Collared driver claims officer ignored police radio call to burglary to focus on 'ticket target'
A FURIOUS driver pulled over for minor motoring offences claimed in court that a policeman was more interested in booking him to boost his ticketing "target" than rushing off to investigate a burglary.
"Disgruntled" motorist Benjamin Brown told magistrates the officer insisted on dealing with him instead of the burglary and deliberately turned down the sound on his radio.
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He alleged that the policeman even told him the burglar would be long gone by the time he got there anyway, Grimsby Magistrates' Court heard.
Brown, 21, of Evendine Court, Holton-le-Clay, admitted having an unrestrained child on the lap of a front-seat passenger in Corporation Road, Grimsby, on March 3.
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He also admitted having an unrecognisable front registration plate on his car on March 24.
Brown, a refuse collector, told the court in a letter that he had just been giving his passengers a lift around the corner from home.
He said no actual harm was done by his passenger having a youngster on her lap instead of it being restrained in a child seat.
But the court was told that, if there had been a collision, the child could have gone "flying through the windscreen".
Brown said: "I am very sorry for doing it and now realise what could have happened."
But he added – in what was described in court as being a "disgruntled" letter – that he believed the policeman who collared him was focusing on "hitting his target" for the number of tickets he had given out.
Brown claimed that, while he was being dealt with, the officer heard on his radio system that there had been a burglary – but decided to ignore the alert because he preferred to carry on dealing with Brown to boost his ticket target.
He claimed that the officer even turned down the sound on his radio so that he could concentrate instead on booking Brown instead of hurrying off to investigate the burglary.
He claimed the officer told him that the burglar would have gone by the time he got there anyway.
Brown claimed: "That's the attitude you get from police that are paid by tax I pay out of my hard-earned money."
He added that a "small portion" of his taxes went to paying the wages of the police.
Brown was fined £200 and was ordered to pay £40 costs and a Government-imposed £15 victims' surcharge.
Comments
by Mac_gtfc
Thursday, November 08 2012, 7:20PM
“if he had driven round the corner and been invoved in an accident which resulted in the serious injury or death of the child then I'm sure some family member would have been saying "Why are the Police not about and stopping people doing these stupid acts" Old Bill just cant win!!”
by EWW01
Thursday, August 09 2012, 7:37PM
“wiesh, don't be a dim wit,do you really believe he was giving his passengers the proverbial lift around the corner.I don't believe it and obviously the Magistrates didn't,thank god your not a Magistrate,you'd fall for every feeble excuse going.”
by wiesh
Thursday, August 09 2012, 3:44AM
“Grimsby Archers' wrote - "how far does one have to drive to raise the likelyhood of having an accident. No one ever has a crash just popping round the corner do they?!
If there had been a crash and, god forbid, the child had been killed, would the driver have been so blase?"
"how far does one have to drive to raise the likelyhood of having an accident. No one ever has a crash just popping round the corner do they?!
If there had been a crash and, god forbid, the child had been killed, would the driver have been so blase?"
But there WASN'T a crash, and a child WASN'T killed!
And if there had been, one would exect that the full weight of the law be applied and a heavy custodial sentence given. But is it right to punish people for things that MIGHT have happened? Or JUST IN CASE, they happened?
Punishment should be proportionate to the crime committed, and though i'm not for a moment suggesting that the driver was right .. a £200 fine was DISproportionate to the crime.”
by fasteddie59
Wednesday, August 08 2012, 4:51PM
“Why do the Police persistently refuse to accept that the general feeling from young people is that they have no faith in the Police.
Would any senior Officer reading this care to respond?
Despite requests directly to the local Policing team i am still waiting (6 weeks) for a response to a legitimate request and i am not a youth!
Motorists are easy targets, get the Police back on the beat, local coppers dealing with local crime.”
by anyalouisa34
Wednesday, August 08 2012, 1:10PM
“Gry88
You do have a point when you put it like that!!”
by Gry88
Wednesday, August 08 2012, 1:04PM
“@anyalouisa34 - What I was trying to point out is that everyone always comes up with the excuse about them paying their taxes to the Police. It happens all the time. "Well I pay your wages Officer". I'm just pointing out that a Police Officer actually pays more in tax than what this bin man does. But you don't see a Police Officer with a story on this website stating that he pays his taxes for his rubbish to be taken away, but because there's an extra bag of rubbish, that stays where it is because they wont collect extra, because that's the rules. So the bin man gets paid, by our taxes, paid to the council, but yet they leave extra rubbish. This swings in roundabouts.”
by anyalouisa34
Wednesday, August 08 2012, 12:16PM
“Gry88
Precisely. The man obviously believes that the burglary is more important than being pulled over for having his child unrestrained. I assume other available officers would have been deployed to the burglary, while this officer finished issuing his ticket.
People who get in trouble with the law nearly always have an excuse or blame someone else for their actions.
I just didn't think the mount of tax anyone paid towards the police force is an issue unless they are proved not to do their job properly.”
by Gry88
Wednesday, August 08 2012, 11:49AM
“@anyalouisa34 - Ok, my apologies.
"Maybe he doesn't see the officer in question ignoring the call to a burglary as value for money??".
This is probably correct, but what he doesn't under is there is a whole response team that would have called up for that job and been deployed. Was it a "Burglary in progress" or a "Historic burglary"? Both are rated as different priorities in terms of immediate response. What this bin man probably heard is the word "Burglary" on the radio. This Officer in question would have known what type of job it was and realised that he wasn't needed. The communications people would have deployed response to the job. So this story is a bin man who's has obviously got a Police record and just wanted to voice his opinion because its free.”
by The0racle
Wednesday, August 08 2012, 11:40AM
“I can't believe someone who allows their child to sit in the front of a car on someones knee can complain about being pulled over!
As far as I'm aware we dont live in Heartbeat and we've got more than 3 coppers, so I assume that another officer would have repsonded to the burglary call?
Its just about deflecting attention away from their own mistake.”
by anyalouisa34
Wednesday, August 08 2012, 11:21AM
“Gry88
I never commented nor moaned about the job the police do.
As it happens, I think they do a great job given the circumstances, although let's face it there are easier targets than others.
I also stated this man was clearly in the wrong and should face the consequence of his actions.
I merely remarked on your comment that stated the police pay lots more tax than a bin man does.
So what if they do? This man is still a taxpayer (unlike the scum who was burgling a house at the time he was being dealt with). Maybe he doesn't see the officer in question ignoring the call to a burglary as value for money??”