"Many a miffed driver has received a fine in the post after being photographed breaking the speed limit. But one motorist has taken his dislike of speed cameras to the extreme by attaching a bomb to one in the dead of night and blowing it to pieces.
Police were today hunting the person who blew up a yellow roadside camera, leaving parts strewn across a road in Eastleigh, Hampshire. Residents living along the Bishopstoke Road were woken up by the sound of an explosion in the early hours of Christmas Eve."
Now, the police could have issued a statement just saying they were looking into it etc etc, and not make a massive deal out of it. Instead, we get this Armageddon-laced nonsense:
"This is totally irresponsible behaviour by whoever committed this offence. There could have been a potential risk to passers-by although this was minimised by the time of the incident.
There was a risk to the nearby petrol station and the attack could have had serious consequences."
You hear that, risk to passers-by, serious consequences - some pretty serious stuff, I think you'll agree. Except this particular incident is the epitome of not serious; the very definition of a victimless and, dare I say it, popular criminal act. What annoys people is seeing the police act in this over the top and fear-mongering way because they really, really want to stop people blowing up speed cameras; and then how casual and indifferent they appear to be when your TV gets nicked or an elderly relative gets mugged. In those cases, you get an incident number, a police visit is a rare thing, and you're just supposed to accept you've been bested by some oik in an Tesco tracksuit. What you need to do is point out that the stolen TV is likely being sold to pay for drugs, which funds poppy production in Afghanistan, which then funds terrorists. Then the police might do something about it, though history suggests they'll just arrest more tourists taking photos of bus stops and Starbucks shops...
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18 Responses to “Why People Don't Like The Police”
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They probably reacted because they were tipped off that it could be explosive underpants.
29 December 2009 at 21:58Necklacing GATSOS South Africa style is cheaper and less riscky to passers-by and local petrol stations so would the Police prefer that?
30 December 2009 at 04:52The police are here to enforce the law. Inconveniently, that includes blowing things up, just as it does driving above the speed limit. If you would like the police not to stop people blowing things up, perhaps you should campaign for that to be part of a major political party's manifesto.
31 December 2009 at 13:51God spare us from the inevitable purse-lipped puritans who will always leap to the defence of the Satsi with a pert 'It's the law - blah, blah, blah' response.
31 December 2009 at 15:29Lots of things are 'the law' and the police are bloody selective about which ones they enforce and how they enforce them.
And that is without even momentarily pausing to wonder who, precisely, has ever run on a 'vote for me and we'll introduce speed cameras' manifesto.
Well said, GC.
1 January 2010 at 01:21Having read you post I can't help thinking you're a little mad and could do with a nice walk in the country to let off some steam. Maybe a pint in a local pub with a log fire, (no newspaper as this may upset you) some Pork Scratchings and friendly banter. Life's short, don' worry be happy.
1 January 2010 at 14:57Anon
1 January 2010 at 20:00Pork scratchings ? Eating dried up pigs arseholes and nostrils. Now that IS fuckin mad.
So is a walk in the park these days. Ask Dr Kelly.
1 January 2010 at 22:23A blog actually countenancing the use of an explosive device in a public place? buddy you either not getting laid, or if you are you're not doing it right.
2 January 2010 at 14:44How dare the police want to stop a criminal act!! We don't like the police because they want to stop property damage caused by explosive devices! Uh....what? Wait a sec. That doesn't really make sense.
6 January 2010 at 17:45Never mind. I will put my outrage back in the box and save it for the people who commit crimes instead of the police who try to stop them.
As always it's the righteous who seem unable to read. I have not said that criminal acts are fun - woo, yay! Nor have I said the police shouldn't stop property damage. But perhaps the police could start giving two shits about property damage when it's against property that isn't owned by them? That's the problem here; the massive police over-reaction at what has actually taken place. That, coupled with what I think you'll find is a general public opinion that the police don't take a lot of crime that affects us as individuals very seriously, is why I take issue here. Perhaps if you could remove your heads from your bottoms for a second you could see that.
7 January 2010 at 20:14I'm a police officer, do you really think I have any sense of ownership over a speed camera?
8 January 2010 at 15:15Do you also think any statement released by a media trained senior management type is in the slightest way representative of the thoughts of front line police?
I've worked it out, you're an idiot.
I was going to reply to your post, in which you also seem to have altered your line all of a sudden. But instead I'll just post this:
9 January 2010 at 22:22http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/6957682/Myleene-Klass-warned-by-police-after-scaring-off-intruders-with-knife.html
Ah I see, so the perpetrator had safely closed the road to ensure that any passers-by were protected from flying debris, had refunded the owners of the camera (or the local tax payers have to buy another one) for the cost of replacement and had arranged to replace the camera after removing the device that they destroyed. I must have missed that bit.
15 January 2010 at 20:17I live in Australia and work in the emergency services. We have fixed and mobile covert speed cameras, and they work. The road toll is down, the average speed in a 60kph zone has fallen from 68 to 61, and we have reduced our road trauma health care costs.
I'll be at work today, and I'll see people whose lives wil never be the same, because of speed alone, speed plus alcohol, speed plus speed/acid/ice,marijauna/etc.
There are big signs everywhere telling you what the deal is - how fast you can travel at any given location. There is no secret what the speed limit is. Driving a vehicle is not a right handed down by a deity on a stone tablet. It is a skill that requires rules to reduce the injury to others.
This country is the new East Germany. Why don't the police just wear the Stasi insignia and come out into the open?
18 January 2010 at 06:07Then again, it's not the fault of the coppers on the beat, or the brass hats. It's the politicians who dictate these draconian laws and it must be asked, what overall plan does the government have for all this?
The video about the photographer being stopped for photographing St Pauls cathedral at sunset is a prime example of this and it is said on may photographic blogs that street photography will be outlawed within the next five years.
I have often wondered what I would do if ever stopped while taking photos. Jokingly admitting to being a member of Al-Qaeda would probably have me hauled off to the tower and placed on the rack, while having the thumbscrews applied until I confessed to being part of a planned bombing campaign.
The police are looking for a man who built, and set off, a bomb. Now I don't need to read any further than that. I'm on the police's side. So are most people.
28 January 2010 at 00:13You might think that because it was a speed camera that he used his bomb against that that somehow justifies it. Explain how. Explain how disliking speed cameras whcih force you to keep to the already signposted limits allow you the freedom to make and use bombs.
well im owning my opinion but to be fair the evidence summounts against the police on a daily basis you only have to read the news papers and speak to the many clients who have been assaulted at the hands of an unfair un trained force .... two days mental health training ....???? doh .... tomlinson three put off frontline dutys in portsmouth and take a look at the number of complaints to see really police dont even bother replying the evidence speaks for itself and you will be judged accordingly rip mr tomlinson xxx and i wont be replying they arent worth the time waste or effort xx
24 May 2011 at 23:46think that just about covers my view xxx realisism wake up and smell the coffee ...
24 May 2011 at 23:48Post a Comment