Community support officer has the power to pull you over?
Discussion
This morning a community support officer on one of those 3 wheeled scooters (which I see all the time giving out parking tickets) moved alongside a motorbike that has stopped forward in the bicycle box and waved at him to pull over, which he did after the lights turned green.
Does he have the power to do this?
Does he have the power to do this?
Only specifies cycles on here
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa...
Dont think the stop could be classed as traffic direction
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa...
Dont think the stop could be classed as traffic direction
Edited by Bigends on Monday 22 December 16:42
The OP asked if had the power to pull you over, not if he has the power to issue a penalty, which he does not. If he sees an offence being committed in a motor vehicle he has this power, but would need to summon a constable to issue a ticket or to make an arrest.
If he saw a car weaving down the road being driven by someone obviously pi**ed as a fart they would hardly be expected to ignore it.
If he saw a car weaving down the road being driven by someone obviously pi**ed as a fart they would hardly be expected to ignore it.
martinbiz said:
The OP asked if had the power to pull you over, not if he has the power to issue a penalty, which he does not. If he sees an offence being committed in a motor vehicle he has this power, but would need to summon a constable to issue a ticket or to make an arrest.
If he saw a car weaving down the road being driven by someone obviously pi**ed as a fart they would hardly be expected to ignore it.
Doesnt have the power to pull vehicles over - has no more powert than the rest of the general public - clearly doesnt stop them from doing it thoughIf he saw a car weaving down the road being driven by someone obviously pi**ed as a fart they would hardly be expected to ignore it.
Bigends said:
Doesnt have the power to pull vehicles over - has no more powert than the rest of the general public - clearly doesnt stop them from doing it though
Wrong, read the rest of the legislation properly, the power to make a roadside check is made available to them by the authorisation of a senior officer,martinbiz said:
Bigends said:
Doesnt have the power to pull vehicles over - has no more powert than the rest of the general public - clearly doesnt stop them from doing it though
Wrong, read the rest of the legislation properly, the power to make a roadside check is made available to them by the authorisation of a senior officer,martinbiz said:
Eh?????????
So he see's an offence being committed and decides to check you out, that's what a roadside check is, he may then decide he needs the help of a PC so calls for assistance.
Get in the real world
Thats not a S4 PACE stop - S4 stop powers excludes stops for traffic offences.So he see's an offence being committed and decides to check you out, that's what a roadside check is, he may then decide he needs the help of a PC so calls for assistance.
Get in the real world
Now this is the sort of thing that increasingly bothers me.
We now have so much law relating to the ownership and use of motor vehicles, (and that is just one subject area), that even those involved with the law in a professional capacity can't agree with each other as to the true situation.
It has long been the case that ignorance of the law is no defence, and we've accepted that it was necessry to work on that basis, but that no longer seems to me to be reasonable. If we are to comply with the law, we need to know what the law requires of us, but that is no longer possible: there is too much of it and it is too complex.
So what is the answer? My preferred answer would be to have less law, and make it much simpler. Could that be done?
We now have so much law relating to the ownership and use of motor vehicles, (and that is just one subject area), that even those involved with the law in a professional capacity can't agree with each other as to the true situation.
It has long been the case that ignorance of the law is no defence, and we've accepted that it was necessry to work on that basis, but that no longer seems to me to be reasonable. If we are to comply with the law, we need to know what the law requires of us, but that is no longer possible: there is too much of it and it is too complex.
So what is the answer? My preferred answer would be to have less law, and make it much simpler. Could that be done?
PCSO's can be given extra authority by the CC. PCSO Andrew Seston was on traffic patrol in his Police car outside a school in High Wycombe when he pulled a car over. Unfortunately he had been drinking and was twice over the drink driving limit. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/pcso-an...
rewc said:
PCSO's can be given extra authority by the CC. PCSO Andrew Seston was on traffic patrol in his Police car outside a school in High Wycombe when he pulled a car over. Unfortunately he had been drinking and was twice over the drink driving limit. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/pcso-an...
Pulling cars over (other than for S4 search) ISNT one of the discretionary powers that can be designated by Chief officers. Just because Seston pulled the car over didnt mean he could.Simple answer to OP's question - no they cant - under these circumstances
Here's a somewhat weird perspective on it though:
Is there any law which prevents them "requesting" somebody to stop (as opposed to ordering them to stop)?
As an ordinary punter, I have no power to order a motorist to stop, but from a bicycle at traffic lights, I have previously advised a driver that he had a flat tyre. He pulled over immediately after.
Obviously there's a difference between warnign someone of a defect to their car and issuing a ticket, but the "Window down, brief exchange of words, car pulls over" is basically the same.
Is there any law which prevents them "requesting" somebody to stop (as opposed to ordering them to stop)?
As an ordinary punter, I have no power to order a motorist to stop, but from a bicycle at traffic lights, I have previously advised a driver that he had a flat tyre. He pulled over immediately after.
Obviously there's a difference between warnign someone of a defect to their car and issuing a ticket, but the "Window down, brief exchange of words, car pulls over" is basically the same.
The Met Police seem to be having another clamp down on cyclists jumping red lights and motorbikes or cars edging past an ASL into the cycle box at traffic lights.
They seem to be using a mixture of (Disgruntled) motorbike cops and PCSO (Who seem to be just interested in chatting to each other) to police this. I assume they're instructed to talk to offenders and in some cases take action.
I wish they would start doing this outside of central London as they've had good results in reducing it in Central London
They seem to be using a mixture of (Disgruntled) motorbike cops and PCSO (Who seem to be just interested in chatting to each other) to police this. I assume they're instructed to talk to offenders and in some cases take action.
I wish they would start doing this outside of central London as they've had good results in reducing it in Central London
GMP Cadishead and Irlam in Salford have a Facebook page. They regularly dress schoolkids up in hi viz and let them wear their PCSO caps and then go out and the kids speak to drivers of cars who are illegally parked in the vicinity of the school or drivers who are speeding. It pisses me right off. What would happen if one of the drivers verbally ripped into one of these kids and made them cry their f
king little eyes out???
king little eyes out??? dacouch said:
The Met Police seem to be having another clamp down on cyclists jumping red lights and motorbikes or cars edging past an ASL into the cycle box at traffic lights.
I wish they would start doing this outside of central London as they've had good results in reducing it in Central London
I like to think of the cycle box as pole position - it gives me a good 6 foot start on the guy in P2 at the lights.I wish they would start doing this outside of central London as they've had good results in reducing it in Central London
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