Anyone on here getting a twitchy backside?

Anyone on here getting a twitchy backside?

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BDZ

Original Poster:

583 posts

177 months

Friday 28th May 2010
quotequote all
http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/c...


"After a car is caught on a speed camera a notice of intention to prosecute is issued and sent to the registered keeper of the vehicle.

In the scam, the notice was sent back with false information informing the authorities that the driver was somebody else living at an address in Tameside or Manchester.

A new notice was then issued to that address. But when it was received it was sent back again to police informing them the driver was another person living at another address.

If a case is not brought to court within six months, proceedings have to be discontinued.

Police estimated that the operation has seen hundreds of drivers in England, Scotland and Wales have avoided about 2,000 penalty points on their licences with £40,000 in fines remaining unpaid.

It is estimated that one address in Hattersley was used 500 times by those behind the scam.

Officers are now looking for drivers who may be involved in the case."

streaky

19,311 posts

250 months

Friday 28th May 2010
quotequote all
BDZ said:
If a case is not brought to court within six months, proceedings have to be discontinued.
Wrong! A summons has to be laid before the Court within six months. It is not beholden upon the police to wait for the 'ping-pong' to complete - Streaky

oldsoak

5,618 posts

203 months

Friday 28th May 2010
quotequote all
streaky said:
BDZ said:
If a case is not brought to court within six months, proceedings have to be discontinued.
Wrong! A summons has to be laid before the Court within six months. It is not beholden upon the police to wait for the 'ping-pong' to complete - Streaky
Streaky AFAIK you cannot issue a summons against "A.N Other" there has to be a named party...and if you cannot determine that name within the six months.....of course the Police can jump off the merry go round at any point and summons someone (perhaps the Reg Keeper) but without the evidence of the driver owning up via the S172 notice, they may well have a great deal of trouble gaining a conviction and it would be doubtful that the CPS would be willing to waste time prosecuting it.
(btw BDZ didn't actually SAY that he pasted it from the article he linked to...)

smile

Dwight VanDriver

6,583 posts

245 months

Friday 28th May 2010
quotequote all
streaky said:
BDZ said:
If a case is not brought to court within six months, proceedings have to be discontinued.
Wrong! A summons has to be laid before the Court within six months. It is not beholden upon the police to wait for the 'ping-pong' to complete - Streaky
It's the information that has to be taken out within 6 months. If done summons can be taken out anytime after wards and more than 6 months.

CC Hughes, when he took over from Blunderbus as ACPO head of Traffic promised an iron fist against anyone trying to circumvent the system and did have some success with few notable PCJ cases. No doubt in the back offices the wheels will still be churning..................fiddlers beware.

dvd

Stubby Pete

2,488 posts

247 months

Friday 28th May 2010
quotequote all
Article said:
Police estimated that the operation has seen hundreds of drivers in England, Scotland and Wales have avoided about 2,000 penalty points on their licences with £40,000 in fines remaining unpaid.
How can that be right? Surely there are no fines yet as the identity of the person to whom the fine can be issued has yet to be identified.

Sensationalist press reporting or just scamera bull$hit?

fluffnik

20,156 posts

228 months

Tuesday 15th June 2010
quotequote all
Dwight VanDriver said:
CC Hughes, when he took over from Blunderbus as ACPO head of Traffic promised an iron fist against anyone trying to circumvent the system and did have some success with few notable PCJ cases.
ACPO are by far the biggest PCJ out there.

Purge them.

Entirely. smile

Derek Smith

45,762 posts

249 months

Tuesday 15th June 2010
quotequote all
BDZ said:
http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/c...


"After a car is caught on a speed camera a notice of intention to prosecute is issued and sent to the registered keeper of the vehicle.

In the scam, the notice was sent back with false information informing the authorities that the driver was somebody else living at an address in Tameside or Manchester.

A new notice was then issued to that address. But when it was received it was sent back again to police informing them the driver was another person living at another address.

If a case is not brought to court within six months, proceedings have to be discontinued.

Police estimated that the operation has seen hundreds of drivers in England, Scotland and Wales have avoided about 2,000 penalty points on their licences with £40,000 in fines remaining unpaid.

It is estimated that one address in Hattersley was used 500 times by those behind the scam.

