Monthly Archive for February, 2009

Recognition

Published on February 28, 2009 in The Job - Comment. Closed

written by 200 from 200 Weeks

So what did your force give you as a marker of your thirty years’ service?

I know of lots of people who have retired after a life of service to a particular company & get presented with some kind of memento by the company, be it a gold watch, a clock or a framed certificate.

This doesn’t appear to happen in the police service. I have no idea whether it happens in any of the other public services.

I’m not talking about a personal gift you might get from the team of colleagues you have personally worked with, who may chip in to buy some kind of leaving present. I’m talking about something given by the company as a little recognition for several decades of loyal service.

You get fuck-all in my force. Well, that’s not strictly true, you do get a pathetic little note which says you gave 30 years of your life with exemplary service, but quite frankly I’d be embarassed to show it to anyone, you wouldn’t know it was a certificate of service, it looks more like something that came out of the chief constable’s paper recycling bin.

So what happens in other forces, my regular retirees will know… so spill the beans!

The original post can be found http://200weeks.police999.com/archives/1304

The Final Inspection

Published on February 27, 2009 in The Job - General. Closed

written by 200 from 200 Weeks

Something a little different today. There’s no particular reason I reproduce this poem at this time other than I like it & there isn’t a bad time to think about those who have gone before us.

Not written by me (if you know who the author was, please let me know).

The Final Inspection

The policeman stood and faced his God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining.
Just as brightly as his brass.

“Step foreword now, policeman.
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My church have you been true?”

The policeman squared his shoulders and said,
“No, Lord, I guess I aint,
Because those of us who carry badges
can’t always be a saint.

I’ve had to work most Sundays,
and at times my talk was rough,
and sometimes I’ve been violent,
Because the streets are awfully tough.

But I never took a penny,
That wasn’t mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
when the bills got just too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,
Thought at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I’ve wept unmanly tears.

I know I don’t deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
except to calm their fear.

If you’ve a place for me here, Lord,
It needn’t be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
but if you don’t…I’ll understand.

There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod.
As the policeman waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.

“Step foreword now, policeman,
You’ve borne your burdens well
Come walk a beat on Heaven’s streets,
You’ve done your time in hell.”

The original post can be found http://200weeks.police999.com/archives/1299

Still Going Round The Sun

Published on February 27, 2009 in Its An Easy Job, My back pages, Orwell Prize and police blog. Closed

written by nightjack from NIGHTJACK - AN ENGLISH DETECTIVE

I feel a nosebleed coming on. The longlists for the Orwell Prize have been released and I made it onto the bloggers list.

I am chuffed, really really very chuffed. Mrs. Night is also chuffed but worried that Orwell nomination may lead to a bit too much light heading in my anonymous direction. The happiest people of all seem to be my Mum and Dad. Forty something years on and it’s like passing the 11+ all over again.

Anyway…

Two of the bloggers on the list are people that I read regularly and generally enjoy. Hopi Sen is always thoughtful and interesting. Iain Dale has single handedly created the behemoth presence in the blue corner of British politics. I am getting round to reading some of the other listed blogs.

Peoples Republic of Mortimer is such a good name, it is one of those blogs that I have heard about but not visited. I should have gone for a look earlier.

Heresiarch is a good read with posts on every topic under the sun except the obvious. His take on the list chimes with me “Still, enough about me. What of the competition? It’s a mixed bag. The biggest name still in the competition, blog-wise, is probably Iain Dale. There are also two top BBC types, Mark Easton and Paul Mason, and Oliver Kamm, now of the Times. So no pressure. Joining them are a couple of top-flight Labour bloggers, Tom Harris MP (who blogs far too much for a serving MP, in my humble) and Hopi Sen. And there’s a leavening of small fry, among whom I suppose I must count myself.” I am certainly with him in the shoal of fry.

Then there is Neil Robertson with The Bleeding Heart Show. He says “But where blogs might differ in their motivations, ideology, tone and voice, the one unifying thread which runs through this huge, diffuse blogsophere is that they’re all written by people who believe this country can be made better than it is today. In an age which is supposed to be more apathetic than those which have gone before, that’s something pretty special.” His better may not be my better but the blog is a very good read.

As I have said before, I know that my blog is a very short lever. I estimate my chances of informing the big debates as slim to none. I am not “evidence based” and I don’t have any research projects or consultancy to sell. Making the long list in something like The Orwell Prize is as good as it gets. I started this blog 12 months and 200 odd posts ago, when I noticed that my responses as a reader on Inspector Gadget were getting as long as the Guv’s original posts. I caught the blogging bug and began what we called in my youth “stoking the fad.” Since then I have had the opportunity to join the lists in the many arguments surrounding the criminal justice system and I have had the genuine pleasure of reading comments from a lot of readers. The readership has slowly climbed to about 1,000 a day. I still get a bit of a buzz when something I have written gets linked by somewhere better known and the readership heads north of 2,000.

