Al

Out and about on my horse

[Inspector Gadget @InspGadgetBlogs]

Happy New Year for the unelected, never walked the beat, Mukund Krishna who apparently runs the Fed.

[Mike B @MikeB2023]

Don’t worry Sadiq, me and my family will go without food this week. 🤬🤬🤬

This is what it costs me to LEAVE London for work - 2 miles!!! That’s £6.25 per mile!!!!

I can’t go on like this.

I’m one of hundreds of thousands who also can’t go on like this. 😞😞😞

#ULEZ #SadiqKhan #GetKhanOut

[Brick Cop©️ @Brick_Cop]

Ok, so why should all Cops be allowed to carry a #Taser if they want to? ⚡️

Now it might surprise you to learn, much like most Cops aren’t blue light or public order trained, most don’t or can’t carry a Taser…🍌

Apparently carrying a #Taser can look too aggressive…🫠

But with all the knife crime and stabbings, surely everyone should be allowed to!? 👀

I couldn’t agree more. Now let me tell you a story that comes with a health warning, so if you don’t want to read a graphic story about my friend being stabbed, I’d stop reading now. ⚠️

A few years ago at about 0300 in the morning my friend went to a ‘routine call’ - there’s no such thing as you’ll find out. He was with a very experienced Cop and a brand new probationer. Three up - A luxury! 😂

They were called to reports of a disturbance in a block of flats, someone kicking a door and understandably scaring the occupants at that time of night. Once on scene, they established quite quickly that the person kicking the door was a little drunk and not in the right place. The caller just wanted him gone and he agreed to exit the block with my colleagues. 🤷🏼‍♂️

They walked outside and to prevent him kicking anyone else’s door, asked him who he was and where he lived. Now my friend who we will refer to as (A) is an exceptional human and a wonderful Cop. I have seen him convince people on the edge to step back. He is a calm and soothing person. So (A) engages with the man and starts getting the spelling of his name. Whilst he’s doing this I got a phone call from (B) again a good friend and very experienced Cop. I was in a prisoner van that night and (B) wanted me to start making my way towards them to give this man a lift home. I was at a police station a little over a mile away so I said “Of course I’ll be on the way shortly”. Now while Officer (B) is on the phone to me Officer (C) notices something odd about the man. He’s shaking his left arm. He’s shaking it in a very strange motion and he then has something in his hand…🔪

Officer (C) shouted “that’s a knife” and grabbed hold of the ‘knife arm’. Officer (A) took out his handcuffs and tried to help get hold of that arm and Officer (B) grabbed the right arm. In the melée Officer (A) is stabbed seriously in the hand, nicking an artery but doesn’t know it yet. The suspect breaks free and Officer (A) grabs their radio and shouts “More Units”. Officer (A) has a distinctive voice and whilst already on the way, I immediately hit 999 in my van and put my foot down, hard. 🚨

Officer (B) and (C) are now giving chase and Officer (B) the one of the three who had a Taser, shouts loudly and clearly “OFFICER WITH A TASER STOP, NOW” fearing what the suspect will do next, Officer (B) fires, but misses because they’re on the move, in the dark. The chase continues but Officer (A) has realised he’s hurt badly. Officers (B) and (C) corner the suspect, challenge him again with the Taser and bravely get him detained in handcuffs, the suspect having finally given up. 👏

The rest of the team and I arrive moments later, I take one look at Officer (A) he’s going pale from shock and there’s blood everywhere, so myself and a colleague blue light him straight to the nearest hospital. 🚔

The A&E staff are superb and we calm down a lot. Officer (A) is out of danger, and being well looked after. The on call Supernintendo is even there in about twenty minutes. 🏥

If they’d all had Tasers would it have happened? We’ll never know. 🤔

But should we all have the option to carry one? 💯% we should. ⚡️

Let’s make it happen, now. 🫡

#ThinBlueLine 🚨

[Brick Cop©️ @Brick_Cop]

Ok so why are 29% of @metpoliceuk Officers looking to leave as soon as possible or within the next two years? 👀

The overriding reason, is the stress that is generated by such a demanding job. 🙃

