Old Bill Above The Law

[andy]

The press has been full of it today. Coppers speeding unlawfully and not being done.

From today's Scotsman:

POLICE officers were accused yesterday of believing they have "carte blanche" to break the speed limit as figures revealed only a tiny fraction of officers caught are brought to book.

Thousands of officers in Scotland trigger speed cameras every year - yet only a handful are fined or face tougher action.

In Lothian and Borders, 2,272 marked cars triggered speed cameras last year but no action was taken against any officer. Of 78 unmarked cars which broke the limit, three were given £60 fixed penalties, with nine further cases outstanding.

Lothian and Borders had the fourth-highest rate of officers caught speeding across the United Kingdom, with 0.82 incidents per officer. The force was behind Essex, with 3.26 incidents per officer, Bedfordshire (2.04) and Staffordshire (0.91), and tied with the Metropolitan Police, according to the figures obtained by Press Association under freedom of information legislation.

Motoring organisations, however, voiced alarm at the figures. The RAC Foundation said the results showed some forces police were over-using the exemption powers. The group's head of traffic and road safety, Kevin Delaney, who was a policeman for 30 years, said: "The exemption rules are widely misunderstood by rank-and-file officers as giving them a carte blanche exemption from the speed limit when driving a police vehicle.

"That is clearly wrong and suggests that something is wrong with police driver training. Forces with the lowest number of camera triggers and higher proportions of officers refused an exemption have clearly taken a stand on this."

From yesterday's Aberdeen Evening Express

More than 300 Grampian police officers were caught speeding while on duty.

But the force won't tell the public if they were on emergency calls.

(The P&J carried a big story on this today, but it's not on their website)

From today's Daily Record

JUST two per cent of police caught by speed cameras are prosecuted, it has been revealed.

Across the UK, cameras nabbed officers 45,741 times. But just 934 incidents led to a penalty ticket, court hearing or prosecution.

Police in Lothian and Borders topped the Scots league with2350offences.

Most officers caught were answering a999 call.

Police released the figures under the Freedom of Information Act

There are loads more - Express carried one too and it REALLY pisses me off. One set of rules for them and another for everybody else.

end of rant

[4Hero]

this sucks, seeing this annoys the $hit out of me. Many a time I have seen them driving with no concideration for others, no indicators, overtaking in usafe places, and that was with no lights flashing.

Can we not make a citizens arrest if we see any driving like a$$holes?

[andy]

<< Can we not make a citizens arrest if we see any driving like a$$holes? >>

Love to, but without calibration on speedos or witnesses we're shagged and they know it, but hey - at least you responded. Thanks.

[4Hero]

found "100 things we didn't know this time last year" Over on the BBC site.

coming in at no.46:

Driving at 159mph - reached by the police driver cleared of speeding - it would take nearly a third of a mile to stop.