Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Hello? Hello? Is Anyone There?
According to today's Times, 1984 is getting ever closer.
"A massive government database holding details of every phone call, e-mail and time spent on the internet by the public is being planned as part of the fight against crime and terrorism," it says. "Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecoms companies would hand over the records to the Home Office under plans put forward by officials."
There will be the usual 'protections in place', and then an entire year's communications from say, Nottingham, will be lost in the post or end up being auctioned off to Nigerian fraudsters on a Russian internet site. And then we'll move on to 'learning lessons'.
This whole thing poses so many questions.
Yes, terrorists and paedophiles use the internet and the telephone. Yes, if we could monitor everything they do and say we could prevent crime. But does anyone sensible think that the way forward is to monitor and record everything that everyone says and does? Has it not occurred to the people in charge that the best place to hide needles is in a needle factory?
Why not do something revolutionary, and just target suspects? What's that, Skippy? It would breach their human rights and it's not really allowed? So... the answer is... to breach everyones' human rights? It is just us?
Where will they store this enormous amount of information? How safe will it be? When they need to access it, how long will it take to get to it? Three billion emails are sent every day in the UK; anyone fancy heading up the Email Squad (9-5, Monday to Friday, car park space)?
(21) comments (No swearing please.)
"A massive government database holding details of every phone call, e-mail and time spent on the internet by the public is being planned as part of the fight against crime and terrorism," it says. "Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecoms companies would hand over the records to the Home Office under plans put forward by officials."
There will be the usual 'protections in place', and then an entire year's communications from say, Nottingham, will be lost in the post or end up being auctioned off to Nigerian fraudsters on a Russian internet site. And then we'll move on to 'learning lessons'.
This whole thing poses so many questions.
Yes, terrorists and paedophiles use the internet and the telephone. Yes, if we could monitor everything they do and say we could prevent crime. But does anyone sensible think that the way forward is to monitor and record everything that everyone says and does? Has it not occurred to the people in charge that the best place to hide needles is in a needle factory?
Why not do something revolutionary, and just target suspects? What's that, Skippy? It would breach their human rights and it's not really allowed? So... the answer is... to breach everyones' human rights? It is just us?
Where will they store this enormous amount of information? How safe will it be? When they need to access it, how long will it take to get to it? Three billion emails are sent every day in the UK; anyone fancy heading up the Email Squad (9-5, Monday to Friday, car park space)?
Friday, May 16, 2008
TV Trouble
The footage of PC Mick Regan being attacked by a mob of drunken Scottish football thugs in Manchester City Centre raised the heartbeat a little.
TV viewers saw Mick fall to the ground, surrounded by a swarm of scumbags who started kicking him.
Fortunately, he managed to get to his feet and was saved from more serious injury by a British Army medic and another bloke who grabbed him and bundled him clear.
Mick tells the BBC, "If they had not come along at that point I'd have been in big trouble. I'd have been seriously injured. I knew I was going to get done over. I feel lucky; whoever that Army lad was, he wants a medal."
It wasn't Keith Blakelock territory, thank God, but you do wonder what might have happened if one or two of those who surrounded him had been carrying knives.
It will have come as no surprise to anyone reading this that the whole thing kicked off after a telly went kaput. Of course it did. If you interfere with a drunken British moron's goggle box, even a giant one which you've provided for him free of charge, you only have yourself to blame.
Not to worry, though. Those responsible for the attack on Mick and all the other assaults on police, criminal damage and general mayhem will be hunted down and dealt with ruthlessly.
Just ask James Davis.
In a video filmed by his mates and helpfully posted on myspace, Davis is seen headbutting Sgt Ken McNish in the face, breaking his nose. As Sgt McNish makes the arrest, Davis is heard complaining that the officer's blood is dripping on him. "Let me go," he says. "Get that blood out of my face now you silly c*nt."
The papers went big on this at the time and this istotalessex.co.uk said Judge Timothy Lamb was planning to view the video before sentencing.
