Police harassment, UK style

Pppppwhhahaahahahahahahaah! Classic!

Graeme Dods said:

I thought you guys might appreciate this from uk.rec.cycling -

groups.google.com.aud02d6d955060f2aaOpen ↗

tinyurl.com3639peOpen ↗

Lovely outcome! On that subject though, does anyone know of the laws
regarding what Australian police can and can't ask you for if you're
stopped by them and what (if anything) you can ask for from them?

Graeme

'tis sweet sometimes...

Now in VIC, From Vic Legal Aid: vla.vic.gov.aucl.police powers.pdfOpen ↗
[font=Frutiger-Cn]
[left]Generally the police do not have the right to demand your name and address[/left]

[left]without a reason. The police must tell you why they want your name and address. [/left]
[left]You can ask for their reasons.[/left]



[/font][b][font=Frutiger-BoldCn][left]Note: [/b][/font][font=Frutiger-Cn]The police have the right to demand your name and address without a reason

when you are:
[/left]

[left]• driving a car, motor bike, boat or push bike[/left]

[left]• on the tram, train, bus or on public transport property. Ticket inspectors (people[/left]

[left]who work on public transport checking that everyone has the right ticket) can also[/left]

[left]ask for your name and address.[/left]

[left]• in a hotel or licensed premises (a place where you can buy alcohol). Staff in a[/left]

[left]hotel or licensed premises can also ask for your age.[/left]

[left]It is a criminal offence to refuse to give your name and address, or to give a false[/left]

[left]name and address to the police or public transport officers. You can be fined for[/left]

[left]these offences by a court.[/left]

[left]The police must also tell you their name, identification number, the name of the[/left]

[left]police station where they work and their rank. The police must give you this[/left]

[left]information in writing, when you ask. This information may be useful later.[/left]

[left]The police can be fined for not giving you their name, identification number, police[/left]

[left]station and rank. You need to make a complaint for this to happen. [/left]

[/font]

Graeme Dods said:

I thought you guys might appreciate this from uk.rec.cycling -

Now that was very good.... "Sgt....."

Graeme Dods said:

I thought you guys might appreciate this from uk.rec.cycling -

http://groups.google.com.au/group/uk.rec.cycling/browse_frm/thread/50...

http://tinyurl.com/3639pe

Lovely outcome! On that subject though, does anyone know of the laws
regarding what Australian police can and can't ask you for if you're
stopped by them and what (if anything) you can ask for from them?

Graeme

It seems like the poor [censored] was trying to check a possible bike
theft, and got sidetracked by a smartarse.

Donga

Donga said:

It seems like the poor [censored] was trying to check a possible bike
theft, and got sidetracked by a smartarse.

The possible bike theft angle only comes in fairly late on in the
conversation, after the "you shouldn't be in that lane". Some numpties
in the UK police do have a fairly uninformed view of what cyclists are
allowed to do or where they are allowed to go. They tend to go by "gut
feeling", e.g. there's a cycle path therefore you must use that rather
than the road. The only difference between them and the general public
is that the police have the power to "enforce" their opinions as if
they were law.

I'm all in favour of police having powers to address genuine problems,
but I'm even more in favour of the public knowing where those powers
begin and end so they know if they're just being hassled for the hell
of it.

Graeme

Graeme Dods said:

Donga said:

It seems like the poor [censored] was trying to check a possible bike
theft, and got sidetracked by a smartarse.

The possible bike theft angle only comes in fairly late on in the
conversation, after the "you shouldn't be in that lane". Some numpties
in the UK police do have a fairly uninformed view of what cyclists are
allowed to do or where they are allowed to go. They tend to go by "gut
feeling", e.g. there's a cycle path therefore you must use that rather
than the road. The only difference between them and the general public
is that the police have the power to "enforce" their opinions as if
they were law.

I'm all in favour of police having powers to address genuine problems,
but I'm even more in favour of the public knowing where those powers
begin and end so they know if they're just being hassled for the hell
of it.

Graeme

Seeing a guy in work clothes and boots riding a nice racing bike would
make me think theft.

