I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

I usually stand up for our local Police but I have just seen something that has made me wonder about the people in charge of the local bobby's (well PCSO in this case). Maybe we are just lucky in Ossy and our PC's and PCSO's are better than most.

Ok story time, get a brew and make yourselves comfortable.

I have been complaining to the Police on and of for ages about ignorant drivers who park on the zigzags outside Fairfield Children's Centre, where my daughter attends. Yesterday I actaully asked when they were going to do something about it. I was told they can't be outside every school every day. I asked how many schools have kids being dropped off/picked up at half past one in the afternoon? I also asked when they were last outside Fairfield. neither question was answered.

I picked her up today and stood right outside the school was a PCSO in full dayglo uniform. Being the inquisitive type I asked him what be was doing. You never know he might have been lost. He informed me he was stopping people from parking on the zigzags. I asked him why and was told it was an offence to do so. I asked him what the point was of standing there where everyone could see him, should he not be just around the corner then stick a ticket on someone when they do stop? He informed me that giving out tickets can cause bad feeling. I said good they should not be parking there at all. I carried on to tell him I thought he was wasting his time and that cars will again be parked there tomorrow as they were yesterday. He also told me he was stood there because he had been told to and that is what he is paid for. At this point the tone in his voice started to be a little errm unprofessional shall we say. I left him wasting his time by the roads edge and picked up my girl.

I set off in the car and drove around the block. As I drove along the street about 50 yards from school, two young lads, about 3 or 4 years old were playing football in the road. They saw me and kicked the ball onto the footpath. I slowed down to about 10mph as I passed them. Just before I reached them the ball rolled into the road followed by a little boy. Thankfully, due to good tyres and ABS I managed to stop inches from hitting him. That PCSO might have stopped the boys from playing in the road if he had been walking the beat instead of wasting his time stood outside school :mad:

If I had been the idiot driving the Subaru yesterday at about 40mph past school with his dump valve whistling at every gear change (he was in 4th so was probably doing at least 40mph) that boy could well be dead now.

I will no doubt be having an interesting conversion with the local Inspector in a couple of weeks when I see him about the waste Police resources and how no one parked outside school for a whole half hour while his PCSO was stood there.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

Reading things like this you can't help but wonder if these community bobbies are only there because they will do just what they are told It is obvious to a fool that no one is going to park illegally when they know they will find a ticket when they get back. As you say if getting a ticket causes bad feelings don't put yourself in the position and you won't get the ticket!! Do these people think that the lines are put there just for fun?

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

ah plastic police officers, it probably wasnt in his job description to do anything......gob****e (the pcso Neil not you) ;)

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

wether its the job description, or poor training, these clowns are just a complete waste of recources,from where i'm standing.:(

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

a typical example of jobs worth
no insentive no iniciative no sense

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

I don't agree with that. Our PCSO's in Ossy do a good job. I think a real PC would have done the same thing. In fact I have seen them doing it out my boys school. It was just pointless, they will park there again tomorrow.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

What is "gob****e"? Some obscure expletive I have forgotten? C***sucker, I could understand, and motherf***er, but this one escapes me:confused::confused::confused:.

A couple of years ago the Colonial Broadcasting Corporation did a story on this guy who applied to be a copper and took the tests, one of which was an IQ test. His application was turned down because he scored too high on the IQ test. The argument of the police force, (it was the York Regional, one of the largest forces in Ontario) was that people who were too intelligent could not put up with the mind numbing boredom of riding around in a police cruiser munching on donuts.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

lol thats a word my dad has ALWAYS used...


Urban Dictionary: gob****e


maybe i used it in the wrong context....but its still a good word ;)

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

perhaps thats cos there is not enough real PCs and an abundance of clowns;)

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

A good word is its own context ... maybe I will start using it ... that should draw some blank looks from the local yokels.:D

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

Well I say bang up a CCTV camera so registrations are in full view and send fines to the registered car owners address. Why even wasted police resources by having them have to stick fines on the windows at all when they could be doing something better.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

that i do like.;)

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

thats the problem, they aint got the manpower, but plenty of cheap clowns to send.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

CCTV equipent is now advanced enough to read car registration numbers without the aid of a human. I'm pretty sure that the same amount of effort needed to fine the car owner via cctv would not actually cost more than a police officer of any sort there.

