Aid, what !

Oh sweet b****, Aid, what does it mean. Well it usually means getting in to your nice clean crisp uniform and getting in to a back of a van with fellow cohorts and been whisked away to perform a public order role, all be it a sporting event, public gathering, a specific policing role or an operation.I will talk about operations. Getting up before the crack of dawn and huddled into a cramped room with dozens of other officers not necessarily ones you have ever met before and getting a PowerPoint presentation of an operation before the first cup of coffee and bacon sarnine is not my first choice to start the day.

Once all the assignments and the job roles have been handed out and having been given the “aim of to day is to …  “ it’s the dash to the canteen for the “operational feeding” bullet beans and toast whoo hooo. (You can feel the love) and then on the bus.

Get to where you are going and get off the bus.
Then get back on the bus.
Get to where you are going and get off the bus.
Then get back on the bus.

You can see where this is going.

Then you get nice juicy jobs like this or maybe even jobs like this which I had the pleasure of last year.

This is a different style of police work. This is public order. This is not your “bobby” on the beat and hey, this seems to be the way the drinking nights seem to be going at the moment thanks to the new drinking laws.  Of course we would not want to be soft on crime now would we! And we want to make sure that we don’t want to send out confusing messages to the public who of course all carry forms of ID that makes dealing on the street oh so much easer.

Don’t forget police powers of arrest all change soon !

I bet that’s going to hurt… I wonder if any one will bother to train us on these new laws or will we have to figure it out for ourselves as usual

Late one (Times two)

So like yea, I have been working Friday and Saturday on late turn prisoner duty, dealing with the post arrest of response officers, Its not one of the most favorite aspect of police work however I do enjoy the interviews and investigation of offences and offenders.

This weekend however has been a nightmare.
A break down of the work I had to deal with my fellow mukka had

Friday Night 1600 hours to 0400

9 arrests for ABH * ( 3 linked to same incident )
4 arrests for affray
6 arrests for drunk & disorderly
19 prisoner to deal with


On Saturday night 1600 hours to 0400

5 arrests for serious public disorder ( all related)
2 arrests for points and blades
3 arrests for Offensive weapons
another 6 Drunk & disorderly
3 arrests section 5 public order
2 arrests possession of controlled substances
and 1 for theft

22 !

As a result of this as you can quickly work out working weekend on end you up while quite a workload to get shifted before the next weekend on ( 4 weeks rota )
Interviews,statements,CCTV enquires,medical statements, photos, background and intelligence checks let alone any housing office or partnership involvement !

Suffice to say it was manic did niggle me was this simple fact.

Alcohol played a part in every single one of these arrests, while none are what would be considered major it was apparant of the role of drink.

Are we going in the right step in 24 hour drinking, I await to see the results.
Oh and spare a thought for the A&E doctors and nurses that often get the dirty end of the stick with these things.

Battons, Cs , Tasers and Guns

It is clear that we are moving towards a large debate in regards to police use of force and how the public want to be protected.

I personally think that if the police service is to be regularly armed as a whole a radical rethink in regard to the law is required the simple fact is we do not have a sufficient level of protection for officers on the street in law let alone in the event of using a firearm.

As it stands today a trained police firearms officer faces instant suspension from firearms duties on discharge of his or her weapon. They face criminal and civil legal action and these officers have volunteered for this duty ( Some officers face years upon years of legal action based on a split second decision that is picked over and over with 20/20 hindsight )

There a many many stories reported in the news about police and firearms and there use, I could spend a few minutes on the BBC website alone and find loads of relevant links , and people comment on a wild west shoot out if police are armed ! Guess what that already happens with armed criminals

In fact the number of offences involving firearms in England and Wales has been increasing each year since 1997, according to the Home Office.

Firearms incidents recorded by the police have nearly trebled in eight years.
Provisional figures released last month showed that firearms offences had increased by 5 per cent on last year (2004) , to a total of 11,160. There were 4,903 such offences in 1997.

What about batons - What about CS - What about tazers

Suffice to say this topic will be brought up time and time again when a tradigy strikes, but an important thing to remember is that the police service is already armed

Still we wouldn't want to be soft on crime now would we ?

Oh and as a military trained marksman, I can safely say there are some officers I am glad will never be issued a firearm !

In memory

http://www.policememorial.org.uk/

Since 1680 many have given their lives you shall never be forgotten.

http://www.ukcops.org/

Chop Chop

At last the murder of the laurel tree and spruce tree is complete. It took a number of long hours to finish the job up and cut them both into little bits for disposal, as you can see I have only the carcass of the spruce to hide now and I think the neighbor's might have noticed something going on.

I highly recommend chainsaws to all those who need to 'cut up' any evidence but make sure you wear the appropriate safety gear and dispose off any potentially forensic evidence after the fact.

Now with both tree's absent from garden roll call the place will get a lot more sun in the afternoons and looking at the area now it is clear how much space that laurel was taking up. The shed however had a last minute reprieve as shelter for the tools and for me during rainfall at the whole hideous incident, however it has been served with a compulsory purchase order and it too like many buildings in the east of London is doomed to be demolished (In time for the Olympics of course)

Last night while flicking trough the 200 or so channels forced on me by SKY tv I saw my glorious leader Sir Ian Blair on the magic silver window in the corner. It was the Richard Dimbleby lecture and I watched it with mild interest befitting a serving met police officer, I will leave the debate of that to those who can place words more eloquently than I.

Alas I am also without my beloved bike this week as I have loveling placed her in for a service now that winter is clearly here on the doorstep, and I had to avail of public transport again this week. What a nightmare. I thought the rail network was getting better, yes sure the train rolling stock in nicer,cleaner safer and graffiti free, but byheck its still like getting on to a cattle train ! Overcrowded stuffy uncomfortable and degrading. People using the public transport system are still treated like livestock. It got so bad on one set of stairs I had to Identify my self as a police officer and take two well dressed business men aside and give them a dressing down for there pushing and shoving of others as they were in a 'rush' Good ole BTP officers noted the carry on and helped me and gave both a section 5 warning about there behavior and one gentleman remarked to the officer " bollox you cant fucking tell me what to do" and was swiftly taken away for his £80 fine. It appears that simple tact and courtesy is long dead in certain aspects of the gentlemen of London. I am sure he can afford the ticket judging by the Savile row suit

CCTv

Hey If your thinking of spending a few quid on cctv for your home or business I have only this one tip - make sure it actually records, oh and can be transferred to some sort of removal media that is in current use. Just a thought .

In memory

This is the first year since I came to the UK, that I will not be in some way be involved in remembrance Sunday I have lived in the UK for over 10 years now and today I will be visiting my old army barracks to pay respects to two good friends of mine that died in Kosovo !

I raise a pint of nukey brown to you !