The stress that’s caused a perpetual exodus of Cops from BCUs since they began in 2017. BCUs are ‘Basic Command Units’ not exactly an inspiring name I agree, and they were created by the then Commissioner in response to the Met somehow owing the government £400 million. The answer? Selling 2/3s of Police Stations, firing thousands of Police Staff and merging 32 boroughs in to 12 BCUs. Something policing seems to really not understand or grasp is identity. Cops were proud of the boroughs they worked on, proud to look after ‘their part’ of London. They also enjoyed the routine of six on four off and a ‘clear slate’ when they came back in. ‘Mi Investigation’ has been an unmitigated disaster from its inception and continues to be. It’s also not been reviewed since it began…🤷🏼‍♂️

So removing borough identities, removing the one social area available to Cops; canteens, arguably one of the few calming rooms in police stations, and then increasing the work load of the most stressed Cops was never going to work was it? What do they buy into? Why would they? To the point we have next to no experience left on the teams who the public see day after day. And they in turn are burnt out, because there aren’t enough to them to respond to the demand and morale sadly is through the floor. 😞

Proactivity has become a dirty word. Stabbings continue weekly, yet Cops are deterred to stop and search because they fear a complaint, going viral and being charged with a criminal offence and potentially losing not just their job but their liberty too, for doing what the public expect of them. 🔪

So Cops move away from BCUs or try to re balance their lives a little. Those that do find a role they enjoy may try to stay for the rest of their career or they may lose sight of why they joined in the first place and want to leave. 😔

Traffic officers question why they should pursue criminals, if they may face allegations of dangerous driving themselves? 🚔

And firearms officers, as we all know, are utterly demoralised, not because they mind scrutiny, but because the scrutiny isn’t timely and is played out like a macabre pantomime in the media. 📱

There’s also a real lack of understanding of what Cops do go through in a set of shifts. One minute you’re chasing burglars over garden fences and the next you’re picking up a piece of human brain so that a road can be reopened after someone’s lost their life in a collision. ⚠️

It’s a dark and murky world, where the wage isn’t even enough to build a life in the city you protect. 💰

Finally, the shadow left every time another corrupt or criminal Cops is identified, falls on all of us. Being called a murderer repeatedly and hysterically whilst you’re trying to police a protest will get to the best of us after prolonged exposure. 😓

So it’s not a simple answer, and doesn’t have a simple solution, but I’d argue that’s probably why we’re in the situation we’re in right now. 🤷🏼‍♂️

#ThinBlueLine 🚨

[Carl Bovis @CarlBovisNature]

Last week, a lot of you decided to 'buy me a coffee', and your kindness now means you have access to my weekly blogs for supporters! 😀
Thank you so much! ♥️♥️
Here is my new blog, I've broken the writing up with pics, as many of you suggested! 😊🐦⬇️

https://t.co/yua162894U

[Carl Bovis @CarlBovisNature]

As it's Friday, I'm asking all my followers to please retweet this tweet if you see it, to help my little bird account beat the algorithm & be seen!🙏♥️
To make it worth sharing, here's the adorable face of a Long Tailed Tit! 😍😊🐦
#FridayRetweetPlease ♥️

[Lee Broadbent @leembroad]

“The Police Federation is, as we have already noted, a statutory body created by Parliament. Its membership, whom it does not currently serve as well as it could, do not join voluntarily but become members automatically on taking up the office of constable. We believe it would be best for the Federation to reform from within, with the support of its members, on the basis of the Normington proposals. However, if that reform is not taken forward, it would be derelict of Parliament and the Government to stand aside and watch the Federation continue to let its members down.”
Keith Vaz, Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee
Reform of the Police Federation
18th Report of Session 2013-2014

In the absence of having an alternative representative body or being able to join a trade union, police officers need access to a highly effective representative organisation to be their safeguard and their voice to government and Chief Officers. Many police officers, like me, are concerned that PFEW does not offer such representation and the Judgment supports our concerns. The Judgment and subsequent actions of the PFEW are, in my view, in breach of some or all of the duties that Parliament imposed on the PFEW.

Join me and 1,219 others in demanding an independent inquiry into the Police Federation of England and Wales

https://t.co/C6DZ9FLX3d

[Carl Bovis @CarlBovisNature]

As it's Friday, I'm asking all my followers to please retweet this tweet to help my little bird account beat the algorithm and be seen!🙏😊
To make it worth sharing, here's a little ball of Starling outside my bathroom window. 😍
Thank you so much! 🙏♥️
#FridayRetweetPlease

[Inspector Gadget @InspGadgetBlogs]

For those at the back: If police search a group of five youths and find this ⬇️ on one of them, that's a 'failure ratio' of 5:1 and the professional grievance industry will use it to say #stopandsearch is a failed tactic. Is it a 'failure' to take this ⬇️ off the cobbles?

