Police working to a quota?? Surely not...

[spudchucka]

You better run along Spud, it's nearly 12.00 and there will be some old ladies speeding on their way home from church.

God forbid the sunday dinner is late. 61km/h all the way Mabel, just watch out for the pigs.

I'd only ever write a ticket for 61kph to arseholes like you finn, your grannys are quite safe.

[scumdog]

A few years ago William Bell killed three people in cold blood in Mt Wellington.

A few days before a member of the public had reported Bell to the police, alleging various crimes, and giving them Bell's address. The police made no effort to pick him up, later citing "staff shortages".

Yet, on the very day he committed the murders, about the time he must actually have been doing them, I passed three police units on traffic duty within 5 minutes drive of the murder scene.

So everybody would be happy if the Police were one sector and Traffic another, different cars/uniforms etc, - like in the old MOT days?

That way there would be none of the above complaints about seeing 3 traffic units working when no staff were available for other crimes.

After all, the MOT rarely were actively after 'criminals'.

[spudchucka]

True, but the first condition (speed) in most cases doesn't result in the second condition (impact). So its still one plus zero equals one, not two.

To take the speed argument to its illogical conclusion, all accidents would be caused by speed. I have never heard of any accidents where speed wasn't a factor. ie the vehicle (or all vehicles in a multi crash) were stopped at the time of the impact.

Like I said before, its a pointless arguement. Even walking speed can kill you if you hit the right, (wrong) object.

[Divot]

well maybe they should actually put some thought behind where the lines are, best example is on SH2 yellow the whole fuckin way


and yesterday went past one set of yellow lines that was yellow along a nice good vis straight and ended just before a blind cresting corner , yellow lines should only be treated as rough suggestions now that they paint them everywhere

It is cheeper that providing beter roads!!!!!

[Divot]

All you experts should join up, it would make a huge difference having a bunch of such enlightened experts in the force. In fact, you're all so on to it you'll probably be exempt from having to do the recruit course and just go straight to the coal face; "Here you go son, take this ticket book and go catch us some burglars"!

No they are just drips under pressure

[Divot]

Spare us the under-staffed rubbish indoo, they can find them when they want to.

Yep, Used imports from good old mother land

[WINJA]

Coming from a frontline officer who does not do traffic: compare the amount of homicides in the country to the road toll. Then compare how much the road toll has come down as a result of tough policing.

HOW MUCH HAS THE ROAD TOLL BEEN REDUCED BY SAFER VEHICLES ,AIR BAGS AND CRUMPLE ZONES DONT TRY AND TAKE THE CREDIT FOR SOMETHING YOU PIGS HAVE DONE LITTLE TO HELP, WHO GIVES A FUCK ABOUT THE ROAD TOLL WE WANT YOU CUNTS TO SOLVE CRIME LIKE BURGLERIES AND THATSTHE BOTTOM FUCKEN LINE WE THE PUBLIC ARE NOT GETTING WHAT WE WANT

[Patrick]

said it before, will say it again....

not many people die in burglaries and when they do, its headline news.

400 people die every year on the roads and it is lucky to get a mention.

go figure.....

but traffic enforcement is unimportant.... watch how bad it gets if there was none...

mad max and his battle truck will be on next week. might buy me one...

[Scouse]

Don't recall using paintball rifles in Hereford.

Did you see that Ronin movie too

[Finn]

Deserter?
Dishonourable discharge?
Or were you trying to go straight from boy scouts to the thin blue line?

Yes, I deserted the Boys Scouts after the Leader gave me a "dishonourable discharge". I'm a firm believer of taking shortcuts to get to the top, but it was the sore ass after summer camp that was the last straw.

[eliot-ness]

Old ladies don't lie sleepless at night out of fear that someone may be doing 61kph. They lie awake because they fear the William Bells. Yet the police assign a greater priority to the 61kph than to the William Bells. Something's wrong there.

When it was made compulsory to carry driving licenses a blitz was made on Rodney roads in the first few days. The net result was, if I remember correctly, 28 drivers caught and fined. The local chief described it as a success. "Drivers must learn that it is an offence" he said in a local paper report.
In the same paper, two pages on, was an article about a nearby vilage where senior citizens were being terrorised by hoons, ripping out fences, smashing mail boxes, driving across gardens etc. That same local poice chief said, "We haven't got the staff to follow up all compaints."
I wonder how many compaints he got to justify the crackdown on drivers not carrying licenses.
At about the same time, Snell's Beach residents,fed up with the increase in petty crime, paid for the building of a police station in the village. Local businesses paid for a patrol car. The station was rarely manned by the police. Now it is only manned part time by volunteers and these are in short supply. However, on the positive side, we now have a regular collection of revenue by a poice officer with his own private lunchroom, provided by the people he's targeting. That should make us all sleep easier.

