Discussion
I’ve always thought of people who broke the law as offenders who committed offences and that more serious offences are known as crimes.
Like the UK Victim Support Organisation, for instance, I always regarded a crime is a deliberate act that causes physical or psychological harm, damage to or loss of property.
In an interview with a senior Police Officer I saw yesterday on the subject of speed camera use and placement, I was therefore a bit surprised to hear him repeatedly refer to offences of speeding and mobile phone use as “road crimes”. He wasn’t some parochial bod either, he was a national spokesman on accident investigations.
Are speeding and mobile phone use now being classified as crimes, so that the police can easily improve their overall crime detection figures, or is it just to vilify as criminals, motorists who may creep slightly over the posted limit?
Like the UK Victim Support Organisation, for instance, I always regarded a crime is a deliberate act that causes physical or psychological harm, damage to or loss of property.
In an interview with a senior Police Officer I saw yesterday on the subject of speed camera use and placement, I was therefore a bit surprised to hear him repeatedly refer to offences of speeding and mobile phone use as “road crimes”. He wasn’t some parochial bod either, he was a national spokesman on accident investigations.
Are speeding and mobile phone use now being classified as crimes, so that the police can easily improve their overall crime detection figures, or is it just to vilify as criminals, motorists who may creep slightly over the posted limit?
Edited by sparkythecat on Sunday 5th March 09:09
sparkythecat said:
Are speeding and mobile phone use now being classified as crimes, so that the police can easily improve their overall crime detection figures, or is it just to vilify as criminals, motorists who may creep slightly over the posted limit?
No, otherwise how would they quantify the percentage cleared up.It is just a different terminology for the same thing from a different perspective I would say.
As in, that is their professional terminology, your is just your definition.
E-bmw said:
No, otherwise how would they quantify the percentage cleared up.
It is just a different terminology for the same thing from a different perspective I would say.
As in, that is their professional terminology, your is just your definition.
Every offence of speeding recorded by a police camera is detected. If the police don’t detect it, then they won’t record it - so the detection rate is 100%It is just a different terminology for the same thing from a different perspective I would say.
As in, that is their professional terminology, your is just your definition.
It’s not just my definition .
sparkythecat said:
I’ve always thought of people who broke the law as offenders who committed offences and that more serious offences are known as crimes.
Like the UK Victim Support Organisation, for instance, I always regarded a crime is a deliberate act that causes physical or psychological harm, damage to or loss of property.
In an interview with a senior Police Officer I saw yesterday on the subject of speed camera use and placement, I was therefore a bit surprised to hear him repeatedly refer to offences of speeding and mobile phone use as “road crimes”. He wasn’t some parochial bod either, he was a national spokesman on accident investigations.
Are speeding and mobile phone use now being classified as crimes, so that the police can easily improve their overall crime detection figures, or is it just to vilify as criminals, motorists who may creep slightly over the posted limit?
If you are prosecuted for speeding or other road traffic offences it is dealt with in a criminal court.Like the UK Victim Support Organisation, for instance, I always regarded a crime is a deliberate act that causes physical or psychological harm, damage to or loss of property.
In an interview with a senior Police Officer I saw yesterday on the subject of speed camera use and placement, I was therefore a bit surprised to hear him repeatedly refer to offences of speeding and mobile phone use as “road crimes”. He wasn’t some parochial bod either, he was a national spokesman on accident investigations.
Are speeding and mobile phone use now being classified as crimes, so that the police can easily improve their overall crime detection figures, or is it just to vilify as criminals, motorists who may creep slightly over the posted limit?
The dictionary definition of a crime is 'an action or omission which constitutes an offence & is punishable by law'.
How the government or Police decide to count them or record them for statistical purposes doesn't alter that.
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