Who knows? Maybe His Honour watched the wrong vid? Anyway, we can only find one tiny reference to what actually happened to Davis. According to Courts News UK he was 'spared jail'. (It would be great if someone could email in and let us know what Davis actually got.)
Meanwhile, that tinkling noise? That's the sound of bits of the iceberg swirling round in the judges' G&Ts.
TCT
(41) comments (No swearing please.)
TV viewers saw Mick fall to the ground, surrounded by a swarm of scumbags who started kicking him.
Fortunately, he managed to get to his feet and was saved from more serious injury by a British Army medic and another bloke who grabbed him and bundled him clear.
Mick tells the BBC, "If they had not come along at that point I'd have been in big trouble. I'd have been seriously injured. I knew I was going to get done over. I feel lucky; whoever that Army lad was, he wants a medal."
It wasn't Keith Blakelock territory, thank God, but you do wonder what might have happened if one or two of those who surrounded him had been carrying knives.
It will have come as no surprise to anyone reading this that the whole thing kicked off after a telly went kaput. Of course it did. If you interfere with a drunken British moron's goggle box, even a giant one which you've provided for him free of charge, you only have yourself to blame.
Not to worry, though. Those responsible for the attack on Mick and all the other assaults on police, criminal damage and general mayhem will be hunted down and dealt with ruthlessly.
Just ask James Davis.
In a video filmed by his mates and helpfully posted on myspace, Davis is seen headbutting Sgt Ken McNish in the face, breaking his nose. As Sgt McNish makes the arrest, Davis is heard complaining that the officer's blood is dripping on him. "Let me go," he says. "Get that blood out of my face now you silly c*nt."
The papers went big on this at the time and this istotalessex.co.uk said Judge Timothy Lamb was planning to view the video before sentencing.
Who knows? Maybe His Honour watched the wrong vid? Anyway, we can only find one tiny reference to what actually happened to Davis. According to Courts News UK he was 'spared jail'. (It would be great if someone could email in and let us know what Davis actually got.)
Meanwhile, that tinkling noise? That's the sound of bits of the iceberg swirling round in the judges' G&Ts.
TCT
Monday, May 12, 2008
CHILLY OUT
Here's a picture of me (Copperfield) clearing my driveway two weeks ago. I eventually got so fed up with freezing my extremities off, I went out and bought some decent cold weather gear. In the picture, I'm clearing the snow at a marginally faster rate than it was actually falling from the sky.
Thankfully, the snow has now all melted, the grass that was underneath for weeks and weeks has suddenly turned green and it's very pleasant. We went for a run the other week and I even got a bit sunburnt.
Work is progressing well, with only a few more weeks to go before the latest batch of recruits (including international applicants) get on the street. For now though, here are a few initial thoughts in no particular order:
More discretion
Less paperwork
Cheaper cars
Fewer powers of arrest and search
Better DIY stores
More firepower
Better kit
Almost no foot patrol
More stuff to do
More IT
More traditions
Better training
Cheaper food
Less law training
Lacklustre TV comedies
More physical training
Better pay
Virtually no suspect interviews
More guns
Cheaper petrol
Missing family and friends
Rubbish local radio
Challenging weather
Big rabbits (in my garden)
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Health and Safety Issues
It's mid spring, the darling bluebell buds of May are in full bloom and the sunlight is streaming through the leafy fronds of Longspring Wood.
If you close your eyes for a moment, your senses are assailed by the traditional smells and sounds of rural west Kent: ganja, poppers and hardcore techno played at around 130db.
And - finally - here come the Old Bill. Well, it is 1pm.
Welcome to the Garden of England, 2008 stylee.
A group of selfish ravers have decided that Longspring Wood is a good place to set up some industrial-sized speakers and play headbangingly awful music, at high volume, throughout the night and long into the next day.
They have done this with some regularity; the fact that a thousand people in and around the nearby village of Shoreham can't sleep is kind of an irrelevance to them.
So the people of Shoreham complained to the police.
The police? They did nothing.
