England & Wales

Just trying to clarify some situations in my head, so advice needed please: 1. On Night Cops, the other night, they arrested a gent for waving a crutch around. Ignoring any affray or assault charges, would the gent also be guilty of Possession of an Offensive Weapon? Would he be charged for this along with affray and assault (assuming sufficient evidence). It was late and I was half asleep so missed the bit where they actually said what they charged him for. 2. In one of our training scenarios, we stopped and searched a gent who had a knife in his backpack. We arrested him for Possession of a Knife. In the scenario, he had just left the gym, so had no lawful ex…

Under the railway byelaws (section 2) it's illegal to bring any item onto a railway any item which may threaten any person or property. Do you think that this would cover legal carry knives, even when not carried with the itention of using as a weapon? Has anyone in BTP had any experience with this?

Hi from Germany! I would really appreciate if someone could tell me which regulations are existing in the UK regarding solar films for cars. I already know that -like in Germany- it is forbidden to put such films on the windscreen and the driver´s and passenger´s window. But I would like to know more about the labelling of the films. Has there got to be a mark on every part of the windowfilm? In Germany every window film has to wear a mark of the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) which confirms that the window film meets the technical requirements. This ensures that the risk of being hurt in an accident is as low as possible. Thank you in advance! nemo_tenet…

Hey, I'm just wondering if anyone is a detention officer? I'm only 17½ and detention officer is the only role in the police force I can apply for at this age. I don't really mind what I do at this stage as I just want a job that's meaningful and rewarding. This seems like a great way to start the process of joining as a normal officer. I have read on a previous topic that it is appreciated by constables and other police staff which is what appeals to me the most. I was a corporal in the ATC so am disciplined and show great respect to everyone. Hopefully there's a vacancy somewhere local to me, I went into my local station today and the very kinda lady there told m…

Watching Police Interceptors and a 14 and a 16 year old were found with several bags of weed. They were taken to be searched at the station, is there some sort of special measures you have to make to search persons under the age of 18? Do you need their parents there an AA, etc or are there limitations to how far you can search? Id be surprised if you dont..

Just wanted to know what the law on knives is. What restrictions are there on length, locking mechanisms, blade types etc. And what can legally be carried on your person in general day to day goings.

I have been doing alot of research and stumble a bot on this one. I'll give an example. Officer on route to a job maybe a possible theft or something. Control room have put io a description of possible offender. Police arrive and spot someone matching description. Can police detain to question without initially arresting. Eg to get name. Ask where he was what he's doing. Any involvement in alleged crime. If the suspect starts to try to walk away. Can officers take hold of the poss offender , ( still not arrested As not sure if it's defo the right person). If they do and the offender struggles can any force be used to take down / prevent anyone being hurt. From what I'…

Dear All, I am grateful to the people who provide a lot of help over here. Since I have received summons from teh court, I have consulted with two lawyers and both of them are suggesting that we could get the charges dropped. The background to my story is, I am a teacher but I took on a a job to sell cars on comission basis just to prop up my income. I was stopped by the police with my wife and daughter and I produced the cetificate of insurance which clearly stated that I, as a named driver, was covered. It later turned out through my employer's confirmation with insurers and police's checks that I was not. But I believed in the certificate as did the other drivers, as …

Hello I know that you cannot do a voluntary search of a person. But can you do a voluntary search of a property? What about after arrest , though I appreciate you can use S18(5) powers. Thanks!

Hi, I know this is an abrupt topic and one that's very controversial, but I believe that we in the UK deserve more rights to self-defence and that knives, firearms, etc should be legal here like they are in the United States where they have the right to bear arms. I'm wondering what individual police opinions are? Not the police force themselves as they are a department of the government and are only there to enforce the laws on the books. Americans think we are a nanny state, and usually I don't agree with their ramblings but they are right about this one thing. They think we are too reliant on the police and government to keep us safe when the government could easily …

S.23 searches are a staple of fly-on-the-wall documentaries. During these, it's not unusual to see officers find weapons on the premises being searched (e.g. a sword hidden under someone's bed) which are invariably seized with a "There's no good reason to have a sword like this under your bed - we'll have that". The narrators often make a big deal about such weapons being taken "off the streets". In the vast majority of cases, these weapons (e.g. a sword) are not in them selves illegal, and are being stored in the owner's home. I'd be interested to know under what power they're seized, and if they're really "taken off the streets" or just returned a week later. I'm a…

Hi all, Just a quick one really. What is the law regarding the "questioning" of somebody under the age of 18 and the prescence of a responsible adult, but not for questioning just for helping with enquiries... To add clarity; Two 12 year old best friends - 1 has ran away from home so the police want to ask the other a few questions (probs has your friend told you where thier going etc?). However the parents of the friend who the police want to talk to are on holiday, and have told thier 19 year old son (who is looking after the other friend a.k.a thier daughter) not to let the friend who hasn't run away be "interviewed" until they get back.... Surely they can't do that…

Hello all Hoping someone can clarify this for me? There are many different powers of seizure but what covers the most simple one??? For instance we investigate an incident lets say assault which has taken place outside the front doors of a shop, there is a cctv camera overlooking the incident so you go into seize the footage, the shopkeeper says you can't have it!! What power can we use to seize it?? Now I know this scenario is unlikely but it has happened on my force area before. Nine times out of ten we use s19 of PACE.S19 allows us to seize property when we are 'lawfully on the premises' in relation to the enter and search powers pace provides eg s17, 18, and 32.…