To hate the police?

[DrHolmes]

BF was pulled over by an unmarked police car today. He got out of his van and was told he was not wearing his seatbelt and they issued him with a £60 ticket. I came home from work and he told me the story and told me he was wearing it. He has a beeper that goes off every few seconds if he doesnt have it on and no one would drive about listening to that. I know he is telling the truth. If we appeal it then we put our case forward and then goes to court but if the fiscal find the police in favour we will have a higher fine. But i do not want him to pay the fine because that is letting them away with this. Corrupt filth. Not sure what to do :/

Yes, no big deal to phone and complain about something that has nothing to do with you

How old is your BF. He can drive, so clearly over 17, but can't he fight his own battles.

oh for goodness sake

The "corrupt filth" don't hand out sentences.

FFs

He was going out and I wanted to call them before they closed. Really not seeing the big deal here wintry

vicar I said I would't be screaming! I will try and find out if they have a camera then. I am trusting my partner, he doesn't have a reason to lie and he really wouldn't.

Funny how it seems to be the case that people who label the Police as 'filth' are the ones who have regular dealings with them...

wintry - I know that. Amillionyears was referring to another coment i made in another post last week.

Vicar , you're right . Thank you . It's been a long long week , and I should know better . Thanks for reminding me of that . Genuinely and with no sarcasm implied or intended.

I too am going to disappear to a much more interesting topic . A new pony !

MrsBW - I haven't had regular dealings with them.

Plomino I envy you the new pony :)

Regardless of opinions about the police; I would send a letter with the cheque for £60, copied to my MP saying something like:

Dear Sirs

I am enclosing a cheque for £60.00 in relation to the fine issued by PCx and PCx on x date.

I would like to point out that I immediately undid my seatbelt as soon as I was pulled over as a matter of courtesy to the two policemen who I did not expect to have to come to my car to speak to me. I also thought it was helpful to get out and speak to them directly and face to face.

Whilst I appreciate the two officers may have been mistaken and quite understand this, I would like to point out that I was wearing a black top, sitting in a black seat and the seat belt is also black. In those circumstances I appreciate the two officers may have been mistaken.

I think it is a little regrettable that a fine has been issued in the circumstances and can assure you that I was wearing a seatbelt. I would find it most helpful if either of the two officers would provide any evidence that I was not wearing a seat belt and would be grateful to receive any photographs taken of me in the care that evidence that I was not wearing a seatbelt.

with best wishes.

Yours faithfully
The OP's BF.

If he really wasn't wearing a seat belt and is happy to send such a letter, I bet you get your cheque sent back.

And next time your bf is pulled over, tell him to stay in the car seat and pull down his window to speak to the officers; at which point he should ask if they would like him to get out.

DrHolmes then you have even less cause to call them 'corrupt filth' don't you?

In my experience, the ones to shout their mouths off about the Police are the ones who, if they just behaved themselves for 5 minutes would have far less cause for complaint.

MrsBW - I did apologise for my first OP and said I was angry when I posted.

Thanks married. He has been told!

I have had three dealings with the police, and every time they have let me down and/or lied.

I have talked about this before on Mn and elsewhere, but here goes again.

1. During the great snows of 2009 I was walking my dogs in the woods and a man shot an air-rifle at me. i called the police, gave them directions to where I was, plus a description AS THIS WAS HAPPENING IN REAL TIME and was told ' we do not have any units in the area but if we need to call you can we do so on this number?' i.e. the mobile i was calling from in some distress. i heard nothing further. At the time i was utterly terrified and panicking.

1. a few years ago when we had drunk violent people screaming and fighting outside our door on a Saturday pm. i was told 'we have no units in the area, i can give you the phone number of the environmental agency and you can make a complaint on monday about the noise'.

1. about 6 months ago when Dh and i were driving, and we were pulled over and Dh said in genuine confusion 'why have you stopped me?; and the policeman screamed in his face 'don't you dare question me. Are you questioning me?' and when DH said 'no, i am asking you a question' and the reply was ' i will have you for being disrespectful'.

We are still waiting to hear the outcome of that one, as Dh got a ticket, but it says that if you hear nothing further for 6 months, then no charges are laid. i was THERE, and DH was NOT doing anything wrong and was NOT disrespectful, merely confused.