This week, Ch Insp Gill Ellis explained that the decision to let the illegal ravers ruin the lives of taxpaying residents was taken on 'health and safety grounds'.
According to yesterday's Daily Telegraph, she "said that it was not safe to disperse revellers in remote locations when it was dark - insisting safety regulations meant officers had to wait until sunrise to break up the bashes. And the force said it could also be dangerous to disperse ravers because they may get into their cars to drive home while still high on drink and drugs."
Ch Insp Ellis told a recent meeting of angry locals: "We will wait until daylight hours before making interventions."
But one district councillor pointed out a bash in March had been allowed to go on until 1pm the following afternoon.
Wonder how 'healthy and safety issues' went down with the law-abiding residents of Shoreham, vis a vis respect for the law and support for those sworn to uphold it?
And the rave organisers and their punters? They've just had confirmed what they already know: that authority in England has all-but collapsed and they can do pretty much as they like.
UPDATE: The original title of this post asked if anyone had a spare set of balls they could lend Kent Police. Obviously, we meant the high-ups at Kent Police, but on reflection maybe even that's a bit simplistic. So we've changed it.
Ch Supt Matthew Nix has written to the Telegraph today to suggest that the real problem was that his officers were too busy with other incidents. (Thanks to Jerym for sticking it up in the comments.) We can understand people defending the police, but this letter poses as many questions as it answers; at least one of them is, when are senior police officers going to start being absolutely frank about frontline police numbers with local people?
Health and Safety, manpower, call it what you like - the truth is getting out, that if you want to commit crime in England nowadays (ravers cannot live by Evian alone) you have more than a half decent chance of getting away with it even when the cops can see you at it.
(40) comments (No swearing please.)
If you close your eyes for a moment, your senses are assailed by the traditional smells and sounds of rural west Kent: ganja, poppers and hardcore techno played at around 130db.
And - finally - here come the Old Bill. Well, it is 1pm.
Welcome to the Garden of England, 2008 stylee.
A group of selfish ravers have decided that Longspring Wood is a good place to set up some industrial-sized speakers and play headbangingly awful music, at high volume, throughout the night and long into the next day.
They have done this with some regularity; the fact that a thousand people in and around the nearby village of Shoreham can't sleep is kind of an irrelevance to them.So the people of Shoreham complained to the police.
The police? They did nothing.
This week, Ch Insp Gill Ellis explained that the decision to let the illegal ravers ruin the lives of taxpaying residents was taken on 'health and safety grounds'.
According to yesterday's Daily Telegraph, she "said that it was not safe to disperse revellers in remote locations when it was dark - insisting safety regulations meant officers had to wait until sunrise to break up the bashes. And the force said it could also be dangerous to disperse ravers because they may get into their cars to drive home while still high on drink and drugs."
Ch Insp Ellis told a recent meeting of angry locals: "We will wait until daylight hours before making interventions."
But one district councillor pointed out a bash in March had been allowed to go on until 1pm the following afternoon.
Wonder how 'healthy and safety issues' went down with the law-abiding residents of Shoreham, vis a vis respect for the law and support for those sworn to uphold it?And the rave organisers and their punters? They've just had confirmed what they already know: that authority in England has all-but collapsed and they can do pretty much as they like.
UPDATE: The original title of this post asked if anyone had a spare set of balls they could lend Kent Police. Obviously, we meant the high-ups at Kent Police, but on reflection maybe even that's a bit simplistic. So we've changed it.
Ch Supt Matthew Nix has written to the Telegraph today to suggest that the real problem was that his officers were too busy with other incidents. (Thanks to Jerym for sticking it up in the comments.) We can understand people defending the police, but this letter poses as many questions as it answers; at least one of them is, when are senior police officers going to start being absolutely frank about frontline police numbers with local people?
Health and Safety, manpower, call it what you like - the truth is getting out, that if you want to commit crime in England nowadays (ravers cannot live by Evian alone) you have more than a half decent chance of getting away with it even when the cops can see you at it.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
A Good Sergeant
Perhaps it's the nature of the beats (see what we did there?), but lots of the posts on this and other police blogs can get a bit depressing. Alex emailed in with some positive thoughts about his new sergeant. Send your own stuff in via the link at the top right.
