Police - difficult job

[Russ]

When you hear of stories such as this, it just goes to show how difficult a job they have. The 2 officers were chasing people who they thought were burgulars, and this is what happens.

[gazzae]

I don't see a problem with it, they weren't qualified to take part in a high speed pursuit.

[Russ]

Agreed, but they were chasing suspected criminals. A police internal disciplinery matter maybe, but not the courts.

[gazzae]

Why not? They broke the law, they should be held accountable like anyone else.

Anyway as soon as the chase became dangerous they should have broken off and followed at a safe distance from the other carriageway.

as put by gazzae they broke the law they should get done for it.
the trouble is with coppers now they love a pursuit chase,its there chance to get there jollies without getting done.
its about time a few coppers got done when they break the law,it mighn't make me and a few ather motorists feel less aggrieved next time we get done,to know that know its no longer one law for us and one for them.
personally i think they should thjrow the book at them.

[MovedGoalPosts]

There are so many rules and regulations affecting the police, and indeed any emergency services vehicle driver.

In simple terms they may be given authorisation by the service they work for to use blues and twos. If they have that authorisation, they can exceed the speed limit, go through red lights, etc, but they are still under a duty of care, and must still drive safely within the limits of the additional training they will have had. These divers can still be prosecuted for dangerous or careless driving, etc.

If a driver does not have the blues and twos authorisation, then he / she must always drive withing the road traffic regulations, and if he / she does not, she is open to prosecution. Similarly if there is no emergency, a driver should drive to normal traffic regulations.

If there is a pursuit, there are clear guidelines laid down by each force as to how these should be conducted. Most forces have taken the responsibility for control of a pursuit away from the driver on the ground, and given it to the inspector in charge of the force control room. That inspector has the final say as to who pursues, if anyone. If the officers ignore that command, however well trained they might be they will be open to disciplinary regulations, and if something goes wrong as well, their having ignored a command will add to the seriousness of any criminal offence as they will have been seen not to have behaved in a reasonable manner.

In the UK we police by consent. That means the police must work within the law, and not be above it.

[wheeliebin]

Originally Posted by gazzae

Why not? They broke the law, they should be held accountable like anyone else.

Anyway as soon as the chase became dangerous they should have broken off and followed at a safe distance from the other carriageway.

Agreed...thank god no one was injured.

[Simon Rochelle]

I feel sorry for the police, they risk there lives everyday to make the place safer for us. yet our current goverment does nothing but persecute them taking the initative and trying to do what is right.

There job is definetly a difficult one, and it is made more and more difficult by things like this. Lets face it, if your a police person, and your see a criminal or suspected crimnal zoom off in there car, why should they bother chasing them anymore, knowing they will only be persecuted by the very people they are there to help.

[gazzae]

Originally Posted by Simon Rochelle

I feel sorry for the police, they risk there lives everyday to make the place safer for us. yet our current goverment does nothing but persecute them taking the initative and trying to do what is right.

There job is definetly a difficult one, and it is made more and more difficult by things like this. Lets face it, if your a police person, and your see a criminal or suspected crimnal zoom off in there car, why should they bother chasing them anymore, knowing they will only be persecuted by the very people they are there to help.

I have no problem with a properly trained police officer chasing criminals, a police officer who knows when to pursue and when to back off because of the dangers.

This article has an untrained officer, an officer not premitted to carry out pursuits, pursuing the criminal the WRONG way down a dual carriageway

You can tell there was something wrong with what the officer was doing by this quote in the article

James Platt, an off-duty police officer who witnessed the chase, told the court he phoned the control room, in Wrexham, and demanded that Pc Bedford be ordered to stop the pursuit.

[punky]

It doesn't matter wether he was trained or not, police drivers are always held accountable. My dad is ex-job and he was an IRV (Instant Response Vehicle) driver for the Met Police. He was permitted to chase criminals, but if he damaged the car, or anyone/anything else, then it would have to be reported and he'd face an investigation. If he jumped a red light chasing someone and crashed (or was going too fast and crashed), then he'd be repsonsible. The fact that he was in pursuit would not be accepted as a valid excuse.

It is a very thin line they have to drive. Between pushing the limits of their driving and the police coming down on them like a ton of bricks if they make an error.