It also would mean police can monitor the crimes that have more public interest rather than doing the job of traffic wardens.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

I know what you mean but I'm not sure if PCSO's actually get paid, I think they volunteer but stand to be corrected. They just get all the poop jobs, some are most likely bright folk wondering why their initiative gets stiffled by the boss. It would pig me right off if i volunteered my time to help out but you cant do this you cant do that......is there not a thread about this concerning PCSO's that did not go into some lake in the summer to save a drowning child ?

What we need are more fully trained officers on duty who are able to make decisions with the full weight of the law behind them " plastic police officers" as flashy called them just are not doing what is required, through no fault of their own. Tis only me opinion tho ;)

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

Or even better park an unmarked camera car outside school's ;)

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

Im not a big fan of pcso s personally its just a cheap cutback for the policeforce . We have had incidents over here and personally all they do is try and reassure . which never works .
Good God . people have lost respect for the police these days so what chance do the pcso s stand. waste of resources imo.
We need more bobbies on the beat and more descretion when an apparent problem looms . as in neils case.
Too busy attacking motorists for smoking rather than saving kids lives . they will hide away to catch a motorist speeding , smoking, using a mobile so why not do the same outside a school where the dangers are clearly obvious because its been reported . jesus its been handed to them on a plate. and now they dont want to cause bad feeling .
something is badly wrong!!!:confused:

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

Perhaps plod was scattering nails about in the road, to make sure all those lazy parents come on foot tomorrow.:D

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

did any one know that it is possible to get your name and address off a statement you have made to the police? i reported a shoplifter and gave a statement and he came round to my house!! i also gave a statement about an alleged rape and the guy (who didnt know me) sent me letters from prison!

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

I think the PCSO's are good, and just because they dont get paid doesnt mean that they dont do quite a good job. However, I just dont think that they, or the proper police should be acting as traffic wardens outside schools, its just not good use of the service.

If people just walked/cycled or took the bus to schools then there would be much less of an issue, but people insist on using huge 4x4's to do the school run. Also car sharing is a good idea if the walking or bus thing isnt possible.
A school just down the road from me has a bicycle route, and there are several adults on bikes and they ride around the route to collect the pupils and then ride to the school. I think its a really good idea and it would cut down the number of cars being used, and so less people would be parking illegally.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

Adults on bikes collecting the children :confused:
This sounds as though they are stacking/transporting them on the bike's crossbar. Please explain :confused:

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

I do the school run every morning and don't recall seeing a 4x4. Still if the media says thats what they are then it must be true. :rolleyes:

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

Adults on bike ride along the designated route, and the children on their own bikes ride in between all the adults (about 3 at least, 1 for each side: back, front and at the side thats next to traffic)

One of lancaster 3 c's is cycling though, think the others are countryside and city, though dont quote me on it.

Also I see quite a few land rovers, which is what I deem a 4x4, with women drivers taking children to school, it wasnt a media quote, it was my own viewing. My sisters friends mum does a school run for the local kids in one, though there are the odd few others parking outside the school at collection times.

Seen as I've mentioned my sister I wont say what school that is, but its a school that has traffic issues outside it at the end of the day in particular.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

It depends which school your children attend. Different schools have different levels of problems with traffic. For example, the one right up top of stanhill (st oswalds?) doesnt seem to have as bad traffic issues as, for example, the one in ossy that I think, not sure, is on aspen lane? I'm not familiar with the road names up that way but some people might know which one i mean, very narrow street on a hill with semi detached houses on either side. I'm pretty sure its at least NEAR aspen lane, and its hectic when i've been past there when schools ending.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

Doesn't matter which school is where or what car people drive, parking illegally outside a school is ignorance and the authorities be they police, pcso's or traffic wardens should do something about it. I have done a school run for 7 years and manage to park legally and it pees me right off that I can be bothered walking a few extra yards to do so, yet the ones who break the law are allowed to get off scott free.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

I said the amount of traffic differs, not how acceptable it is to park on the lines. I think you're not reading what I said properly. I said that if people used environmentally friendly means of getting to school, and there are very little reason why they cant, then there wouldnt even be a problem.

There are buses, walking schemes and bike riding schemes, so cars arent even needed. I walked to school everyday, even when I lived up new lane and had to go to mount carmel. No need for all the cars causing congestion outside schools.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

my lad goes to st annes and st josephs and the parking there is terrible!! your nearly parking down at the college!! might as well walk.....but i dont fancy riding a bike up that hill..

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

This thread was about the non effectiveness of the police to stop people parking outside a school. Far from me not reading properly what you put, I would suggest you have turned this in to one of your 'Blazey's Perfect World' threads :rolleyes:

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

we have had police round at the school at home time to stop ppl parking illegally and the school have handed out letters..

