England & Wales

Hello, first post so please be gentle. I appreciate that section 163 of the RTA gives an Officer the right to stop a mechanically propelled vehicle, however I've seen and heard Officers quoting section 163 as giving them the right to force someone to exit the motor vehicle. I suppose my question is twofold. Firstly, is this a bluff? Secondly, is this a law laid down somewhere else in the RTA and a simple misquote of the section? Disclaimer: this in no way impacts me, I am just curious as to whether or not I am compelled to exit my vehicle if stopped and asked to account for myself unless I am under arrest or subject to a stop and search. Thanks!

im a Train driver and this morning i was punched in the face by another driver, leaving me with swelling and bruising around the eye. The other party laughed n said no witnesses and prove it as he would deny it. I reported this and made a statement to the BT police who took a photo of the bruising,etc and after i went to the hospital to have my eye seen to. according to my Boss the other driver has denied anything happened even though ive a black eye. he has been suspended pending investigation but what i want to know is as there wasnt a witness and its my word against his. is he going to get away with it? This guy has bullied me on and off over two years but whenever iv…

In the book I'm writing at the moment a man is presumed to have killed himself by drowning (but no body). His brother's boat is found anchored with no one onboard. He has left a short suicide note on the boat, along with some clothes, a wallet and phone. This is set in Cornwall and a local policeman calls on Tom to tell him about the boat being found and giving him the suicide note. Tom rings his brothers flat (no answer) and his workplace, and is told his brother hasn't been at work for a few days. My question is around what would happen next with respect to the police procedure? Would they send police round to the flat in London to check if he was there? Would the…

Dear All, I was stopped driving my father's car on 7/3/12. I won't go in to the details but I've got a clean licence and have never had a point taken off it in the twenty odd years I have been driving. The previous week my elderly father asked me to get his car taxed for him, gave me the documents and I went to the post office and got it taxed. So far so good. The following week I was driving his car and I was stopped by the police as the car was having no insurance. The police were very kind, phoned my father, he gave the insurance details and it transpires that the insurance was stopped on 20/12/11, five days before Christmas. So he, my mother and myself had all been d…

I have been crewed with several different officers and been to a few jobs all dealt with differently Afterwards I have asked the officer why he dealt with it in a certain way and most of the time it was to get away with recording any crime or because it was 'tit for tat', so nothing was fully explained to me which has left me with a few questions; - Threats to kill What constitutes as threats to kill? Is it purely the mention of the word 'kill'? If one party threatens to kill the other but the threatened party does not believe the threats, is it still an offence of threats to kill? - Threats to cause injury I have been to a few jobs where someone has made threats to…

My mother has recently been caring for my fathers Aunt who is very sick and unable to do a lot of things for herself. This includes making meals, shopping, taking money from cash machines for her (eg, pension) etc. In order to help her, my mother had access to my great aunts bank card and took out her pension for her every week and other money when my great aunt asked for it,including large sums for oil (which had to be taken separately due to a limit on the account). Now after my auntie seen the bank statements (she has a joint account to help keep an eye on my great aunts spending), my mother is being accused by other family members of taking money for herself as they c…

My daughter, 19, has started a salaried paid job recently after working hard to get off JSA. She has also got herself a flat. She is starting to sort herself out after a couple of difficult years. A recent CRB check has revealed a conviction for theft. This theft involved her taking £60 for her father, using his card without his consent, although she had used his card and PIN previous to draw funds out for him. He took the theft to court and she was convicted and given a 12 month conditional discharge. Her employers have now dismissed her for this offence showing on her CRB. She and I are gutted by this decision for what seems to be a trivial conviction, brought a…

I carry a Swiss Army knife for day to day utility use (19, it's legal for me), younger brother (17) has recently cottoned onto this but I warned him against doing it because of the whole under 18 thing. I have no idea if I was right to do this, he's an ex scout and current cadet, so he's not an idiot and knows safety. Is it illegal for under 18's to carry a SAK or not?

Hey guys we have a campsite near us which has its own security on site, theyre helpful at most times but recently have been bagging a lot of drink drivers for us on their site, were grateful for the help but they seem to be developing into their own police force. Today ive noticed that one of their pickups now has a set of twin blue lights on its roof!!!! im 99% this is illegal but does anyone know what the relevant law is? Cheers Mantiss

I have just broken the rear window of my car. Is it legal to use the car in this condition and are there any likely problems if I was to weatherproof the car with a plastic sheet or similar. thanks

As I understand the position in English law to convict it is possible on the word of one witness against an accused that this is sufficient to convict ? My concern is that a person could be convicted on the malicious words of another, if the case simply rested on what was said between two parties ? Has anyone had any experience of witnesses lying or being mistaken resulting in arrests or cases going to court ? Anyone had experience of witness reliability issues where a witness has told a lie or been grossly mistaken resulting in a case not guilty at court ? Any help on this hot topic most welcome ? Rgds C.

Hi, With regards to the white lines on the road where speed cameras are, what is their purpose? I always presumed they are there to prove the offence. I assume the timer is shown to be highly accurate and that the lines are likewise (or can be measured again after the fact) and that those two presumptions together prove the offence. Rather than the radar just bouncing off whatever the hell you fancy. Does that mean if the lines are not there, the offence cannot be proven? Say for instance where the road has been resurfaced?

So we're all familiar with the concept of stautory defences where the burden of proof lies on the accused to prove. In looking for something else entirely I came by this on http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/d_to_g/drug_offences/#a30 Do I read that correctly to mean that where the onus is on the accused to disprove a legal assumption in the legislation to exercise a statutory defence may now not be the case? Can someone explain to my feeble little mind what reading down "to give sufficient evidence" means in this case. The law lords have given a specific interpretation to lower courts that the accused no longer has to prove that the circumstances of the defence applied j…

I am pretty sure my neighbour regularly drives drunk. I have noticed him return home & quite carelessly zoom into our shared drive. I have regularly watched him stagger from his car & struggle to walk up the steps to his house. He also frequently does not wear his seatbelt. Is there any way i can report him? When he goes out he does not have a regular routine & so i would not be able to pinpoint when he would return home or where he may be? I am worried for people as i live on a housing estate and there are a lot of families with young children. i know this is a long shot but any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

I'm pretty sure of the offence, but was never trained on it. You're at the front counter (say doing some paperwork...) when a male/female comes in, shouting (not swearing) and being a general pain. He starts ti become abusive towards you when asked to leave, etc... Could you arrest for Disordetly conduct in a police station? Strange thing to ask, but we have people booked in at custody and um never sure of the parameters around this offence.