Local police

[geo_chris]

Went out today to collect some dead wood for the fire. Admittedly the area we went to is an area where fly tipping has gone for a number of years -- we have lived in the area for ten years and fly tipping has occurred here since we have lved here. Well, we were collecting wood when an unmarked car pulled up and out got a policeman, immediately upon him seeing us collecting wood he commented 'I see you are collecting wood'. I immediately replied 'I am sorry is there a problem?'. To which he repled 'There is no probelm, but there has been a problem with fly tipping in this area.'. To be honest I haven't got a lot of respect for the police having had trouble with the local youth in the area and the police's reluctance to do anything (enough said ), but on this occassion this gentleman was a 'gentleman', he immediately recognised that I wasn't doing anything wrong or damaging (he was a middle aged bobby -- I know this is wrong to categoraise) Anyway the policeman left and we continued t o collect the dead wood for the fire.

I would just like to commend this gentleman for his common sense and wish that other people with his type of authority would take a similar stance.

I would like to hear other people's experience with their local authority in the respect to access to local woodlands (for whatever reasons).

 

[GlenM]

The last time i had a brush with the law was 2 weeks ago , my son and i were
fly camping very near a local railway station, which happens to be near a river. He approached us with obvious suspison and asked if we had permission to camp etc, etc, i asked him to sit with us and after a short while we were sharing a brew and opinions about what jack russells were best for rabbiting. My 2 jacks were making a fuss of him at the time and when he realised that the fire was roasting a brace we had caught earlier his mood mellowed. He left thanking us for his tea and said that he was only following a complaint about a fire in the woods. Nothing he said was negative towards anything we had done that day so i can only commend his attitude. Sounds to good to be true dose'nt it , I think a positive attidude towards these situations married with a true belief of respect for the countryside will always prevail. My only regret was i did'nt ask his name.

 

[Ice Tigre]

Ummm......... maybe its because I'm on the other side o' the 'pond' , that I don't know, but what is "fly tipping" ???

Thanks,

G.

 

[FGYT]

basically dumping your rubbish (garbage) in public areas or on private land not yours normally a van load at a time

 

[John Fenna]

Sorry guys - looks like I am missing something here as well........what is a policeman? How do you recognise one? I am not sure we have such a thing around here - at least not thast I have seen. We do have some strange looking cars that drive around very fast, so fast I cannot say thay I have been able to say if there are people in them, and a telephone number that links you to an answer phone in a different part of Wales, but Policemen? Nah, don't belive they actually exist round here.

 

[Tengu]

They are the people whos stations round here are always being closed down.

(they do exist, seeming to spend a lot of time drinking tea with Head of Council security.)

 

[BushTucker]

The only time you see them by where I live is when they pull you over with a poxy excuse that a similar car this and same area that. But they do wake me up in the early hours with there silly bumble bee looking helicopter, ( who say`s pigs can`t fly ),not a lot of respect for them, im affraid.

 

[moocher]

hi,bushtucker i used to live in heathcote close in dorch.where kings rd meets south walks,on the nasty bend.and old budgie used to be a nightly occurence over us,due to 2 houses of addicts on the estate who used to come running in the close breathless offering cheap vcrs or power tools.it got to the stage where in the summer nights we didnt need to invest in solar lights for the garden.they never bothered us as we have a 9 st rotty.that tried taking one of the blokes belgian shepard dog head off.funny how the word goes round. lol.

 

[william#]

yeh the police just want to know whats going on - if somethings going off and they dont notice it under there noseys they look a bit daft .
saying that never really had any trouble along these lines as i am always very discreet (thats part of the fun of it to me ) and leave as little trace as possible.
but i think you handled it very well and will take the tip of offering a brew if i ever get discovered .
did you have a camp fire too ?
that can be a real sketchie one these day mostley due to unthinking people who ruin it for the more responsible and competent.
saying that i can imagine it ruins the ambience of the evening with the boys in blue turning up .

 

[Rebel]

Better not mention my last encounter with a community police officer in Richmond.

I took his name and station and will be reporting him to his superiors.

 

[demographic]

Sorry guys - looks like I am missing something here as well........what is a policeman? How do you recognise one? I am not sure we have such a thing around here - at least not thast I have seen. We do have some strange looking cars that drive around very fast, so fast I cannot say thay I have been able to say if there are people in them, and a telephone number that links you to an answer phone in a different part of Wales, but Policemen? Nah, don't belive they actually exist round here.

Got one round here smallish chap who managed to arrest more people than any other copper the year before last.

Friendly as well (well apart from the time when he bothered me for riding a BMX in the pedestrianised zone ).

Although the police can sometimes be "inconveniantly positioned" as far as I am concerned people like him really do make a difference to community policing.

 

[Jedadiah]

I'd be interested to hear if there are any 'Bushcrafter Bobbies' out there in BCUK land, just to hear opinions from the other side of the fence, so to speak.

Would'nt it be fair to say that all policemen are not alike just as all people who would like to live in the woods are not 'Military Militia' obssesives?

 

[Surrey Yeoman]

Better not mention my last encounter with a community police officer in Richmond.

