The Locker Room

I'm not sure whether this is the appropriate section in which to post this question, so if not, please forgive me. I'm thinking about going for a police ride-along and I was wondering if anyone has any tips for what may be expected of me, and how to be as unobtrusive as possible while getting the most out of the experience. Any help would be appreciated.

This is a topic for those who like to stay up late! Tell us.... what's keeping you up tonight? Keep it clean!

Well done to Cuffbertt for winning the July photo competition. As usual, the winner gets to choose the next theme and Cuffbertt has decided he will abdicate his choice and pass it on to Chewie who has in turn decided it will be: "Close Ups" "and hopefully give people a chance to try out the 'Macro' mode on their cameras" Photos to be entered on this thread between now and 21:00 on the 26th August (giving you the bank holiday to play around and take some pictures). Judging will then be from 26th August until 31st August at 21:00 (ish). The rules are mostly the same as previously: 1 - The submitted photograph must be your own work. 2 - Group members ma…

Crocodile Victim Sean Cole's Body Recovered As sad as this story is It never fails to amaze me how people ignore warning signs and lose their lives.

Many boaters in the Midlands have been fascinated to see a rash of small knitted objects tied to the locks and other canal furniture. The items - typically hearts or stars - seem to have no function or purpose at all, just flutter in the breeze amusingly but quite pointlessly. It appears to be a manifestation of "Yarnbombing" or Guerilla Knitting, a hobby where knitting enthusiasts decorate and dress objects purely for fun. One hotspot has been the locks of the Coventry Canal at Glascote and Atherstone, where all the objects are small and quite similar. Yarnbombing elsewhere has often been more spectacular, sometimes involving dressing up street furniture in complete ou…

The following is a picture by street artist Banksy. I don’t want this to turn into an argument over whether this is art or criminal damage, as to be honest I think it’s both. I just want to look at it from an art point of view, for the moment (bear with me non-arty people there is a point to this). Two men kissing is quite a taboo thing for some people. In fact kissing in public, regardless of gender is also. The police are of course human beings, which some people forget. People find it odd when a police officer eats sometimes or does normal, human being things, like love. So to put that all together it can create quite a powerful image. My friend has this pictu…

My trip to UK this past week was principally to get my passport renewed as this is no longer practical in SA (or most other overseas countries) as the High Commission no longer handles passport applications etc. An appointment at the Liverpool Passport Office was relatively easy to make. I arrived early and the security guard said "no problem we're not busy - just go through". So appointment brought forward. A 5 minutes interaction with a passport officer (with 35 years service and some strong views about the stupidity of closing passport issuing overseas - as, it seems, there is little security once a passport is issued and sent overseas by courier). All done so quic…

When this trailer first appeared on my TV, I assumed it was for yet another typical police-drama... But then I realised I was giggling uncontrollably. Enjoy! And assure me I'm not the only one who enjoys a cheeky cloth-related pun.

Why is there such an aversion to them in the police? I've never understood this.

Last night I was kindly invited to ride along with Officers from MPSMerton. mike kenworthy ‏@kenworthy3916h 24/7/365 That includes XMAS! Never underestimate their willingness to help out those less fortunate then ourselves! #tweetsfromMertonbeat Expand mike kenworthy ‏@kenworthy3916h Good to know our safety is in perfectly capable hands!Forget not us MOP's get to go home whilst our Officers work #tweetsfromMertonbeat 1/2 Expand mike kenworthy ‏@kenworthy3916h Off home!I for one am glad it was quiet evening 4 @MPSMerton This #tweetsfromMertonbeat was never about me,but rather the way we are policed Expand mike ke…

EVER wondered what the police in Basingstoke get up to? Next week the borough’s cops will take to social media site Twitter to let you know. People will be able to interact with local officers via the @Basingstoke Cops account, finding out what a response officer does and how a detective builds a case against a burglar. Chief inspector Steve Wallace, aka @ChInspWallace, said: “By using Twitter to show exactly what happens every day in our busy police station, we hope more local people will get involved and follow our accounts.” The week of Tweets will start on Tuesday by focusing on the response officers – Targeted Patrol Teams – moving on to CID on Wednesday. On Thur…

Times change, appearances change, uniforms change, etc ... ... but at the end of the day, that friendly chat and a smile from a copper to a youngster remains so crucial.

Would you prefer a human being? or would you be happy with Shanice? Meet Shanice - the new hologram receptionist you will meet when you visit Brent Council's offices. Source: http://www.lbc.co.uk/meet-brent-councils-new-hologram-receptionist-76840

Hiya, Going down the M5 this morning I noticed a VOSA Traffic Enforcement Vehicle (http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7292/8715526604_a8d2290a55_z.jpg) (and he was doing more than 70mph!) I was just thinking, is it a legal requirement to stop for these guys if requested to? I dont think they have blues so how can they pull you over? I'm sure if you didnt stop, you would have a copper up your bumper soon...

Go Go TK!