Prison strike

Today at 7 am the prison service went on strike.

The strike is illegal, the same as it is with us police officers it is illegal for prison officers to go on strike. However they have still gone on strike!

The reason for their strike, the government haven't given them the pay rise they wanted for the last two years and they have to deal with more and more violence.

Sound familiar??? Would we go on an illegal strike?

No probably not and why? Well who would bail out the government if we went on strike?? I'm sure we will bail them out by looking after the prisons while the prison officers go on strike just as we bailed them out when the firefighters went on strike.

Then when they get the pay rise they want our 'toothless' federation will continue to negotiate for our pay rise but ultimately the government know we will have to take what we are given.

For any MOP reading it is illegal for police officers to join a trade union and it is illegal for us to strike therefore our federation has no influence what so ever on the government.

(PCSO's however are allowed to join a trade union! Maybe we could go on strike and leave them in charge!!!!)

The matador of Exmoor

This footage is courtesy of Devon and Cornwall, watch and enjoy



I love the way the poor bobby runs in a catoon style, quality!!

Sweet 16

Here's a story you've probably already seen in the news.

It raises several questions such as;

"Part of their job is to seize alcohol from under 18's so it would be inappropriate for a 16-year-old to be in possession of something they are not allowed to have."

One Federation official pointed out that, technically, they could not deal with a disturbance in a cinema if a certificate 18 film was being shown.

What a joke! The article also points out that there plans to recruit even more PCSO's.

Oh I do love to be beside the seaside !!

Some naughty Gwent police officers have apparently been getting up to no good.

They have been playing a game of who can travel the furthest out of force without getting caught. Then taking pictures, allegedly taking pictures of each other whilst on the log flume at Barry Island!

POLAC

Now that's what I call a POLAC!

Its amazing both the rider and passenger are still able to make off!

P.S As you can see I'm having some difficulties with the layout of my blog.

He loves me tho

A little while ago I was on duty when a call came out, it was a social worker ringing us. She'd been around to speak with 'J', she had gone to 'J's flat to inform her that social services were taking her child off her. Upon being told this she had ran off in a distressed state and the social worker was now concerned for her.

I've had previous dealings with 'J' and had a little knowledge of the situation so I attended. 'J' is a funny sort if she hadn't been raised on a diet of cigarettes and take away meals she probably would be quite pretty, but this life style had left her gaunt and pale. Although she was almost thirty she had the frame of a teenager and if it wasn't for the tobacco stained teeth she'd pass for twenty. She was always very quiet and almost withdrawn.

The reason I know 'J' is because about October last year she attended the station with a broken jaw, in fact it was broken in three places. She told me it was her on/off partner 'T'. He'd got pissed one night, punched her in the face and kept her locked in the house all night and all the next day without any medical treatment. Just imagine enduring the pain of a broken jaw for 24 hours without so much as an asprin. Eventually he left and she ran to her friends house who took her to hospital. Whilst there she claimed she fell off a chair whilst decorating. A week after this her friend persuaded her to report it to the police.

I found out later from her friend that she'd been reluctant to contact the police because she knew if social services found out the child was there while all this was happening they'd take the child away at that time. 'J' told me the child wasn't there that night and he was at her friends, her friend was supposed to tell me this version as well but told me the truth.

So here she was barely able to talk, I took the statement, crimed it as a section 18 and unlawful imprisonment. I informed CID, hoping they would take it on, but as soon as I mentioned it was domestic related they didn't want to know. I then began trying to track down 'T', unfortunately 'T' was a habitual criminal and as soon as he found out we were after him he went to ground.

I tried every thing, circulated him on PNC, enquires at all his associates, DWP checks. I spent several mornings in plain clothes waiting for him to sign on at the job centre. I even put him on the crimestoppers website and arranged for an appeal on the local news version of crimewatch. But not a peep.

Then on Christmas eve, he was stopped drink driving fantastic! I was off over Christmas so CID agreed to take it on. When I returned I checked with CID as to how they got on.

The reply? 'J' had dropped the complaint!!! The reason? He'd managed to convince her he loved her and wouldn't do it again. Typical!

Anyway back to this call, just after I arrived the duty inspector arrived. We spoke with the social worker and 'J's support worker who were at scene. They rang her mobile and persuaded her to return, which she did.

Upon her return the social worker explained they were taking her son into care because 'T' had continued to abuse her and this made the home an unsafe place for the child to live.

I looked at her and felt like saying 'If only you'd followed through with your complaint, this would never have happened because he'd be inside right now'

I didn't say it. I didn't need to.

I looked at her, she already knew that.

Don't believe the hype

Some days when its like this, the middle of my rest days, Mrs Lima and all my mates are at work and its pouring with rain I sit in front of the box I get bored and start flicking the channels. I usually get to about channel 121 and I pause briefly. You can usually guarantee that there will be one of the following programs: Street wars/Car wars/Street crime UK 4/ Cameraman running after fat coppers UK 7/ Drunken domestics in the street UK15/ Chavs on the run UK 19 or similar.

For a moment I watch with some interest, remembering the anticipation with which I applied to join the ‘FORCE’. I remember the excitement of my first shift, thinking when do the chases start? Ah well maybe they start on day two, bit too much to expect on the first day.

The thing is with these shows is that they don’t really reflect real life policing. These programs show a highly concentrated, over hyped, highly edited version of policing. I wonder how many hours the camera men have to follow the coppers around to get an half hour show? Even then some of the footage is very mundane.

I’m not saying I never get foot chases or pursuits but if a camera man had been following me around for the last two years they wouldn’t even fill up a half hour program. I actually work in a very busy part of a large city, it just doesn’t happen like it does on TV.

To anyone not yet in the police and thinking about joining please remember. For every five minutes of excitement there are months of paperwork and dealing with trivial squabbles amongst the underclass.

What also winds me up is you may see someone driving a stolen car like a loon, putting dozens of lives at risk for miles and miles, or a drunk spitting, swearing and attacking police officers, then at the end of the program, while every one has got up to put the kettle on and whilst being drowned out by the theme tune you will hear Jamie Theakston say either the following: The male arrested in the stolen car who drove across three counties whilst high on drugs and failed to stop for police was given a referral order. Or no charges were brought against the drunk woman who bit off a bouncers ear and spat in the police officers face

Here’s just one example of the infamous Pat and Carl.