England & Wales

Hi We have recently had new neighbours move into our street and the other night. The son aged 15 was shouting and beating up his mum in the middle of the street with a wooden broom handle all because he did not want to move home. not only did this happen but before he started beating his mum up he had smashed a house window and tipped over dustbins. The police turned up 30 minutes later but what i would like to know is if i could have gone and pulled him off her and made a citizens arrest as he was beating up his mum with the broom handle while his mum had no way of defending herself and was not having much luck getting away I have read the last topic regarding a citi…

Is it permissible for public conveniences controlled, managed or owned by a local authority to charge for their services? I was under the impression that it wasn't permitted by law under the Public Lavatories (Turnstiles) Act 1963. However, I'm sure I've come across one quite recently (that's listed as being a "council convenience" on their website) that charges. Indeed, having a little look around the interweb several councils seem to be uunder the impression that they may charge under the provisions of s.87 of The Public Health Act 1936. Indeed, I'm not entirely sure how you can reconcile the two.... Unless you have a payment basis without a turnstile. Ideas? I'm thi…

A current trend with Supermarkets, Shopping Centres etc is to issue so called "Parking Charge Notices" . Usually via ANPR in the car parks for people who overstay. The either stick a ticket on your car which looks very similar to a council issued ticket OR send you an "Enforcement Notice" or similar requesting you to pay. They include lines such as "the amount due", and "outstanding balance" and "failure to pay the outstanding amount will result in Company Name forwarding the outstanding balance to a debt collection agency. Further charges may apply". Now as I understand these letters arent worth the paper theyre written on. Unlike clamping arent regulated by any autho…

I found the following item in the public area of my flats. The pointed section is approx. 2" in lengths and can be "locked" in to position with a lever. The blade "clicks" into position when deployed but is not locking and can be freely stowed if enough force is applied. I'm in two minds as to wether to attempt to trace the owner or just give it to the police. Is this a legal item if possessed in a public place? One thing I do know is that its wicked sharp and if I wouldn't want to come across it whilst on duty, body armour or no. I can also see that its of high quality and probably owned by someone with a reason for it, and cost a bomb too by the look.

I was not too sure where to post this, and I had a look but did not see this being posted already so here it is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfQrDK9YHas Interesting video, im not vey knowledgeable in this area, so will be good to see what you all make of it and who is in the right. :D

Although suicide is probably illegal in most civilized places, what about hunger striking? At what point are the authorities compelled to intervene if a free, rational person is hunger striking?

I have a 1966 Morris Minor...(pause for laughter to die down)... and I'm proud of it :D, except when I'm trying to overtake lorries doing 65 in lane 1. You'll have to try and follow me on this one; it's a bit long winded: My Morris has 2 rear lap belts and inertia-reel belts in the front. The front seats in all Moggies have quite low backs and don't offer any support for the neck. They are also heavily padded and domed shaped; quite comfortable actually. I have a little boy who is 6 and not surprisingly under 135cm. I also have a girl who is nearly 10 and over 135cm. I was taught seat belt law at Ashford a few years ago now and I'm pretty sure I understand it OK, even …

Hello everybody, just wondering, what are the laws on a citizens arrest and could a person just walk away even if you are trying to arrest them as a member of the public? (Slightly off-topic) If I see an officer struggeling to detain or arrest a person can I help the officer without being charged with assault? Thanks in advance :D

The other day I was leaving the house for a fitness inspired walk. I left my house, in a cul de sac, and joined the main residential road and walked along the pavement to the end of the road. The road terminates with a couple of houses, one of which you can drive straight into the driveway from the road. One of my neighbours pulled up from behind to remove his bin from the road so he could enter his driveway, I stopped briefly and then continued walking. Maybe 15 yards down the road I looked left then crossed the road at a diagonal heading across and to the right towards a path that cuts through the houses. Halfway across the road I heard a shout and stopped, at tha…

I have not yet started training however I'd like to do some revision before my course commences. Specifically regarding the laws and acts that the course is likely to cover. Ive got a copy of the beat officers companion which seemed like a good place to start however was wondering if anyone could recommend some act/laws for me to be brushing up on. Apologies if there has been similar threads like this before. Cheers :D

Hi, I was issued with a harassment warning notice following going over to my work collegues house and speaking to his girlfriend. I had found out that he had made a petty complaint about me to our work and I wanted to ask him why he would do this. I was not verbally abusive or aggressive however he said to the police that I was. I gave my version of events to the two police how called in on me. (My collegue and I live 1 street and apart and his house is directly opposite my parents). They said that they wanted to issues me with this harassment warning notice and although i was not keen to accept it as I felt I had done nothing wrong I did agree to it. The police added …

I understand that police officers have to do a "piss" test to check for drugs... what if you go to Amsterdam and smoke cannabis legally in that country and then fail the "piss" test because of that... What happens then can you appeal? I don't drink or do drugs its just a whatif situation to pick your brains... :)