Can't they find anything better to do with their time?

[All that jazz]

I often finish work in the small hours and go home via the Armley gyratory. This is about the 5th time in as many weeks I've seen the traffic plod positioning themselves in the gateway to the centre of the roundabout so they can hide and catch people jumping the lights coming out of the town centre. I come round from the M621 so I'm going the other way but it's nigh on impossible to see them there if you're coming out of town. 4.30am, hardly anything on the roads apart from people making safe progress to/from work or whatever and this is all they can find to do with their time? Make me sick that some of my taxes are paying for this BS.

[bobbins]

Can't see the problem. What else are they meant to be doing?

I wouldn't bet on everyone driving at half four in the morning being sensible. I'd say it's the classic time for a DDer/crim to be out and about. Jump the lights on your way to work - probably on your way with no points, no fine, just a word of warning. Jump the lights with a gallon of piss in your system or a stash of robbed gear on the back seat - different story.

I do a fair few miles at all hours and rarely see a traffic cop these days. The fact you only see them when it's quiet could have something to do with their workload.

[markmullen]

Are they really waiting there for red light jumpers?

Or are they positioned on a main arterial of Leeds waiting for travelling criminals either coming from, or going to, criminal activities?

[Defcon5]

markmullen said:

Or are they positioned on a main arterial of Leeds waiting for travelling criminals either coming from, or going to, criminal activities?

This

[smudger186]

"apart from people making safe progress to/from work or whatever and this is all they can find to do with their time"

Or some thieving b*****d in a nicked car, full of somebody else's possessions..... you would soon be moaning if they sat on their arse's back at the station watching telly !!!!!

[Petrolhead_Rich]

markmullen said:

Are they really waiting there for red light jumpers?

Or are they positioned on a main arterial of Leeds waiting for travelling criminals either coming from, or going to, criminal activities?

this, oh and drunk drivers also jump lights or use main roads, also jumping red lights is an offence that has caused numerous deaths, if a taxi jumps the lights and hits a young lad on a moped on his way home from his nighttime warehouse job for example, then would it be a waste of time???

[All that jazz]

I forgot that this site is populated by plod, plod apologists and if-you've-done-nothing-wrong brigade.

[Zoobeef]

Are you saying that at night its ok to jump the lights?
I never knew this!

[All that jazz]

Zoobeef said:

Are you saying that at night its ok to jump the lights?
I never knew this!

No I did not say that as you well know. But given all the posts by resident plod on these very forums about how hard done by they are and how stretched for resources they always are, parking their X5 up behind a hedge at 4 in the morning to catch people committing the heinous crime of going through an amber light on an empty road is hardly an appropriate use of their time unless you have proof to show me that crime is now non-existent across Leeds and all previous crimes have been solved/dealt with.

Strange how all the easy revenue generating crimes get priority whereas any crimes that actually require some legwork or don't generate any revenue are quickly consigned to the CBA round file.

[markmullen]

You're still assuming they're there for red lights?

[turboman786]

The bottom line is however good a job plod do, I can't stand traffic cops!!

[swindler]

Quite frankly I think a huge proportion of traffic lights could be switched to "proceed with caution" on say a flashing amber, or even off altogether, at night. Especially those on roundabouts where they are installed as flow reduction.

[Greensleeves]

Police should go round checking every house to make sure it's not being burgled. Jazz is absolutely right!

[burriana]

All that jazz said:

I forgot that this site is populated by plod, plod apologists and if-you've-done-nothing-wrong brigade.

Bit of a narrow viewpoint there Jazz. Hear what people are saying; 4am, no live calls to attend, what should they do? Sit in the warm station or, sit at a main arterial junction where they can a) get somewhere quickly or b) maybe just catch someone not driving how they should which may or may not lead to a bigger catch?

They can't be busy all the time and, if I did jump a red light at 4am and got caught I would just put it down to stupidity and bad luck that I chose a junction with a bored Traff Pol sat there!

[C2'S'man]

turboman786 said:

The bottom line is however good a job plod do, I can't stand traffic cops!!

Be sure to tell that to the TC, who is the first on the scene of an accident you may be involved in.

The one where you are trapped, seriously injured and in agony.....

[N7GTX]

C2'S'man said:

turboman786 said:

The bottom line is however good a job plod do, I can't stand traffic cops!!

Be sure to tell that to the TC, who is the first on the scene of an accident you may be involved in.

The one where you are trapped, seriously injured and in agony.....

Yes and then he/she is trapped himself from helping you by oodles of red tape, health and safety, first aid techniques (do not move etc) so even if he/she wanted to probably could not do much other than hold your hand.

[Defcon5]

N7GTX said:

first aid techniques (do not move etc) so even if he/she wanted to probably could not do much other than hold your hand.

Maybe not hold your hand, but holding your head may be the difference between you spending the rest of your life in a wheelchair or not