Officers are now looking for drivers who may be involved in the case."
Such things have been going on for ages. Police never used to persue the 'difficult' cases. Not worth the aggro. Every force in this country that has travellers on their ground have a list of endex numbers that they don't even bother to process. No police will go into such a site for speeding (or some minor thefts either come to that) and they won't stop when driving either. So what's the point.

Middle class? Follow the rules? Just open your wallet and say: Help yourself. The SCPs are there to make money. That does not include chasing people as this can cost.

Officers are now looking, are they?

jakesmith

9,461 posts

172 months

Tuesday 15th June 2010
quotequote all
" Every force in this country that has travellers on their ground have a list of endex numbers that they don't even bother to process.... and they won't stop when driving either. "

Sorry I don't believe this, many motoring offences are arrestable & vehicles can be confiscated on the spot for no tax, insurance, license, so why would they not stop such cars

plg

4,106 posts

211 months

Tuesday 15th June 2010
quotequote all
jakesmith said:
" Every force in this country that has travellers on their ground have a list of endex numbers that they don't even bother to process.... and they won't stop when driving either. "

Sorry I don't believe this, many motoring offences are arrestable & vehicles can be confiscated on the spot for no tax, insurance, license, so why would they not stop such cars
So... given that travellers are often of "no fixed abode" (or not of a post office address), how do insurance policies get issued? And if the vehicle is spending *none* of its time at that address, surely the insurance is invalidated? Or will brokers issue insurance for no fixed abode?

BDZ

Original Poster:

583 posts

177 months

Tuesday 15th June 2010
quotequote all
plg said:
So... given that travellers are often of "no fixed abode" (or not of a post office address), how do insurance policies get issued? And if the vehicle is spending *none* of its time at that address, surely the insurance is invalidated? Or will brokers issue insurance for no fixed abode?
They often seem to be registered to static caravan sites for some reason...

jakesmith

9,461 posts

172 months

Tuesday 15th June 2010
quotequote all
Sorry I might be being naive but after watching 7 series of Road Wars I believe if there's no insurance the vehicle will be confiscated & crushed. If the driver is suspected of drink driving they aren't going to let it go unchecked because it is driven by travelers, that's my point

Derek Smith

45,762 posts

249 months

Tuesday 15th June 2010
quotequote all
jakesmith said:
" Every force in this country that has travellers on their ground have a list of endex numbers that they don't even bother to process.... and they won't stop when driving either. "

Sorry I don't believe this, many motoring offences are arrestable & vehicles can be confiscated on the spot for no tax, insurance, license, so why would they not stop such cars
I think you misunderstood my point. The travellers won't stop. A few unpaid tickets when you know that they will not identify the driver. I would not have authorised a rolling stop or stinger for that when I was in the FCR. So it will be a follow and then they get to the gate of the site and what? Will your standing orders allow you go in then?

In my force there were a list of numbers that were known to be impossible to serve summonses on. You stop one for speeding. He says he wasn't the driver on all those other tickets as someone else on the site must have used the van without his knowledge. So you are stuck with just the one ticket. Start confiscating their vehicles in a manner that you would not do for any other group and you'll have all sorts of complaints and they will be unpheld.

Down my way they use A roads, including the A27, for trotting. They block the road and two or more go off racing. The police actually close the side roads off when they do it. No prosecutions.

I had a call to a hotel. They told me that 'travellers' were there with a solicitor. It would appear that they wanted to book their hall for a wedding. The proprietor had initially refused because he'd had a similar wedding at a previous hotel he'd managed and the hotel was damaged so badly that it was closed for some weeks.

I'd been briefed as to the likely problems with the solicitor, actually a 'lay' representative of a solicitors firm that specialised in such matters. So I turned up in civvies and my sergeant ordered me about and called me DC. I was ordered to go over to the manager while he dealt with the very stroppy non-solicitor. But I had to say to the chap that unless they knew something about the specific person or those he would be inviting he was stuck. Anything else would be racial discimination.

We put a PSU on that night but it was called away and the much anticipated fight started with back-up some quarter of an hour distant. Some damage sustained, a few arrested but it was just a hotel that had to pay so who cared? When they didn't turn up in court to answer their bail very few of us were shocked. A caravan is a fixed abode you know.

The only bright spot, at least according to my sergeant, was the response when he told the make-believe solicitor: Well thanks for the information. It was very interesting. I'll go and tell my inspector now. That was him just leaving. She swore at him but, as he told her, it was she who demanded to talk to him. I expected a complaint - it was a cheap trick, my speciality I suppose - but none came.