[Brick Cop©️ @Brick_Cop]

At my Emergency Life Support refresher today we were played graphic footage of a stabbing where officers saved a life.

Two friends & I once did CPR on a young man who’d been stabbed in the chest & bled out as we tried to save him.

Coppering isn’t easy & needs support, now. 🤷🏼‍♂️🚨

[Chris Hobbs @obbsie]

Just been sent to me: An interesting, thoughtful article in its own right that highlights issues faced by armed police. Also worth noting that here is a tabloid publication publishing an article that is sympathetic to officers. A new dawn??https://t.co/4pkHw7oCNO

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

Dear sweet Henry is gaining weight and feeling a lot stronger now. His deadly internal parasites are being treated, so it's time to get the irritating, but not life threatening, conditions dealt with.
Ringworm is a fungal infection that causes intense itching and thickened, scabby skin. Scratching often leads to painful secondary infections.
Today, Boxing Day, Henry had his first ringworm bath. The medicated water has to cover every inch of his skin, to kill the fungal spores that spread the infection, then he's left to sleep in a gently heated bed while he dries.
This soothing medication provides instant relief from the intense itching.

[Sicarius McGrath @smcgrath90]

It’s a shame that people are more angry at the mistreatment of animals than they are at the mistreatment of children

See a skinny cat and be mortified, See children go hungry and not care

People be shouting Cats lives matter, whilst their kids be eating a Freddo for Tea

[Mike Pannett, Author,TV Drama/Doc Development 🇬🇧 @MikePannett]

I really hope the 2 proactive.@metpoliceuk officers win the appeal for being sacked on a wing and a prayer. “Bianca Williams’ Olympic ��dream’ in jeopardy as sprinter is banned from driving https://t.co/SGnToZPpWf

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

Pick the hedgehog up like you would a puppy - both hands under the tummy. They will curl up, so be prepared. Wear gloves, just marigold washing up gloves are fine.
Put clean newspaper or wadded kitchen roll inside a box (never put leaves or hay or anything old or dirty, as you may contaminate wounds) and a hot water bottle - made up as you would for a child; warm, not too hot. If you don't have a hot water bottle, fill any watertight bottle or container with hot tap water.
Never use towels, as the tiny loops can catch toes and dislocate them if the hedgehog struggles (they are prone to panic). Use fleece - a small blanket or cut up dressing gown is great, or a sweatshirt - or kitchen roll/newspaper.
Put the hedgehog in the box beside the hot water bottle, ensuring the box is big enough for her to move away from the heat source if she wants to.
Cover her with a fleece or lots of scrunched up kitchen roll or newspaper sheets, so she can hide. This will reduce her stress, which will kickstart her immune system.
Put in a dish of water. No food is needed for an out-in-the-day casualty as she will be going straight to a rescue, and food can actually cause harm to a hypothermic animal.
Put the box in a well lit room indoors (just as a darkened room makes diurnal patients sleepy, a bright room full of daylight will make a nocturnal animal sleepy), and then start ringing the rescues.
Remember, the rescues often can't stop work on an animal to answer the phone, so if they don't answer, wait a couple of minutes and ring again, and keep doing that until they have a hand free to pick up. Repeat at every rescue until you find one with space.
There will ALWAYS be a rescue with space - it may be further away than you'd hope, but keeping a sick hedgehog is not an option and it's only one journey, not a daily commute.😊Some rescues have volunteer drivers who can meet you halfway, if it's very far.

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

Please don't spread this misinformation.
This will NOT work.
Poking a broom or stick under the bonfire will do nothing - even if you actually hit the hiding hedgehog and hurt her, she will NOT run.
Hedgehogs DO NOT have the flight or fight relex that humans and other animals have. Their response to threat and danger, and even pain, is to curl into a ball and stay put, and wait for the danger to pass.

A hiding hedgehog will NOT hiss, or make any sound at all! They are a prey animal, you are a predator - they will NOT alert a predator to their presence, they will stay silent.

