screw up baseball caps with a checkered band and police written on them. Again I passed the attitude test and was given words of wisdom, they also actually said that "traffic would have ticketed but we're a bit more lenient as we are armed response"

[Bigends]

mel said:

I'll side with the op on this as a very similar thing happened to me in Kent. Except it was an pretty new X5 and had two coppers in it. No doubt at all it was genuine as the thing lit up like a christmas tree and I have since seen it travelling under blues in convoy with a marked vehicle. No stab jackets, no visible side arms they simply pulled on those little screw up baseball caps with a checkered band and police written on them. Again I passed the attitude test and was given words of wisdom, they also actually said that "traffic would have ticketed but we're a bit more lenient as we are armed response"

..or didnt know how to process you for speeding. Not all advanced drivers will be 'traffic' trained

[Mk3Spitfire]

Bigends said:

..or didnt know how to process you for speeding. Not all advanced drivers will be 'traffic' trained

I'm not sure about that!
I'm not traffic trained, but I'm fairly confident I could report someone for speeding! As could most officers I know....there's not much to it really is there?!

[Bigends]

Mk3Spitfire said:

Bigends said:

..or didnt know how to process you for speeding. Not all advanced drivers will be 'traffic' trained

I'm not sure about that!
I'm not traffic trained, but I'm fairly confident I could report someone for speeding! As could most officers I know....there's not much to it really is there?!

Well enough to stand up to a battering in the witness box re procedures and training to use the on board equipment. Did plenty as a response driver myself - but the average Panda driver wouldnt have had a clue. Its simple enough saying the magic words, NIP etc but then knowing what to do afterwards.

[NicD]

They wanted you to slow down and drive safely.. That is their duty.
They didn't want to take a prosecution through, as boring and extra work.

Good for them and the OP.

Nic

[Elroy Blue]

There are strict rules for stopping vehicles on a motorway. The number of Officers who can do so is very small.

This 'a Traffic Officer would do you' is total crock. I was ARV. I've been Roads Policing/response/Motorway. It's makes not a jot of difference in how someone is dealt with.

[NicD]

Elroy Blue said:

There are strict rules for stopping vehicles on a motorway. The number of Officers who can do so is very small.

This 'a Traffic Officer would do you' is total crock. I was ARV. I've been Roads Policing/response/Motorway. It's makes not a jot of difference in how someone is dealt with.

That last is rather a sweeping statement, no?
How can you be sure that all authorised officers would deal the same way? Or have I misunderstood?

Anyway, good for the OP.

[Elroy Blue]

NicD said:

That last is rather a sweeping statement, no?
How can you be sure that all authorised officers would deal the same way? Or have I misunderstood?

Anyway, good for the OP.

You've misunderstood. The implication is that a 'traffic officer' will always report someone, while an ARV or suchlike won't. Total rubbish. For one, dedicated traffic officers don't exist anymore. There is a crossover between roles and has been for a while.

[340600]

Elroy is right, the current role of the Officer matters not as to whether you get reported.

In our area, said Officer will then fill out a TOR form and a nice man in the Central Ticket Office decides if you need to be prosecuted or not.

[Tron1]

Dedicated Traffic officers may not exist in your force Elroy but they certainly do in others

[Carnage]

Breadvan72 said:

Would a covertly armed officer making a traffic stop typically say "Hello, I'm an armed response officer"?

As for making things up, there's a thread running nearby about an imaginary prosecution in Scotland. The internet has neither rhyme nor reason.

Thames Valley don't have any plain clothes ARV's. Apart from TFT, but they are very unlikely to get involved in speed enforcement.

[tenpenceshort]

In the end, uniform or not, the officers had a common law power to stop the OP and the only difference is that the OP could have ignored them and not committed an offence under s163. It would be a hollow victory, as I imagine they might use the failure to stop as justification for a more robust approach leading, I imagine, to the OP being reported for a speed likely to see him off the road for a short time.

[anonymous-user]

I gather that Thames Valley and Hampshire share an armed unit.

[Carnage]

Only really in terms of training and kit. There are very few joint ops/patrols, certainly not as far up as Bicester. The traffic dept is also joint with Hants.

The ARV's don't have an onboard camera either, as referenced in the OP.

There are some unmarked ARV's but not in plain clothes. If the OP got stopped it was by a traffic unit, not an ARV.

[anonymous-user]

A traffic unit would, I assume, be wearing uniforms, and would, I also assume, be unlikely to claim to be an armed response unit. Is it time to reactivate the BS Detector?

[Carnage]

Double post.

[Carnage]

They'd definitely be in uniform... Re point 2 - it's unlikely!