Addendum.My wife has just informed me that one of her cars is missing a set of hub caps. Must have been stolen last night. Anybody think it's worth reporting?.... Thought not

[terbang]

Like I said before, its a pointless arguement. Even walking speed can kill you if you hit the right, (wrong) object.

You're on to it spud, the trick is is not to hit anything and the best way to do that is with a combination of skill and self control that can be taught. Its not the speed that kills its the attitude resulting in inapropriate speed for the circumstance among other things that do it. We have known about this in the aviation world from its inception, hit anything and you're history and we train & examine accordingly in a broad spectrum, including attitudes. Targeting speed only, though a good scource of income, is only doing a fraction, and you know it too, of what is required to make our roads safer. Education and examination standards are way too low in this country. You, I and most subscribers to this site know that, if even a small fraction of our fine money, currently pouring into the coffers, was used to upgrade driver training and examination standards, we would see a marked change in our road toll.
Sadly though, speed fines make money and proper training and checking costs..

[WINJA]

This is getting pathetic.

If there had been more TRAFFIC cops on the roads, one of them might have been able to catch Mark Edward LUNDY speeding between Wellington & Palmerston North the night he brutally murdered his wife and daughter in their own home and thereby prevent their horrible deaths.

Lifes full of "what if's" and "should have's". It doesn't make a f$@ken bit of difference to what happened.

If you want to villify any one in the William BELL case, take a look at the probation service role in the events.

While you're at it take a look at the roll played by southlands mental health services in the murder of the police officers wife in Queenstown a few years ago.

When you pricks are perfect you can throw as many stones as you like. Till then....... Get F&$ked!!!

LUNDY COULD BE SPLATERED IN BLOOD AND HAVE TO DEAD BODIES IN THE BACK SEAT AND YOU MORONS WOULD STILL HAVE ONLY GIVEN HIM A SPEEDING TICKET , HOW WOULD ISSUEING LUNDY A TICKET HAVE STOPPED THE MURDERS YOUR A TARD SPUD, WHAT COULD HAVE STOPPED THOSE MURDERS IS A REAL FEAR OF ACTUALLY GETTING CAUGHT THIS IS DONE BY THE POLICE SHOWING CRIMS THAT NO MATTER WHAT SIZE THE CRIME YOU WILL BE CAUGHT YOU WILL BE PUNISHED

[Ixion]

So everybody would be happy if the Police were one sector and Traffic another, different cars/uniforms etc, - like in the old MOT days?

That way there would be none of the above complaints about seeing 3 traffic units working when no staff were available for other crimes.

After all, the MOT rarely were actively after 'criminals'.

Ironically, yes. what gets up the public nose is the sort of thing referred to by Mr Eliot Ness, above . When the public seek the protection of the police, because they are frightened or affected bycriminal behaviour. And they get told"Go away, we can't do anything , too busy". Then , on the way home, they see coppers, in that same uniform, dishing out tickets for technical speeding offences. And reflect on the message "My home being burgled, my wife terrorised, my possessions stolen, is a lower priority to the police than that chap doing 61kph. Well IT AIN'T TO ME" .

It's not about speeding it's about priorities. And the public perception of priority is very different to that of the police.

We have , in this very thread, police officers telling us that burglary isn't important, doesn't matter. Yet if you were to question almost any member of the public - "There's a person burgling that house - THERE. And , over THERE, a man driving at 61kph. And one policeman. Who should the policeman deal with - the burglar or the speeder". The public's answer, I'll guarantee, would be "the burglar". Yet the police answer is "the speeder" .

If the police are determined to ignore most property offences and minor assaults etc, in favour of speeding (I mean the 'word from on high', not individual coppers) , then , yes, it would be better if they were in a different force. At least then if you did get hold of a copper something might be done. At present the public see ever increasing funds disappearing into the police department, and no improvement in law and order.

[Edbear]

Sheesh Jimbo, what does THAT lot mean in plain english??

BTW Guys, thought I'd try this ticketing of 'innocent' speeding motorists tonight, first guy was doing 74 in a 50 area, smelled if booze, long story short he blew 1148, 5th time drink driving.

Wouldn't you rather HE was off the road??

Decided to call it quits after that and just stop druggies and burglars, I've got this special radar see.......

Never got ONE.

Back to the old speed radar tomorrow, it DOES detect speed unlike the special one which didn't detect a single druggie or burglar...


(Actually I lied, there is no special radar, I need WINJA to invent one so it is easier to catch druggies and burglars and can then leave innocent speeding motorists alone)

Hey Spank! How come we have rep restrictions?