So, TBH, I look at the police and only feel hostility and wariness.

can i just say- genuinely - a black belt against a black top still has a nice silver buckle that is really obvious if its not plugged in....

just saying.

i suspect however nice your BF is that he is fibbing but let it go to court if you are totally sure. let a magistrate decide.

plom - i shall be picking your pony brains soon - its coming together at last and i reckon another 8 months and ill be pony buying too! My sgt says im impossible to wind up....im getting that way the longer i last in this job! ive learned there is no reasoning with the unreasonable!

No idea whether the OP's chap was in the right or the wrong but some police officers are power-hungry bullies. Some are decent human beings trying to make the world a better place.

I've done jury service in the past, and I remember two cases on which I was a juror (one after the other) - in the first one, the police were lazy, arrogant racist thugs. In the second, the defendent was a lying little chancer and the police officers honest and competent.

However, as some local councils use parking offences as a frankly dubious money-making tactic, I wonder if the same applies to minor traffic offences in some areas?

BUt let's not forget that some police officers are really bad people.

and lets not forget that some people are really bad

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-21365109

They didn't say anything about a siilver buckle they just said there was a gap inbetween my bf and the door.

DrHolmes you said 'apologies to those who were offended' (I wasn't, I just think the view you initially expressed is idiotic) and then proceeded to call police 'bullies on a power trip'. Another generalisation. They may be some bullies, but not all.

By all means avail yourself of the appeals process and hopefully you'll be successful.

Eugusta

Scenario 1 - That's awful. Did you complain?

Scenario 2 - Unfortunately unless there was immediate risk to life or property (which there may have been?), if there were no units available, I can kind of understand.

Scenario 3 - What was the 'ticket' for?

I worked quite closely with the Police in a previous job.

I don't think they are corrupt, but a proportion of them were as thick as mince and some were clearly are on a power trip. It seemed that this was inversely proportionate to the actual power they weilded. The Plastic Cops (PCSOs) being the absolute worst of the lot.

In my experience the younger ones who seem to think they are robbo-cop and a handful whilst not corrupt seemed to revel in their capacity to bully and intimidate people. Others were lovely, fair minded and the salt of the earth.

On the whole, Older cops I have come across at work seem more measured and reasonable in their approach. One old bugger who was coming up to retirement and spent most of his shift in the bookies. He was known as the Gurka as he didn't take any prisoners.

TBF - I have only ever found the police entirely polite and entirely helpful. They even once called us at 2.30am in the morning because they found an Oyster card with our surname on it, belonging to an under 18, in the possession of someone they had arrested. It didn't belong to either of our children but we have a very unusual name; and they called on the pretext that our dc were safe and hadn't had anything stolen. We were rather irked at the time and DH made a point of calling the commanding officer the next day and noting that he was concerned that they had tried to keep someone in the cellss for longer than necessary on spurious evidence and over an Oyster card - although probably not an Oyster card that person should have been in possession of and I seem to recall they were concerned that if it were our daughter we might have been concerned if she hadn't come home .

ok. What im saying is that its very clear if someone is not wearing a belt because if you have eyes you can see the silver buckle....but im going to stop now because you believe your DP. thats fine. go to court.

there is always a gap between the door and a person - unless its a very unusual car. i can guarantee that you are not getting the full story.

but go to court and argue with the magistrate. I am very much hoping they do have video evidence. In my experience not many officers will go to the lengths of giving a ticket unless they are 100% sure.
now ive been trying to help but i think you should go to court. I think you are going to end up with egg on your face and you will be very silent on the subject after your court date.

Ok thanks Vicar. Yes i do believe him and we will go to court but thanks for your input.

oh and unless you were there you cannot possibly know for sure what their evidence is - i can tell you now its not going to be a gap between him and the door.....

Mrs BW

Scenario 1 - no, as I was in the process of trying for my permanent residency visa to stay here (I am a bloody migrant :) ) and was scared to complain just in case. As it happens, a little bit after that The Times and libby Purves were collecting stories of that sort and I sent it in under my actual name, but after I got my visa.

Sceanrio 2 - no risk to property but there was alot of screaming, and i did not go outside, and the next day there was no evidence of anything (blood. vomit etc)

Sceanrio 3 - 'driving dangerously'. something like that. We were pulled over when Dh pulled out from a single road that merged into a dual carriageway. I am a nervous passenger at the best of times (not least because we had our 2 year old in the car) and i was a bit nonplussed.

MRS BW you put it perfectly.