Lighting the bonfire from one side will NOT WORK. Their response to danger is to STAY PUT AND CURL INTO A PROTECTIVE BALL. As the heat comes closer and the smoke fills her lungs, a hiding hedgehog will just curl tighter.

Whoever wrote this does not understand the nature of a hedgehog.
THEY DO NOT RUN FROM DANGER.
Spreading this total nonsense is spreading a false sense of security and is potentially extremely harmful.

[Hedgehog Cabin @HedgehogCabin]

Unlike most mammals, hedgehogs don't have the Flight or Fight Response to danger. So no matter how frightened they are, they don't bite, and they don't run away.
Their response to danger is to curl up into a protective ball, and wait until the danger passes.
That's why so many get run over by approaching cars.
That's why so many are maimed and killed by approaching strimmers.
That's why so many get burned alive in bonfires.

Poking a stick under the bonfire pile will just make the hedgehog inside curl tighter.
Lighting it from one side will just make the hedgehog curl tighter.
Shining a light under the bonfire will just make the hedgehog curl tighter.
The only way to make a bonfire safe is to build it the same day you light it.

So if it's already built, you need to move it on the day you light it.
If you are starting to build it in advance then you MUST enclose the area with a hedgehog-proof fence, to ensure no hogs enter.

If you can take the trouble to have a bonfire🔥, then please take the trouble to do it safely.
Moving a bonfire🔥 never takes anywhere near as long as you think it will.
Don't let your bonfire🔥 be something you'll regret for the rest of your life.

[Matt Twist @MattTwistMPS]

1100hrs @ Muswell Hill. 38 years today. Never forgotten.

[Bryn Hughes @BrynHughes1]

“What legacy can I leave behind to everybody that they will remember me?”

[Brick Cop©️ @Brick_Cop]

There are two ‘any person powers’. 👀

Hang on what on earth is an ‘any person power’? 🤷🏼‍♂️

So let’s start with what’s *not* an ‘any person power’: 🚨

As a Police Constable in the United Kingdom, when using a Police Related Power we are conferred a specific Power to use reasonable force. Section 117 of The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 confers a power on a Constable and other related Officers (Immigration & Customs for example) to use reasonable force in the execution of their lawful duties. For example Section 24 PACE - to Arrest someone, a Constable may use reasonable force under S117 PACE to effect that arrest - handcuffing someone to prevent them from escaping. ✅

There are other powers only Police Constables can use; or specifically designated persons, for example Section 120 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 empowers a Constable or Authorised person to use reasonable force to remove a person causing a nuisance or disturbance on an NHS premises. 🏥

So on to the ‘any person powers’. Why are these important? To defend yourself or another and apprehend someone committing or who has committed a crime. 😅

The overriding Act however to all of this is Article 2 of the Human Rights Act 1998; The Right To Life. ❤️

The Right to life supersedes everything unless you are trying to take the life of another, Murder. Interestingly Murder is contrary to ‘Common Law’ quite literally that simply you cannot take the life of another. The only contradiction to this is someone killing you to stop you killing another, which whilst regrettable, can happen to save the life that someone is trying to take. 🥲

So the first ‘any person power’ is Section Three of the Criminal Law Act 1967 which states; ‘a person may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances in the prevention of crime, or in effecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of offenders or suspected offenders or of persons unlawfully at large.’ For example someone trying to escape having shop lifted or in the more recent case of the escaped Prisoner, if a member of the public had detained them they would have used this power to do so as they were ‘unlawfully at large’. 🚔

The second; ‘Common Law’. Common Law is ever so slightly different. It’s not a piece of legislation as such but defined from Case Law; ‘"it is both good law and good sense that a man who is attacked may defend himself. It is both good law and good sense that he may do, but only do, what is reasonably necessary." 📚

This essentially means, you may defend yourself or another, but retrospectively it will be decided whether what you did was reasonable in the circumstances. For example if someone threatened you with a knife and told you they would kill you and you punched them knocking them out, allowing you to escape and call The Police, *most* people would believe that to be reasonable. 🤔

What I find most baffling is that none of this is taught at any stage in your life. We learn it as Police Officers, but most of society is blissfully unaware. 🤷🏼‍♂️

I hope it gives you an insight into the legality around self defence and apprehension of criminals. ☺️

#ThinBlueLine 🚨