I don't think a fella who 'teaches' police can be too clever in trying
to catch them out, do you? I wouldn't read too much into this boastful
little tale.

Donga

Donga said:

Seeing a guy in work clothes and boots riding a nice racing bike would
make me think theft.

I don't think a fella who 'teaches' police can be too clever in trying
to catch them out, do you? I wouldn't read too much into this boastful
little tale.

Donga

I would. Perhaps it helps that I've read uk.rec.cycling for years and
have seen many of his postings. He's a long time contributor who is
well known as URC's cycling policeman and not given to idle boasting
or fanciful tales.

Graeme

quote='Graeme Dods'On May 7 said:

Seeing a guy in work clothes and boots riding a nice racing bike would
make me think theft.

I don't think a fella who 'teaches' police can be too clever in trying
to catch them out, do you? I wouldn't read too much into this boastful
little tale.

Donga

I would. Perhaps it helps that I've read uk.rec.cycling for years and
have seen many of his postings. He's a long time contributor who is
well known as URC's cycling policeman and not given to idle boasting
or fanciful tales.
[/QUOTE]

I concur, and don't forget that cycling in normal attire is more prevalent in the UK than it is here.

EuanB said:

I concur, and don't forget that cycling in normal attire is more prevalent in the UK than it is here.

"wataboutthawerkers?.....!!...."
yeah...toss the lycra.... I like the visual of steel cap boots , overalls and a four corner tied hanky on your head( a la Charlie Blake 😄 ) ...see a few like that ..(sans hanky) around Port Melb/Docklands now and then

...everyone ride in whatever...just ride, and keep the nice plods guessing...

One of the riders I used to race against in the 1980s in the Vets club here
in Canberra was a police Commander in the AFP (fairly senior, not very far
from Commissioner level). He was riding his bike home from work one day when
a passing motorcyclist kicked him. He noted the license plate, rode home,
rang work to get the address associated with the license, changed into
Uniform, went round, and arrested and charged the rider...

"Graeme Dods" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I thought you guys might appreciate this from uk.rec.cycling -

http://groups.google.com.au/group/uk.rec.cycling/browse_frm/thread/5003d128c107683f/d02d6d955060f2aa?hl=en#d02d6d955060f2aa

rooman said:

"wataboutthawerkers?.....!!...."
yeah...toss the lycra.... I like the visual of steel cap boots , overalls and a four corner tied hanky on your head( a la Charlie Blake 😄 ) ...see a few like that ..(sans hanky) around Port Melb/Docklands now and then

...everyone ride in whatever...just ride, and keep the nice plods guessing...

There's a guy who rides down Nepean in Blundestones on a nice bike, Keo pedals too. Asked him about it and he reckons they work just fine. Fair turn of pace too (by my fat commuter standards).

Nick Payne said:

He noted the license plate, rode home,
rang work to get the address associated with the license, changed into
Uniform, went round, and arrested and charged the rider...

Again: Pppppwhhahaahahahahahahaah! Good one.

Donga said:

Seeing a guy in work clothes and boots riding a nice racing bike would make me think theft.

I see your point and that's where the cop seemed to start out but it sounded like he just couldn't resist getting distracted, throwing his weight around and being a bully.

But it might not have had anything to do with suspecting theft. He may have thought that a bloke in boots was just a plonker and didn't "deserve" such a slick ride (remember he claimed to be a cyclist himself)--hence the attitude about getting out of the right-hand lane.

Donga said:

I don't think a fella who 'teaches' police can be too clever in trying to catch them out, do you? I wouldn't read too much into this boastful little tale.

Yeah, maybe the cyclist was being a bit of a smartarse but (for better or worse) cops have to deal with that every day. It doesn't give this guy the right to abuse his authority, which I think was the point of the story. And let's face it, the cop did walk right into it: the cyclist really hadn't done anything wrong.

Graeme Dods said:

I thought you guys might appreciate this from uk.rec.cycling -
http://groups.google.com.au/group/uk.rec.cycling/browse_frm/thread/5003d128c107683f/d02d6d955060f2aa?hl=en#d02d6d955060f2aa
http://tinyurl.com/3639pe

Lov-er-ly! 😄

hippy