Take care everyone and see you after the Sergeants exams next month unless of course something particularly blood boilingly stupid comes out of the usual suspects or I wake one morning knowing that elusive secret to offender rehabilitation that has eluded us for so very long.

orwell-blog-prize-longlist-1 Restating The Obvious

The original post can be found http://nightjack.wordpress.com/2009/02/27/still-going-round-the-sun/

Published on February 26, 2009 in Uncategorized. Closed

written by PC Bloggs from PC Bloggs - a Twenty-first Century Police Officer

Please drop in on this worthy cause:

http://inspectorgadget.wordpress.com/2009/02/20/donors-urgently-needed-for-ben-aged-16/

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'Diary of an On-Call Girl' is available in some bookstores and online.

The original post can be found http://pcbloggs.blogspot.com/2009/02/please-drop-in-on-this-worthy-cause.html

Oh Say, Do You see?

Published on February 26, 2009 in The Job - Comment. Closed

written by 200 from 200 Weeks

Elizabeth Truss - there’s an name to conjure with - is deputy director of Reform, a think-tank. They’ve been looking at policing recently and have done lots of thinking in their tank, wherever that is. According to their website Reform is “An independent, non-party think tank whose mission is to set out a better way to deliver public services and economic prosperity“.

They’ve come to the conclusion that the country doesn’t have enough police forces. Apparently 43 is too many by half. They want us to split up into at least 95 forces. Their rationale is that smaller police forces deal better with local crime & problems, anbd we’re not doing well enough currently.

Those with an interest in history will know that prior to the 1960s we had loads & loads of police forces. Many towns had their own constabulary, these were all done away with in the mid 60s and by 1974 we had all amalgamated down to 43 county/regional forces.

A few years ago the government wanted to go another step and amalgamate us all down to 17 forces. Unsurprisingly, Reform think this is bad, most of us thought it was bad too. The government dropped the plans once they’d spent millions investigating it and realising it was a bloody stupid idea.

I can’t help seeing the similarity between what Reform are suggesting & law enforcement in the United States. Major national crime-fighting organisations to battle terrorism & major crime, not dissimilar to the Secret Service, FBI, DEA etc. Local police services to serve local populations, there are over 30,000 departments in America. The only thing missing from Reform’s recommendations (I’ve only read the synopsis on a couple of news websites, not the actual report) is a national or regional traffic department, such as, for instance, the Highway Patrol (or would that be the Highways Agency Traffic Officers?)

This recommendation would be a boon to people who collect police badges, double the number to collect at a single stroke.

I’d add a couple of things to Reform’s recommendations; all citizens to swear allegiance to the Union Jack, to come off the diets & talk very loudly in restaurants. Our transformation to the 51st state would be almost complete.

The original post can be found http://200weeks.police999.com/archives/1296

Footsteps we follow.

Published on February 26, 2009 in Uncategorized. Closed

written by Constable Confused.com from Constableconfused.com

I have already mentioned my Dad on my blog and still miss him. This incongruous start will mean something at the end if the plan works.

On Tuesday I was sent to a report of disorder in a local pub. It was only 12:45 pm (IE. early afternoon) but the pub had been open since 09:00 you know who it is but won't mention the brand. Once again singly crewed and with all singing and dancing lights and sound turn up there. Inside all appears quiet (there are big windows on this chain) so after telling the DCR (radio room) I go in. There are a couple of people who look like they may have been involved in a fight, the swelling to the eye, bloody nose and split lip etc. Then this vision appears from the toilet. He has clearly been involved to as he has a huge cut above his eyes. He sees me and promptly announces that he has performed sexual acts on prison officers and I had better go away or I will be next. Can't resist the challenge so in not so polite terms tell him to moderate his language or else. I am 6'2" ish and about 15 stone, he was well......bigger than me. I can't allow him to better me as I am in full kit and what sort of image is that going to send out in the area where I work. The entourage in the pub sense my vulnerability and tell me to get out, the gang mentality has taken over and they feel invincible. I swallow and ask if further patrols are on the way, the reply is affirmative, and I can hear the sirens approaching once I take a mental step back and open the rest of my senses to the situation. The mountain is approaching me and bizarre though it is I see that he has no fingernail on his left thumb. That will make ID easier if it all goes wrong and with CCTV it should be easier. (Yeah right).

He also hears the cavalry coming and lunges at me trying to get out the door, not sure how but he ends up on the floor and next thing I have people trying to get me off him. A couple of poor punches to the body armour and next thing there is a big yellow van outside and I see 6 other colleagues getting out, one assists me in restraining man mountain and getting him cuffed whilst the rest clear the pub. Other patrols are cancelled as the customers seem to have lost their fighting spirit. The licensee offers to close the pub for an hour which we agree to and the mountain despite having been responsible for several public order offences is locked up D+D. He will cough that and it is a lot less paperwork. Order restored.

Anyway back to the start and my dad would always tell me how great people were who lived on Notgreat Road Notgreatside. He told me that they were the salt of the earth and after having a similar experience at 10:30 in the evening (when pubs closed then) he too was faced by a crowd. Wearing only a tunic, whistle and big hat he dealt with it. The crowd dispersed and no-one was locked up. Once the matter was dealt with couple of regulars came to him and said "Jock we were watching you, don't worry". Through a bizarre twist I now cover the same area that he did in the 50/60's. People have definitely changed.