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

I said use CCTV, its hardly something I would normally say as I'm not a big fan of 'Big Brother Britain' but with the modern ability for CCTV to recognise and log registration numbers, the ability to fine those illegally parking would be much easier than a police officer stood around, in full view anyway, when thats the job of a traffic warden, not a police officer.

We could always try this idea...
Cardboard police clones to cut crime - Times Online

All of a sudden my idea about cctv doesnt seem so stupid does it :D

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

:rofl38:lmao @someone stealing it!!

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

at a school i used to work at they had someone standing outside to stop ppl parking on the zig zags.... not a fun job, i did it a few times and all i got was abuse

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

I think they should exclude the children of parents who park on the zig zags for endangering the other children.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

why punish the children because their parents are idiots?

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

I dont understand it either.

When the child does something wrong its blame the parents, when its the parents fault lets just punish the child. Why is there this way of dealing with things in the educational system?
The people who suggest these ideas just dont know how to deal with a problem directly and want to deal low blows, because thats all punishing the child for the parents actions would be, a low, cowardly blow.

My favourite 'punishment' for drivers for me, are the bus boullards (sp?) that go down to let buses through but then go back up once they've past, and cars that try to get through sneakily get their car damaged when it goes up too fast. Break the rules, pay the price, and very literally. Bet they never try doing it again.

People who park on zigzag lines are just irresponsible, and I dont see why they aren't just automatically fined. There shouldnt even be a warning, and same for OTT speeding aswell. No excuses for not knowing you cant park there or going certain speed limits. What do these people think theory tests where for? You get tested on them so you know and can abide by what they say. Too many people think that they're above the law when it comes to driving, and there alot of things that drivers do illegally that many think are acceptable; speeding, talking on mobile phones, parking on double yellow/zigzags/loading bays etc, drinking over the limit and driving to just name a few.

These people probably (and this isnt based on fact) cause more depths than intentionally armed robbers do, and theres no such thing as letting them off, when potentially more lives are at risk from people ignoring laws on driving.

Annoys me when people say 'well you clearly arent a driver, you wouldn't know', but i'm still a bloody pedestrian and at risk because of the idiots who think its fine to 'bend' rules. Its hardly bending rules when you've knocked over a child crossing the road, or swerved on to the pavement not being able to focus on the road and wiped out the happy couple with their baby in the pushchair. THINK adverts are eant to be a shock advert and make people abide by the rules, millions see them every day, but it makes me wonder how many actually shrug it off and say 'that'll never happen to me, im a safe driver blah blah blah'. Arghhh rant over.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

Bring back the old type 'beat copper' who spend their entire career on the beat, not flying up and down, wasting time and money on 'knock for knock' car accidents were their presence is neither wanted or needed. These lazy would be formula one driver coppers are not nescessary, just an expensive luxury. As for car's parking/ stopping outside schools, block the streets where possible, introduce a statutary fine for offenders collectable by an appointed officer of the school staff or goveners, this could be a shared responsibility, and the 'officers' paid out of the fines. Time also to stop foreigners playing the "me no understand" race card on what they see as trilial issues, and the Polce can't be bothered to follow up fearing backlash may stunt their promotion prospect, if they get involved with race issues however trivial they consider them. They have no problem booking the 'majority'of the population!

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

So if the school itself said we are going to get tough and protect our pupils by telling the parents who park on zig zags that they will have their child excluded if they continue, whose fault will it be. The cowards who suggest the rule, the police for not enforcing the rule, OR THE STUPID IGNORANT LAW-BREAKING PARENT WHO PARKS THERE. ( PS I might have given you an obvious clue :) )

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

I think that people will still ignore the threat of having their student expelled, because they can just move their child to another school and explain why they were expelled in the first place.

If they ignore fines against themselves then what makes u think theyre going to be afraid of having to move their child to a different school?

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

So basically the parent is the one punishing the child and doesn't have a problem with it. Strange parenting methods if you ask me.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

Well if the head, teachers, teaching assistants etc got their backsides out of the staff room and asked drivers who are stopping on the zigzags to move in the first place maybe we would not have a problem.

And yes, before you ask, I do think the safety of children entering school premises is partially the responsibility of the school.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

as i said earlier the teaching assistants do try to stop them but all we get is abuse!

