Where's the justice?!
Discussion
OK. This stems of a previous topic of mine and the fact that there seems to be lots of coppers on this forum.
I'm one of those who enjoys the odd Police Camera Action programs on TV. Always interesting to watch but how come half of these criminals usually come out with no more than a slap on the wrist!? No wonder they go out and commit the same crime again because they know they'll simply get away with it.
Again. Another good example was where I reported a car being stolen just outside my student home in Portsmouth a few years back. The police created a road block and caught the buggers. I later found out they were all released with nothing more than a caution! What's going on here?
Now a year later, I was stopped for speeding and fined £60 with 3 points. My crime was to exceed the speed by 4mph doing just 34mph in a 30. OK, I broke the speed limit but that margin is easily done. That hardly makes me a criminal however the copper that stopped me was an unmarked police bike and he then tried to do me for my exhaust pipe (legal I might add), and then my back tyre. Again legal as I had the bike serviced the day before and happened to have the service report in my pocket proving him wrong.
He wasn't convinced and told me to get the tyre changed or the next time he saw me he would do me again!?!? What's that about!?
The next day, I went to hand in all my credentials to the local police station and the same copper saw me again. He immediately went up to my bike and then had a go at me for riding my bike with the tyre in its present condition! (BUT ITS STILL LEGAL!!!) Unsuprisingly I was quite peeved off and was quite rude to the copper and he let me go still insisting I get it changed!
Now it's instances like this that put a bad face on the police. Why not punish these reoffenders with serious punishments rather than "warnings" and give us the "almost" law obiding folk. (4mph over the limit is hardly majorly criminal!), those warnings?
That £60 fine and 3 points pushed up my insurance by about £50 for 3 years so that's a total of £210 for straying 4 mph over the limit. Bit harsh for someone who's never been in trouble with the law before don't you think?
>>> Edited by beanbag on Wednesday 24th November 11:48
I'm one of those who enjoys the odd Police Camera Action programs on TV. Always interesting to watch but how come half of these criminals usually come out with no more than a slap on the wrist!? No wonder they go out and commit the same crime again because they know they'll simply get away with it.
Again. Another good example was where I reported a car being stolen just outside my student home in Portsmouth a few years back. The police created a road block and caught the buggers. I later found out they were all released with nothing more than a caution! What's going on here?
Now a year later, I was stopped for speeding and fined £60 with 3 points. My crime was to exceed the speed by 4mph doing just 34mph in a 30. OK, I broke the speed limit but that margin is easily done. That hardly makes me a criminal however the copper that stopped me was an unmarked police bike and he then tried to do me for my exhaust pipe (legal I might add), and then my back tyre. Again legal as I had the bike serviced the day before and happened to have the service report in my pocket proving him wrong.
He wasn't convinced and told me to get the tyre changed or the next time he saw me he would do me again!?!? What's that about!?
The next day, I went to hand in all my credentials to the local police station and the same copper saw me again. He immediately went up to my bike and then had a go at me for riding my bike with the tyre in its present condition! (BUT ITS STILL LEGAL!!!) Unsuprisingly I was quite peeved off and was quite rude to the copper and he let me go still insisting I get it changed!
Now it's instances like this that put a bad face on the police. Why not punish these reoffenders with serious punishments rather than "warnings" and give us the "almost" law obiding folk. (4mph over the limit is hardly majorly criminal!), those warnings?
That £60 fine and 3 points pushed up my insurance by about £50 for 3 years so that's a total of £210 for straying 4 mph over the limit. Bit harsh for someone who's never been in trouble with the law before don't you think?
>>> Edited by beanbag on Wednesday 24th November 11:48
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