A Waste Of Space

Despite coming as no real surprise, I had another lesson today on the uselessness of PCSO's. Above is pictured a car parked outside my property this afternoon. As is abundantly clear by the picture it leaves no room for a pushchair to pass by let alone Mrs TBF's wheelchair.

So I visit neighbouring properties in an attempt to ascertain the owner, to no avail. I decide then to report it to the Police. Parking on a pavement is not actually an offence in itself, but under the Town and Police Clauses Act (1847) causing an obstruction is. In addition, PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence Act) gives the Police the power to arrest any person in order to prevent an obstruction to the highway. Failure to do so could also be argued that they are not complying with their duty to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people. I should make clear at this point I had no intention of wanting any kind of ticket on the vehicle in question - I just wanted the car moved...pronto.

Anyway when I called the non-emergency Police number, the nice chap at the end of the phone gave me a Unique Reference Number (URN) which is usually, in my experience, a Police term to mean sod off. And so two (rather young) PCSOs turn up at my doorstep 20 minutes later, only then to tell me they didn't have the power to do anything other than to place a warning sticker on the windscreen that, and I quote; "looks like an official fine but isn't". But helpfully - I use the term loosely - they informed me if it happened again then " a [real] Policeman would get involved". One wonders if it isn't illegal the first time why is it the second?

The PCSOs in question were clearly aware of the driver's address, telling me unwittingly - or perhaps otherwise - that "the driver had recently moved into the local street", but "unfortunately they were unable to do anything". On that information and with a quick Google search by myself I established where the driver lived. Subsequently I visited his property and after establishing he was owner of said car, I informed him firmly, but politely that his car had to move, which he duly did. Given that the PCSOs were aware of the registered address, why were they unable to do this?

So, in conclusion, what are the point of Police Community Support Officers again?

Double Trouble

I'm glad I'm not the only one to have had doubts about Stephen Lawrence's trial, this from Tim Worstall:

No [I'm not happy about it], not because I’m some scumbag racist, no, not because it’s a bad idea that murderers go to jail. Rather, this:

But in 2005 a chink of light emerged when the double jeopardy rule was abolished, meaning the men could be re-tried.

Double jeopardy is one of our protections against them. Us as citizens against those who would rule us.

The abolition of it leaves us open to continual prosecution: if they don’t manage to get a jury to convict us first time they can just try and try again.

This is a very good example of why hard cases make bad law. That racist murderers go to jail, Hurrah!

That all 65 million of us are stripped of a protection in order to do so, Booo!

I couldn't agree more. Yes racists scumbags deserve justice and nor do I have much sympathy for Norries who allegedly has had a hard time whilst inside, but double jeopardy was there for a reason - a very good reason. As with the RIP Act used against petty crime or terrorist legislation used against innocent football fans, the slippery slope is obvious, we all will be next: tried and tried again until they get the right answer.

Nicked

I've just had a bit of an eventful night. At about 5 this morning I performed my first citizen's arrest (sort of) for a crime that was rather bizarre.

Initially I had got out of bed to visit the bathroom. Whilst in there I could hear lots of gravel scraping sounds coming from outside. Thinking that a pesky pigeon was having a bath in my guttering I quietly opened the window, only to see two hooded figures in my neighbour's front garden. They were picking up handfuls of gravel and putting it into a rather large bag that was nearby.

I immediately awoke Mrs TBF (who was not amused) for her to phone Plod and, putting on a dressing gown and trainers, I ventured outside. They didn't see me coming until the last minute where upon they tried to run off. One got away but I managed to trip up the other one and when he fell I promptly sat on him.

Amazingly, the Police response was impressive, two plod cars turned up in under a minute and a half - which is just as well as sitting on a Polish (I think) chap in the middle of the road wearing only a dressing gown at 5 in the morning was getting a tad cold.

Naturally all the commotion and blue flashing lights woke half the street up, who being inquisitive emerged from their homes to see what all the fuss was about, some of whom I never spoken to before - it's one way to meet people I suppose.

So I apprehended a thief, met some neighbours who I haven't spoken to before and got a free beer from my neighbour out of it. Not a bad night's work.

But it still prompts the question, why gravel?

Reasonable Force

Well contrary to my expectations it appears that no charges will be brought in relation to the recent fatality during a botched burglary in Manchester:

Now a source close to the investigation has allegedly revealed it is highly unlikely Mr Flanagan will be charged because he used 'reasonable force'. A source told the Sunday Mirror: 'Peter Flanagan was a ­completely innocent man who was confronted with armed men in his home. I am confident he will not face any charges.'

