More likely to get nicked from a new Cop?

[blademan]

Does anyone have an opinion on whether you are more, or less likely to get nicked from a newly qualified BiB, or from an old hand.
Any experiences.

[DustyC]

Surely a new keen one will be nicking everyone and everything in site with their newly found super powers.

An older experienced copper will probably just be doing his job and going for an easier life.

[Nightmare]

definitely

most recent pull was a young lass in St Albans. She merrily chatted to me about the 3 points she'd just got for speeding! (sugegsted new cop to mer as I doubt they'd ussually be that open), and then I had to help her fill in the producer! I think her partner (who kicked my car tyres a lot - almost made me snigger) could have helped her a bit more to be honest

the reason for the pull, i genuinely believe, was so she could practice. The reason was thet 'we get a lot of these stolen' - which I know is untrue - so i think it was a practice one.

Night

[bluesandtwos]

I remember my first year on patrol - was keen as mustard esp when it came to traffic. 6 years later and I am not so bothered now, just major pi$$ takers get a ticket now.

[blademan]

bluesandtwos said:

I remember my first year on patrol - was keen as mustard esp when it came to traffic. 6 years later and I am not so bothered now, just major pi$$ takers get a ticket now.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
The benefit of experience.
Thanks for being honest Bluesandtwos
Does this mean someone who got nicked when you were new can apply to have it exsponged on the grounds of your more lenient attitude ( a kinda retro active de - nick )

[Dibble]

It works both ways...

Prime example from last night: Car stopped, lad and girl on board. Colleague speaks with male driver, new PC speaks with female passenger. She comes back "no trace" on PNC, despite claiming to have been "in bother" with the law previously.

Over to me... I do a bit of digging, she gives correct details, I arrest her as she is on PNC, and is wanted.

New Cop - 0
Old sweat - 1

But I can see that younger service officers may be more keen to lock up for "shite" (minor public order, low value thefts) than I would. Of course, when I had less service, I used to lock up plenty of "shite" too...

[blademan]

Dibble said:

It works both ways... Prime example from last night: Car stopped, lad and girl on board. Colleague speaks with male driver, new PC speaks with female passenger. She comes back "no trace" on PNC, despite claiming to have been "in bother" with the law previously. Over to me... I do a bit of digging, she gives correct details, I arrest her as she is on PNC, and is wanted. New Cop - 0 Old sweat - 1 But I can see that younger service officers may be more keen to lock up for "shite" (minor public order, low value thefts) than I would. Of course, when I had less service, I used to lock up plenty of "shite" too...

Think I,ve got it now Dibble

[mybrainhurts]

Yes.

In an earlier life, a young beat plod, not yet shaving, stopped and cautioned me, to report me for........

a front number plate that is not vertical.....sir

I thought he was playing with me because the Mini Cooper was, er, not quite right.

Among other things.....

No handbrake

Three bald tyres

No horn

Exhaust pipe bust in front of the box....NO silencing........

But no,.....he hadn't noticed that lot, and sent me on my way........

[xxplod]

During your probation (first 2 years service) you have to demonstrate that you are competent in a large number of areas, especially when you are actually being tutored (usually your first 10 weeks after training college). So there is an element of "I must issue this ticket, to show my tutor/Sergeant that I am confident and able to do it."

That said, I recall tutoring a probationer a and trudging off to the local bus lane, to catch car drivers in it during the rush hour. We doled a few tickets out. Keen probationer asks if we can do it again another day. "No! I've got Policework planned for the next five weeks" came my response.

I was far more keen to get my probationers dealing with crime, speaking to people, getting to know the division and it's criminals rather than giving out tickets as an excercise in itself. That's not to say we didn't stop lots of cars, but for what I consider the right reasons. I would always try to impart that the use of discretion in dealing with decent motorists is most important.

However, you can also get response/area car drivers who wish to join traffic. They may have a propensity to be more rigid in their issuing of tickets, as a means of evidencing their ability to deal with traffic law/process etc... Although to be honest, that is now somewhat outdated. We no longer have "traffic" but "Road Policing Units" and far less importance is attached to being a ticket machine, than perhaps it once was.

One consideration I've found, is that quieter divisions tend to issue more tickets. Busy urban nicks, where Officers are rushing from one job to the next, don't have time to dole out FPNs. Whereas the small town nicks, Officers find that a bit of traffic process can be a good way of evidencing that you are not sat on your backside doing very little.

[t-c]

I remember when I first started 25+ years ago, the Sgts were keen for us to get as much experience of different offences under our belt as we could, so the tutor constable allocated as a puppy walker would look to start simple and then build you up to more involved process.

I can remember even now the very first offence I booked anyone for was "Quitting" that is leaving a motor vehicle parked and unattended with the engine running.

The seriousness of the offences increased gradually until I then had my first drink driver, which back then was a long drawn out procedure, and then my first injury RTA with a due care and attention attached to it and so on.

By the time I had finished my probation I was pretty well up to speed on most things Traffic (which is where my interest lay) and within 4 months of finishing my probation I was on traffic and the learning curve started all over again.

So to answer your question, yes I certainly started all keen as mustard type, but this tended to ease as you settled into the job, and then by 3 - 4 years down the line you knew what would be worth booking, what was worth a b@llocking or a caution and what to ignore on the basis that for every driver that you didn't report there was always another to take their place, although to be fair and I am sure the other BiB's are no different, I did have my pet hates where the drivers/riders would go into the book regardless!

[Streetcop]

Yes..IMHO you're definately more likely to get prosecuted by a officer 'younger in service', not necessary 'younger in age'.

This is for the obvious need to learn the skills and become very proficient at them, so that they are second nature. This then allows you to study the driver and look at the car, instead of worrying about what you're writing and whether or not you've filled everything in.

[tootler]

Definitely so. Worst of all is the probationer policeman with tutor a policeman monitoring. With him/her you won't get away with zilch. Keen as mustard.

[busa_rush]

I got a parking ticket a few months ago from a cop who was out on his training with a more experienced cop. Neither of them were willing to look at the road where I was parked but instead simply pointed to a no parking sign a few yards away. The fact that my car wasn't anywhere near a yellow line, double or otherwise, didn't seem to matter, he needed to practice writing out tickets. He got the name of the road wrong.

I appealed the ticket (not illegally parked, nothing to do with the incorrect details) and it was withdrawn, just caused bad feeling and a waste of time for us all.