Civilians using speed trap cameras!!!

[AnnM1]

What are your feelings on the latest news of civilians using speed trap cameras? These civilians are kitted up in 'police-type' visible jackets and are, I understand, reporting their findings to the police. I feel this is wrong as these characters could target specific people who they may have a grudge against. Is it acceptable? This is Big Brother gone too far in my book. If they want to do this type of job, why not join the force.

No, before you all have a go at me, I don't agree with speeding but I don't think the general public should be acting in such a 'police' fashion.

 

[sparkes]

The police will not be able to do anything as without photographic evidence it is just one persons word against another.

It will die a death as soon as the first person appears in court and realises this

 

[mcghee]

My theory is that the police get fed up listening to these road captains and just give them speed guns to humour them. They must have very little to occupy their time if they want to stand at the roadside with a speedgun. As you can probably gather I think it's a largely pointless exercise intended purely to keep these folk out the polices' hair.

 

[Tony A.]

Ann,

I don`t see the problem, these volunteers are probably sick to death of their streets being used as race tracks. I hope the police give them the kit to photograph offenders, and then it wont die a death. the only people with anything to fear are those that drive over the speed limit. If we want to stamp out speeding in built up areas then we have to help the ploice in any way we can, if the actions of these people save just one childs life then it will have been worth it.

Are you just as annoyed with CCTV in our towns and cities.

 

[sparkes]

Tony

Speed is a problem in the UK and we do need to find a way to control it within our towns and villages. However, the law in The UK states that evidence is needed and that warning signs have to be displayed if a speeding offence is to be chased. The cost of doing all of this is better spent on traffic calming within the villages. In Warwickshire, several of the villages have a calming system that thins the road down to one lane and gives alternate priority to each direction.This works very well if the design is placed on a corner so that people have to slow down.

 

[smiley]

In this day and age with risk assessments and insurance that we all have to bare.

One asks are they civilians or not?

If they are civvys they must be privately purchased items.

If they are police owned items then surely a risk assessment has to be carried out first for using civilian people in this role and they have to be covered under the police insurance scheme. Therefore, are they not a member of the police force?

 

[mcghee]

Also Tony, regarding cctv; these cameras are not set up to watch criminals, they're set up to watch you. Everywhere you go you're being treated as a potential criminal the same as everyone else. Where does it end? Are we going to end up with cctv in our homes in case we smack our children? It's a frightening road to go down Tony.

 

[BobT_5041460]

As one of old style Traffic Wardens in Aberdeen, we have been trained in the use of Muniquip speed gun. With this training we can corroborate a Police officer where a speed check is required. We also do random checks by ourselves purely to gather imformation regarding speeds of vehicles. I assume these civilians who have been issued with the speed guns are in England. Although Scottish law & English law is different, I do not think any evidence gathered by these people would stand up in court. When we give evidence in court the first thing we are asked is if we have had training in the use of speed guns. As someone else stated it looks like these people were given the guns to keep them happy.

 

[Geordie]

Just shows what a joke the law is now, if resorting to this. More cash, more manpower, and F--- the cameras, more cops about, less crime. The twats methods dont work, so lets try the ones that do, NAIL & JAIL.

 

[Lol1]

Seems like your sitting on the fence with this one Geordie. Feel free to speak your mind.

 

[Geordie]

LOL, I never was any good at getting my point across! lol

 

[Tony A.]

Craig,

You have some strange theories, do you honestly believe that the police would issue civilians with equipment in order to stop them complaining about a problem in their area.

As for CCTV I dont mind being watched as I go about my lawful daily doings, wheres the harm? you obviuosly do, are you paranoid? I`m not a "potential criminal" but CCTV has caught a lot that where.

STEVE, I saw a similar system im Germany that worked well,it was in the shape of concrete triangles, and it was portable, in that it was brought on a truck and set up. some weeks later when the problem was deemed to be over it ws taken away.

 

[smiley]

I don't think the police would issue these items to the public, as it could put them at great risk.

I would get paranoid if cctv were installed in the ladies toilets or changing rooms !!!

Not to mention ambarrassed.

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Personally I have no problems with CCTV or Identity cards for that matter. The only ones who worry about them are the villains and civil liberty wallahs. Civilians using speed cameras is another matter. It can be open to abuse, for example a local speeding in his village but being let off because the locals operating the gun know him. Again you might report someone locally who you dont know, but they know you and where you live. I dont think I'd sleep too easy in my bed at night. A friend was one of these civilians using speed guns in the village where he lived about 2 years ago. I will try and find out more off him of how people stand regarding the law if reported.

 

[yvonne6]

In Scots Law we require more than one Police Officer to corroborate speeding, therefore we would need 2 civvies for the same. Also the speed guns have to be properly callibrated and checked on a regular basis, would it be the job of the local police to carry this out, i dont think so, they dont have enought time to do their own. We should speed and i dont think anyone on the forum is suggesting otherwise, but i suppose the habitual speeders must be stopped some way.

yvonne

 

[Viking1]

I thick it stick because it's a other way so the garment can cut down on policing I for think we have not got a lot of police doing the job and if we had so think dun about the prison has well because to me it sound like most prisons are like holiday camps.

