Policing in Scotland

Pretty Picture

2006-04-08T13:08:00.000Z

I was online earlier on today and I saw the picture that accompanies today's blog. I got it from the BBC's news website (http://news.bbc.co.uk/scotland) and it features pictures sent in by readers every week. For anyone who is not aware this is a picture of Edinburgh's Old town taken from the top of the Scott Monument on Princes Street- the Castle is on the top right.

Edinburgh is a beautiful city and anyone who hasn't been there should visit if they get chance- either during August for the Festival or in Jan/Feb/Mar for a
6-nations rugby weekend.

Anyone would think I worked for the tourist board.

Punishment fitting the crime

2006-03-30T17:15:00.000Z

It was good to read the newspaper report yesterday regarding the High Court's ruling that community service was not a sufficient punishment for two males who had assaulted Paramedics in Glasgow in 2005. They were sentanced to, from memory about 200 hours community service however The Crown appealled the sentence and the matter was referred to a panel of three law lords. They stated that the sentence was inappropriate as it didn't take into account the seriousness of the crime firstly becasue in the case of one of the paramedics it was an assault to severe injury and secondly because of the circumstances- that the assault was unporvoked and upon emergency servies workers trying to help the public.

So with any luck when the two charming individuals will receive a custodial sentance which hopefully may make others thiink twice before assaulting the very people going out their way to provide a valuable service to the community.

I have seen in the time I have been in the job how the perception of how serious a contravention of Section 41(1)(a) of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 other wise known as Polis Assualt has been diluted. Quite often it is simply plea bargained away by the PF at court. While I understand the need for plea bargaining to get things through court quickly I think that its got to such a level where neds must think... well i might as well have a scrap with the Police 'cause nothing is going to be done about it anyway.

Does anyone else have experience of this? I have lost count of the number of Resists or Police Assaults that have been dropped at court.

Wizard Scheme Chaps

2006-03-29T10:35:00.000Z

Sorry about the delay in posting anything new on here for a wee while. The problem was that i was computerless for a spell but the Police have stepped into the breach with a Home Computer Initiative.... it is something that individuals working for organisations such as the council/education authorities have had for a while but now has been rolled out to the Rozzers. Basically it means that you chose the computer you want from a range of options and then you pay for it over 3 years and it comes off your top line pay. At the end of 3 years you pay a small fee and then the computer is yours. And this, my friends is what i am currently typing this blog on the now! My new sparkly, all singing and all dancing laptop! So the blogging should continue from now on!!! Anyone else offered this scheme and taken it up?

Wet Weekends

2006-02-11T12:48:00.000Z

Hi. Well I have updated the blog with the links that everyone requested-I even checked to see if they worked and everything!!! What in the Police is not called 'Quality Assurance' which if you are playing 'Buzzword Bingo' is always a good one. It basically means that someone can get away from the big bad world and sit inside drinking tea and criticising paperwork submitted by others! Sounds great eh!? Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, that's right- I just wanted to thank you for adding links to my Blog as it seems to be geting more hits, which is nice. I will try adn update it a bit more regularly now but it's hard finding the time. This is my one weekend off this month adn as per usual it's bloody raining so i've no excuse not to up date this today. Last week was a cracker really- It was one of contrasts which reminded me of why I enjoy the job.... most of the time! One day I was spent almost exxlusively indoors attempting to get my head around a new electronic ID parade system that's being implemented (A few years behind all you down southers) and the very next day driving about like a madman (I'm alowed I have been on all the necessary courses) on the hunt for a with a a gun! Such fun! Anyway, I am off now to enjoy my Saturday afternoon with a spot of sport and a night on the tiles. Cheerie pip.

Quickie request

2006-02-05T19:25:00.000Z

Just a quick one tonight- If anyone reads this Blog and has one of their own they would lie me to add a link to then just email me or leave a comment. Likewise I would be very appreciative if you would put a link to this one from yours..... I hope that made sense? Anyway- it's been a long week and I am working again tomorrow. Nighty night folks.