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

As much as you think that they sit on their backsides, again it comes down to health & safety at work, so send the TA/teacher/HT out to sort a law breaking driver risking themselves being on the end of verbal or physical assault:eek: who knows what kind of reaction they would receive as dipicted in society these days besides it isnt the job of the school to police what goes on outside the school grounds - it isn't really their responsiblity by law as such & ...........isn't road issues subject to traffic police:confused:

Again a buck pass issue, tho i have known the HT at my sons school to give a lecture or 2 to drivers outside the school grounds but is putting herself at risk or in jepardy if something should happen..........how many times do u hear cops say not to take the law into your own hands :rolleyes:

Personally tougher measures are needed - like hefty on spot fines or car crushers for zigzag lazy arse parkers??????? A five minute walk upto to school may seem like a grand idea if little jimmy's taxi was to be at risk of crushing as long as law is applied & softly softly approach were stopped.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

It does seem like a buck pass issue and I think that the buck should stop with the police.

The children are not the school's responsibility until 9am so it is not up to the teaching staff to confront the lazy parking offenders.

Like Stanleymad said, they would get no thanks for it and if they were to be abused either verbally or physically they would be told that they shouldn't have intervened in the first place.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

The buck should stop with the lazy law breaking parents.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

Well, yes, you're quite right of course.

People dropping children off at schools should not be parking in dangerous places.

What I meant is that when parents do park inappropriately it is not the teacher's responsibility to intervene. It is the responsibility of the police.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

springhill school is a prime example on stupid drivers,they park on the zig-zags on fairfield street and all the way down exchange street,as t is,nt bad enough with all the articulated lorries going down there, even when the plastic police man is there,not being racist but nearly every on eof them are asian drivers,and they are there from 3-00pm till well after 3-20pm,my son last year was playing outside the schoolafter coming out and kicked a stone and it bounced up and hit the wind screen on a parked car cracking it,the asian driver went ape sh*t and statrted to shout at him,not realising that i was walking a few feet behind him, i basically told him to f**k off and it he had not parked there the stone would not have hit his car,gave my son 50p to spend on sweets, GOOD LAD

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

Are they not? When a friend of by son's brother was bullied on the bus by someone from another school, the bully was excluded for a day as punishment.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

Letter in The Herald this week from 'Anon' who lives in a normally quite street until school opening and school finishing times.

The issue is not with the zig-zag, but with badly parked cars at these times of day. Nothing he/she can do really, as parking legally. Unfortunately, this person has been pranged a couple of times in the last six months before 9 a.m., the last one costing them £300 !

The school passed he/she on to the police, the police to the council, the council back to the police. Did point out that they were all sympathetic though.

Don't suppose anything can be done on this, except to enforce yellow lines, and then the residents wouldn't be able to park. Obviously selfish parents are just as selfish when it comes to admitting they have scraped someone's car.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

At the end of the day these people are breaking the law so if they get fined they have only theirselves to blame. As for not wanting to cause bad feeling, if they weren't parked illegally no ticket so reason for bad feeling has been eradicated. It is getting beyond a joke now, not just outside schools everywhere. I assume these people have passed a driving test and know the rules so if they choose to break them they must face the consequences!!!

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

What do they expect living in a house near a school. I am assuming the school was there when they moved in.

It like the folks who bought the new houses near Whinney Hill tip moaning about the smell :D

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

They needn't worry about the spraying at Whinney Hill - did the research/enquiries and it is being deodorised safely
http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/f...ing-33045.html

I live near a primary school and people park in the 'residents only' parking area but I dont mind and no one else living round seems to either, because it happens at a time of day when some residents are at work with their cars, and the ones who don't work know that 'their space' MAY have been taken briefly at certain times of day.

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

at my little lads old school a local business 'donated' their car park at school time and home time for the parents to park in... is there no one near that will do that?

Re: I have changed my mind, the Police really are stupid.
 

[QUOTE=Neil;495433]What do they expect living in a house near a school. I am assuming the school was there when they moved in.

/QUOTE]

Bit cynical that Neil ... probably when they moved in was no 4 x 4's and folks walked their kids to school. Gotta' be red herring post of the month that one.

So, if they live near a school, it is 'acceptable' to have their cars scraped, is it ? with nobody owning up. !

Anyway, don't agree with your sentiments about the PCSO's .. thought was a good idea to concentrate on this area, if only for a day, to remind parents not to park there. As for the children running in front of your car, the police, etc., can't be everywhere, can they? As in another thread, time we brought back a sort of Green Cross Code for the kids.