It seem to be forgot that the prisoners tuck people right of them when they did thing to them that which tuck the victims right a way so y shud they have right when there in prison.

Mark

 

[SteveW77]

I am no civil liberties wallah, but I do object the increasing use of CCTV cameras and the threat of ID cards, The justification that only the guilty should be worried is not born out by history.

This argument has been used by every despotic ruler since Adam was a lad, Twenty million Russian died under Starling thanks to people doing their duty and denouncing people with or without justification.

I am a free born English man and I intend to stay that way, give polititians an inch and they will enslave us all. My father and thousands of other people died to protect my freedom and I am not going to give it away to make life easey for polititians or policemen. If they can't do the job without spying on ordinary people I suggest that the try a bit harder or get another job.

Steve W

 

[SteveW77]

Having just seen the national news on the TV my views on the need to protect my freedom from state interference have just been re-enforced. The sight of british soldiers beating teenage Arabs is a bloody disgrace. Just another example of uncontrolled power being abused. How long before scenes like this are seen on our streets once again. ( remember the miners strike )If we are not prepared to challange every call for more and more controll over our lives this could and possiblly will be an everyday sight in this country and all done in the name of "National Security" This kind of behavior is unacceptable to me whether it is in Iraq or my local high street. Freedom is for everybody, not just for people I like.

Steve W

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

I am no civil liberties wallah, but I do object the increasing use of CCTV cameras and the threat of ID cards, The justification that only the guilty should be worried is not born out by history.

This argument has been used by every despotic ruler since Adam was a lad, Twenty million Russian died under Starling thanks to people doing their duty and denouncing people with or without justification.

I am a free born English man and I intend to stay that way, give polititians an inch and they will enslave us all. My father and thousands of other people died to protect my freedom and I am not going to give it away to make life easey for polititians or policemen. If they can't do the job without spying on ordinary people I suggest that the try a bit harder or get another job.

Steve W

Starlings always have had a notorious reputation but like a lot of birds their numbers are reducing :O(

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

I wonder if your views would have been the same if you had lost your wife, child or mother in the London bombings, just a thought to ponder on. ;O) .. and what the hell a secret video has to to do with CCTV or ID cards is beyond me. At least I can walk in town going about my legal business knowing that if someone mugs me there is a better chance of them being caught and evidence for the police to prosecute in the courts. Thankfully I dont suffer such paranoia.

 

[SteveW77]

I did lose a member of my family to an IRA bomber many years ago.

but this still does not alter my view on survailance of law abiding citizens, it's not as if it is effective, the picture quality is usually poor, and if my own personel experience is anything to go by, the cost cannot be justified by the results. My caravan was recently damage by vandals, (one of thirteen) the total damage caused to all the vans was in excces of

 

[baxtjhn@aol.com]

I like others do not have a problem with CCTV,I have nothing to hide.They do not invade my space,I am not aware or scared of their presence.They are there for all the right reasons.

A young man kicks another young mans head like a football for about 3-4 minutes non stop,the young man dies of his injuries.

Now here are your choices 1- unable to identify the guilty party so he gets off,nobody saw anything.....

Choice 2- identified on CCTV ,dealt with by courts.

Ok - its your son,brother or friend that was the victim..which option would you choose.

My example is fact not something I have made up.

regards john.b.

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

I did lose a member of my family to an IRA bomber many years ago.

but this still does not alter my view on survailance of law abiding citizens, it's not as if it is effective, the picture quality is usually poor, and if my own personel experience is anything to go by, the cost cannot be justified by the results. My caravan was recently damage by vandals, (one of thirteen) the total damage caused to all the vans was in excces of

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Steve the reason the people who trashed your van got the sentence they did was because the laws of this country are an ass. If they had a custodial sentence they would have had all the mod cons provided to them and only served a fraction of their sentence. Why? Because of the civil liberties wallahs, the 1% of the population who do 99% of the shouting/complaining/protesting. You dont even hear of the mention the victims of crime. After the London bombing the victims and relatives were forgotten about within days. The police make a mistake over Charles De Mendenez and 8 months later its still in the press. The laws favour the perpetrators of crime, not the forgotten victims. I just wish these people who complain about liberties in this country would go and lecture in Iran, Syria, Libya etc.

 

[colin(bridgend)]

Lord B. I am in total agreement with you. This country is the laughing stock of the world regarding our legal system. Should we go to the majority of the middle eastern countries and break the law we would be subjected to far stiffer punishment than is dealt out in this country. They have the right attitude where the penalty fits the crime. If any foreigner breaks the law in this country, no matter what part of the world they are from, they should be made to pay for the crime in the courts and then on completion of their penalty be deported back to the country thay came from.

Our parents did not lay down their lives in the second world war to end up now being dictated to by idiots in the EU. This country should stand on its own two feet and treat all law breakers with the contemp they deserve.