Today I have been mostly... sitting about doing hee-haw

2006-02-02T19:35:00.000Z

I had quite a lot of time to think about what to blog tonight, and there is a reason for that. I was cited for court today and of course I dutifully turned up bang on the time it stated on my citation; So I dragged my weary bones out of bed and sat in the witness room as I waited for the wheels of justice to turn. The wheels of justice in Metropolis are particularly rusty ones that haven't been oiled in quite sometime though, it would seem. So up until lunchtime I sat without the case being called. Lunchtime came and went (soup) and so into the afternoon, still sitting on my ever numbing arse was I. The afternoon fairly whizzed by as I read the 5 year old magazines provided by the court to pass the time. And so it came to 5pm and I was informed that the case had been adjourned. Oh deep joy I thought. What a complete and utter waste of a day- not just for me but also for the other half dozen witnesses who will have had to book time off work to attend the great watching paint dry competition that is wating to give evidence. If only this was an isolated or infrequent case.... imagine all of the man/woman hours that operational officers spend sitting about in witness rooms needlesly throughout courts in Scotland. And this is a short time after the revolution in the court system that was the Bonhomie recommendations. Anyway, at least it gave me something to moan about!!!

Priority Payment Scam

2006-02-01T15:07:00.000Z

Well it's coming around to that time of year where the lucky few are looking forward to a bumper pay packet amounting to somewhere in the region of an extra £900.00 after tax courtesy of the Priority Payment Scheme while others look on scratching their chins as to why they aren't benifitting from this re-disrtibution of wealth from the central coffers. To the uninitiated this scheme, which is now in it's third year, is an annual payment which is handed to officers who fulfill certain roles. Everybody knows which roles attract the payment and which don't. Now apart from the obvious devisive nature of paying people who are doing similar jobs different amounts of money it has had another damaging impact... Do you think core shift workers who make up the bulk of the force and bear an increasingly heavy workload attract this payment? No of course they don't, unless they have some sort of specialisation but have rotated back to a shift. No most of the posts that attract the payment are outwith the shifts thus giving folk the insentive to leave the shifts increasingly understrength and with less service on them. Thankfully this would appear to be the final year of the scheme in it's current form. And this is from somone who actually has 'benifited' from the extra money.

License to go Nee-Naw Nee-Naw

2006-01-10T21:32:00.000Z

Whilst perusing other blogs I noticed that on his 18th, December 2005 Blog non-mice (see second link in side-bar) mentioned the subject of all Police officers being unable to pursue suspects in vehicles whilst using the flashing lights and sirens.

Metropolis Constabulary has long had a policy of dictating that successful applicants must have a full UK driving lisence prior to being sworn in. Upon completion of initial training they are then posted to a station whereupon they will never sit in the driver's seat of a Police vehicle for at least the next two years- this increases to anything like 7 years should you work in a city division. This being the minimum time that will pass before you are deigned to be allowed to attend a fortnight driving course. Only upon satisfactory completion of this are you allowed to drive a Polis car. This policy has meant that while there are fewer Police drivers available at any given time they are all capable of undertaking a pursuit should the requirement present itself... which it quite often does, funnily enough!

The problem now though is that with the ever increasing demands on recruiting new officers to fill posts vacated by the outflux of retirees the situation on the ground is that there are no where near enough drivers on each shift- sometimes a shift of maybe six to ten cops may have only one or two Police drivers. To address this growing forcewide problem cops are being told that when they have done 18 months of their probation they areto sit a half day assessment drive. If their driving is up to a reasonable standard then they are allowed to drive pandas without lights or sirens and without breaking any speed limits or failing to obey traffic signs/signals until such time they go on a full drive course.

All of this means that the problem of having too few drivers is circumvented however we are now sat in a similar position to that of officers in English forces who can find themselves in a quandry such as the following scenario:

You have 18 months service, have completed your driving assessment and find yourself behind the wheel of a panda. You work in a rural area where you are the only vehicle not engaged in a call. You see a stolen vehicle which was identified to you during your briefing- the driver of said vehicle drives off at speed.

What do you do? Adhere to the policy and allow the car thief to make good his escape or attempt to keep observations in a chase for which you haven't yet been trained or authorised to undertake?

Time will tell how this policy will pan out but I don't think it will be long before someone finds themselves at the wrong end of a diciplinary charge for making the decision to, heaven forbid, try to catch a baddie.

It all looks so easy from the outside

2006-01-09T21:25:00.000Z

Well since I popped me blogging cherry about an hour ago I have been going round and round in circles trying to make the page look a wee bit more pleasing to the eye maybe, perchance, add a couple of links to other sites. However, all I have managed to do is go round and round in circles and haven't achieved a fat lot. So if anyone that reads this can post a comment telling me how to add links then it would be greatly appreciated. Ta.

The first post

2006-01-09T20:10:00.000Z

Well having been reading a few blogs online over the last couple of hours I have noticed a distinct lack of a Scottish perspective on all things Policey. Well I thought that this should be addressed and so I plan to post my general musings on current Police affairs, the latest schemes and directives thought up by senior management and anything else that springs to mind.