Common sense prevails.

As an aside, one wonders who the Mail employed to conjure up this picture below to the illustrate the story:


I've seen some amateur Photoshop efforts in my time but...

Timing

When Cameron recently decided to regurgitate the same Labour nonsense on being robust against burglars and siding with householders - i.e. sound tough but not actually do anything, I don't think he expected his 'promise' to be tested quite so quickly:

A suspected burglar has been stabbed to death while apparently trying to break into a house in Greater Manchester.

And guess who's been arrested:

The man, 26, is believed to have been carried away by other members of a balaclava-clad gang as they fled, before being dumped in the street.

The householder, his son and son's girlfriend have been arrested.

Greater Manchester Police said it was treating the death as murder.

No charges as yet, but I won't be surprised if...

Left In The Dark

I have no wish to downplay the tragic plight of Madelaine McCann, and there's no doubt of the personal trauma of Madeline's parents, but this comment by Kate McCann irked:

"If your house is burgled you are automatically offered victim support with emotional, practical and legal assistance. If your child goes missing you may get nothing."

Automatically offered emotional, practical and legal assistance? No no no, not true. What happens when you get burgled (as someone who has experienced it many times) is the following response from an uninterested robot on the end of a phone:

"Here's your URN (Unique Reference Number) for insurance purposes, we're not interested, now sod off".

Victim support? Never heard of it. And don't get me started on the victims of disability abuse - the response from the 'robots' is exactly the same.

This is no personal reflection on Mrs McCann but to assume that burglary victims receive victim support help otherwise denied to mothers of missing children - who dominated the news for a not inconsiderable time - is misleading.

A Gardening Tip

Pyracantha, often called Firethorn (from pur = "fire" + akantha = "thorn") is an evergreen shrub which is excellent for growing against walls. They like to be planted in shade or semi-shade, and grow well against north or east facing walls. Some varieties have bright red glossy berries from late summer which last well into the winter.

Their main feature however is that they have large thorns which makes them rather impregnable; something which can be quite useful in certain circumstances.

Priorities

I had lunch today with a long-standing mate who I haven't seen for quite some time. Now, he works in the Met as a Detective Sergeant and quite often tells me stories about his experiences in work that are of the; 'you couldn't make it up' variety, pretty much along the lines of Inspector Gadget. Anyway I thought I would pass on this little story he told me today.

He's currently investigating a fatal stabbing in London which occurred in broad daylight. Naturally the road in question was covered by CCTV. So as part of routine inquires, tapes made at the relevant date and time were requested. However there was a problem...

Upon reviewing the tapes they could identify the victim, and the start of a fight with another man, but instead of zooming in to make identification clearer, the civilian camera operator zoomed away to a different part of the road.

Why?

Because he/she had noticed a car driving illegally in a bus lane on that road and they wanted to record the details, because that was the local council's priority. When the camera zoomed back to the fight the victim was lying on the ground having already been stabbed and the assailant had run off. As a consequence of the operator's actions the CCTV footage has proved useless at identifying the perpetrator.

And there was me thinking that CCTV "is one of the ways we keep people safe and make people feel safer in our communities"

Protect Yourself First

From the Parliament:

Three Belgian Liberal MPs have called for "significantly" increased security around the European quarter in Brussels.

They say feelings of "insecurity" in the area have reached such a scale that higher-profile policing is "vitally" necessary.

One of the parliamentarians, Denis Ducarme, said many people who live and work in the area, roughly stretching from Place Luxembourg to Schuman, had complained about a lack of police presence and a "feeling of insecurity".

He said many of the problems reported to police related to relatively minor incidents, such as pick pocketing and car crime but there had also been cases of muggings and threats of violence.

He said that if Belgium wants to keep the EU institutions, including parliament, and other related bodies in the city "it must provide adequate security".

Dutch MEP Wim van de Camp has criticised security arrangements at parliament, saying more staff are needed to deal with the increasing number of visitors.

Lack of police presence? Petty Crime? Of course they're different they need protecting, us mortals just have to suffer. How things never change!

It's Only A Cat

It seems that the world continues to seek blood letting revenge for the woman who dumped a cat in a wheelie bin. She is now receiving death threats, has her house surrounded by vigilantes and is now being facing the draconian wrath of the RSPCA.

At first I assumed that she was caught by CCTV in the street, but if you look at the photo of the owner's house closely you will see, not one, but three cameras. So the question no-one seems to be asking in the furore is why does the owner feel the need to cover his house with cameras in the first place?

We really haven't got our priorities right.