Duty Response Sergeant has to be just about the most important and - when done right - stressful job in front line policing.
Your Sergeant is your 'Team Leader'. Your guide. Your mentor. At least, that's how it should be. I've had some godawful ones in the past.
We recently welcomed a new Sergeant to our section.
She had spent the last four years driving a desk and failed the board for Inspector because of her "lack of recent front line policing experience".
I presume that's why she's come to us. Looks like she's on the way up.
Personally, I don't care why they sent her over, I'm just glad they did. She's brilliant.
I'd like to think that, as a section of 5 PCs with around five years' service each, and one probationer added to the mix, we're not a particularly hard bunch to supervise. Most of us know what we're doing at least some of the time.
But she has made a really positive difference, all the same. She's a master batsman with the paperwork, she finds ways of getting us out of conducting endless enquiries on jobs that will never go anywhere, she is not a control freak and she doesn't call you up on the radio every 30 minutes to find out where you are.
She trusts our judgment. If I return from a job and say, "Sarge, this is LOB," she is happy for me to write it up accordingly.
She supports us from the BS rolling downhill, she fights our corner and most important of all... she actually puts her stabby on and gets out of the nick with us. Her arrest rate rivals that of most of the PCs on section.
If all of this sounds like she's just doing her job, she is - but many don't.
I remember one Sergeant we had a couple of years ago who spent all day, every day, in the office with the radio turned down low so that he couldn't hear anything that was going on. Even worse, when I had been sent one day single-crewed to a violent domestic, he called up and said, "Sorry comms, I don't have anyone to back that unit up," rather than getting his stabby on and coming out himself.
Unfortunately, the lazy and unprofessional do sometimes get promoted.
But what a difference a good Skipper makes.
The effect on team morale has been astonishing. She's breathed fresh life into our section - and I actually feel like a police officer again (instead of a crime report taker in a uniform).
Alex
(14) comments (No swearing please.)
Duty Response Sergeant has to be just about the most important and - when done right - stressful job in front line policing.
Your Sergeant is your 'Team Leader'. Your guide. Your mentor. At least, that's how it should be. I've had some godawful ones in the past.
We recently welcomed a new Sergeant to our section.
She had spent the last four years driving a desk and failed the board for Inspector because of her "lack of recent front line policing experience".
I presume that's why she's come to us. Looks like she's on the way up.
Personally, I don't care why they sent her over, I'm just glad they did. She's brilliant.
I'd like to think that, as a section of 5 PCs with around five years' service each, and one probationer added to the mix, we're not a particularly hard bunch to supervise. Most of us know what we're doing at least some of the time.
But she has made a really positive difference, all the same. She's a master batsman with the paperwork, she finds ways of getting us out of conducting endless enquiries on jobs that will never go anywhere, she is not a control freak and she doesn't call you up on the radio every 30 minutes to find out where you are.
She trusts our judgment. If I return from a job and say, "Sarge, this is LOB," she is happy for me to write it up accordingly.
She supports us from the BS rolling downhill, she fights our corner and most important of all... she actually puts her stabby on and gets out of the nick with us. Her arrest rate rivals that of most of the PCs on section.
If all of this sounds like she's just doing her job, she is - but many don't.
I remember one Sergeant we had a couple of years ago who spent all day, every day, in the office with the radio turned down low so that he couldn't hear anything that was going on. Even worse, when I had been sent one day single-crewed to a violent domestic, he called up and said, "Sorry comms, I don't have anyone to back that unit up," rather than getting his stabby on and coming out himself.
Unfortunately, the lazy and unprofessional do sometimes get promoted.
But what a difference a good Skipper makes.
The effect on team morale has been astonishing. She's breathed fresh life into our section - and I actually feel like a police officer again (instead of a crime report taker in a uniform).
Alex