I took his name and station and will be reporting him to his superiors.

Richmond, Surrey or Richmond, N.Yorks? Police Officer or Police Community Support Officer?

Just Curious!

 

[Surrey Yeoman]

I'd be interested to hear if there are any 'Bushcrafter Bobbies' out there in BCUK land, just to hear opinions from the other side of the fence, so to speak.

Would'nt it be fair to say that all policemen are not alike just as all people who would like to live in the woods are not 'Military Militia' obssesives?

OK, Here goes! Tin hat strapped on, cricket box protecting my googlies, extra thick skin applied................yes, I admit it, I'm a Copper! Fire away with your questions and I'll give you an honest answer.

 

[Jedadiah]

Hi Surrey Yeoman,

tell me, what are your views on the opinions and experiences being revealed on this thread? (nothing taxing first off, just ease you in gently!)

Do you regularly carry a knife with a fixed or lockable blade over 3" long?

Do you feel that being a policeman is a job or a calling?

Have you ever been in a situation that you feel has compromised your integrity?

Why do you think that the police have such a bad press when the vast majority of ordinary citizens claim to be law abiding?

I really don't want you to think that i would take this opportunity to have a cheap dig, someone has to do the job after all. It's just that i thought it would be useful to ask civilised questions of someone who a) works 'at the coal face'. and b) is infact one of our own, a bushcrafter.

However, i've always wanted to know, does your head go all the way to the top of the helmet?

 

[Spikey DaPikey]

People always moan about the police, untill they need one

 

[BorderReiver]

I posted this on BB,seems appropriate to post it here too.

http://totallyun-pc.blogspot.com/2007/03/ive-seen-death.html

 

[Surrey Yeoman]

Hi Jedadiah (and everyone else!)

First of all a little something about myself to set the scene. I’m 44 years old and live & work in Surrey. I’ve been a copper of one sort or another for 27 years altogether and all of that time has been spent at the “sharp end” on uniformed patrol, some in London and some in Surrey. I’ve been a foot beat copper, a traffic copper (Boo-hiss!) and now I work on fast response cars, although I’ve now got an application in for a permanent foot beat. In my time I’ve dealt with all sorts of things, from littering to rapists and murderers. That said most of my work, like most coppers, is routine and sometimes a bit boring! I get paid a good wage for what I do and because of that I give the job 100% of my attention all the time that I’m on duty. Off-duty I try to think about it as little as possible and like to vanish into the woods!

Is it a job or a calling? DEFINITELY a calling, if it was just a job, I’d have walked away from it years ago!

It’s human nature to dwell on the negative side of things and as ever, that has started to show in the replies to this thread. However, if you look a little deeper, the only actual detailed experiences mentioned are positive encounters!

Why do the police get a bad press all the time? Well, bad news sells papers and gets TV ratings. Simple as that. When was the last time you saw an article in the papers about a copper who stopped at the side of the motorway in the pouring rain and changed a flat tyre for an old age pensioner or a woman (or man) who didn’t know how to do it and was faced with a 3 hour wait for the RAC / AA? I did it all the time when I worked on traffic - not part of my “job description” but I did it anyway. It’s the old story, people are quick to complain and slow to praise! The other thing is that no-one likes to be told off, or told that they can’t do something, even when they know it’s wrong!

Has my integrity ever been compromised? Nope! I’ve been offered bribes, given “funny handshakes,” been threatened with the sack (“I‘m a close friend of your Chief Constable, etc”), had physical violence offered towards me and my family, been attacked, assaulted, sworn at, accused of committing perjury, had my car vandalised, but I’ve never let it affect the way I do my job.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not perfect and I do make mistakes. I have good days and bad days, the same as anyone, but on the whole, I think I get it right. The thing I’d say to anyone who’s had a “bad experience” with police is to stop, step back, take a breath and think about what you’ve done from a third person’s view. You might end up with a different opinion………..

Knives: No, I don’t regularly carry a fixed or lockable knife with a blade over 3” long. For everyday use (out of the woods) my British Army folder with its 2½” non-locking blade is more than adequate. In the woods, I use a 4” fixed blade as a general purpose knife and if necessary a British Army parang or a small forest axe, although my Gerber folding saw gets more use than the axe.

………..and finally for today. No my head doesn’t go all the way to the top of my helmet - if it did, I’d have nowhere to keep my sandwiches!

http://coppersblog.blogspot.com/ Another link to a police blog - and no, I’m not David Copperfield!

 

[John Fenna]

Actually I have seen a policeman round here - but only off duty!
Quite a nice bloke realy......
They ain't all bad news, as our man here points out!
Get past the bad rep and the uniform and they are human too.

 

[spamel]

Is it true a pregnant woman can pee in a bobbys' helmet if she is caught short? If so, do you have to wear a helmet/cap to make an arrest, another myth I've heard in the past!

If both the above are true, I'd hate to be in your shoes trying to nab a young scrote just after dealing with a pregnant woman who was about to pee herself!!



No offense meant at all, just a bit of humour!! I do appreciate the job the police do, I just wish you had more Judge Dredd like powers!