The original post can be found http://constableconfused.blogspot.com/2009/02/footsteps-we-follow.html

No More Targets?…….

Published on February 26, 2009 in 1. Closed

written by inspectorgadget from POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG

You may have read that the police are about to scrap the ethnic minority recruitment targets.

Here in Ruralshire, it has been decided that we will have our own targets anyway.

policefund2r_228x317

You will join Ruralshire Constabulary.

Even when the Government try to make it easier for us to get back on the streets and actually catch criminals instead of constantly monitoring what we are monitoring, we just can’t bring ourselves to do it.

You couldn’t make it up.

The original post can be found http://inspectorgadget.wordpress.com/2009/02/26/no-more-targets/

Social Help

Published on February 25, 2009 in Uncategorized. Closed

written by CSI:UK from CSI:UK

Hello again! I have had lots of emails recently asking for help and careers advice, a lot in response to an earlier post I made. Now these people must be new around here, because I'm struggling to update my blog regularly let alone respond to individual emails!

My advice on the earlier post is still relevant today, but be wary of the current climate, you really, I mean really really need to stand out to get these jobs now as lots more people are applying for these type of posts.

However help is at hand if you use the popular social networking site known as Facebook, apparently there is a group on there called C.S.I United Kingdom (not affiliated with this blog). It has members across the UK who are either full time CSIs or people looking to get into that line of work. There is a forum within this group which can answer your questions. I believe you need to request to join the group so be nice.

Anyway I'm going to sheepishly slip off now before anyone notices I'm back (sort of).

The original post can be found http://csiuk.blogspot.com/2009/02/social-help.html

Children & Animals

Published on February 25, 2009 in The Job - Experience. Closed

written by 200 from 200 Weeks

Actually, there’s no children in this item but the title still kind of fits.

Animals can be the bane of a police officers’ life. When ever you get a job involving animals it’s bound to be grief. They’re usually getting run over, not a problem when they’re dead but a big one when they’re not. Depending on the size, you have to decide whether it is quicker & kinder to administer a coup-de-grace, call out a local gamekeeper to put it out of its misery, or a vet. Quite often you can’t get a vet to the scene, even if they agree to treat the animal if you can get it to a vet surgery.

If they’re not getting run over, they’re escaping from somewhere with the potential to get run over. We used to have a farm which had wild boar. If they escaped it was a big deal, there were even people with guns looking for them. I’m no wildlife expert but they said if you were confronted by one it would cause some horrific injuries, steal your credit cards & run away with your wife.

Bulls are good for a laugh. They usually end up with massive road closures & lots of police waving their arms in a timid, ‘please go to one of my colleagues’ kind of way.

Escaped animals are often the source for lots of potential embarassment. There’s nothing funnier than watching a highly disciplined, unformed service, running across the road waving their arms like maniacs, trying to catch a dog or a swan, or anything that doesn’t want to be caught.

I’ve done it more times than I care to mention. We did get on the local radio news once when a pack of rabid horses ransacked a cul-de-sac full of parked cars.

I don’t think I’ve ever had to wrangle a giant rabbit though.

The original post can be found http://200weeks.police999.com/archives/1293

TASER again…

Published on February 25, 2009 in Uncategorized. Closed

written by Disgruntled from Disgruntled

It appears the Police Fed are getting frustrated that all officers aren't being given the little electric lumps of plastic that are Taser. It appears that Senior officers, who probably aren't in a position of ever being trained to use one, are deciding that all and sundry should be given one.

Unfortunately, as good as the weapon is, the main issue with them is the training issues and how the weapons are going to be deployed.

Where are the weapons going to be kept in the nick? They certainly aren't personal issue!

Who is going to maintain the weapons?

If there are not enough weapons to give to a shift then who on the shift will carry them? Sergeants? PSU officers? Where are these mysterious officers going to be magicked up from?

The basic logistics are a nightmare...

I was party to an exchange between a couple of Sergeants and an Inspector who were discussing the issue...

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Insp: Well I think everyone on my team should be given a TASER. It will really make a difference out there.

PS: OK, but are you aware the armed response cars give you 24 hour coverage as they are based in your borough?

Insp: Well yes, but at serious incidents, when it's needed, we should have trained officers there to deal.

PS: But you realise that over the past X years that the armed cars have been working the area with TASER you haven't requested them to attend a single incident with the authority?

Insp: Well err.. that isn't the point..

PS: If the incident were that serious then armed units, with TASER, would be the first to attend anyway. You seem to think that TASER will solve a problem you simply don't have?

Insp: .....
----------------

I'm on the Sergeants side on this one and I entirely agree that TASER appears to be creating more issues than it solves. Although I admit I am watching any particular forces role out with interest...

The original post can be found http://disgruntledcop.blogspot.com/2009/02/taser-again.html