England & Wales

In the event of a possible explosion or nearby house fire which could cause structual damage to a property to the degree person(s) would be unsafe inside, what powers do Police have (if any) to force people to leave their own home, if the occupants wish to risk it on their own? Curious.

The rules on reasonable force seem quite reasonable and straightforward. But there are often problems proving what exactly happened. So where does the balance of proof lie. Lets take a hypothetical example. You're working home from work at night, stone cold sober. You're confronted by an aggressive drunk, maybe he's demanding a light for his cigarette and gets angry you don't have one. He gets abusive and threatening. You do your best to placate him and move away and he starts throwing punches. You manage to either block or duck the punches so there are no marks on you. He swings misses and falls on the ground and you walk away. He comes after you so you punch him. Unfo…

I was having a think the other day (I try not to too often) and thought about the terms of the invitation that shops extend to the general public to let them come into their premises.....The understanding is that members of the public can come into the building to purchase goods and/or browse. Those that come into steal are implicitly not welcome - the invitation doesn't extend to unreasonable uses of the store. Therefore, surely, anyone who enters with the intention of stealing something is trespassing - as the invitation to enter the store would become invalid. And, therefore, if this person comes in to shoplift they are a burglar within the 9.1(A) definition..... sur…

I live on the main street in a small town, about 50 yards away from my local Police station. Most evenings there are lots of young lads Driving up and down in their Citroen Saxos, Vauxhal Corsas and Ford Fiestas etc, they all have huge, noisy exhaust pipes, stereo turned up full and very often tooting their horns for no reason. Often the are driving way too fast as well. The Police don't seem to do anything about it, in fact it looks to me like these kids are trying to taunt the Police by repeatedly driving past the Police station with the 'pedal to the metal', producing huge amounts of noise. I'm just wondering why nothing seems to be done to stop this anti social beh…

heres my problem my car run out of tax on this weekend as ive just brought it the car is insured fully comp and has 12 months mot but cant tax till 2 moro mornin can i still drive the car and back date the tax to cover the gap ?? please let me no thanks

Hi, I am hoping someone can shed some light on how long cautions and convictions stay on your record for: Many years ago when I was young and studid I used speed as I worked 3 jobs. I have a caution for possession of a class b (amphetamine) how long will this stay on my police record? Also, how long will a conviction (fine of £50) for the same stay on your record? is it for life? The reason I am interested is I have been offered a job in the states and need to know how this will effect my visa. I appreciate any feedback Cheers

Hello everyone, when i was 16 i was cautioned twice, both for assaults, and recieved 2 cautions. Now i am a bit older i want to train to be a teacher, and my girlfriend believes that i will never be able to work with children so there is no point training. is she right ? Thank you in advance for your help

i witnessed an assault, to which the assailant plead guilty, however a few days ago, the person i saw doing the assault, saw me and called an english ######, and said he was going to "do me in!" i reported this to the police, who said they will charge him with racist breach of the peace, i had 3 witnesses who all gave a statement backing me up, can anyone tell me what kind of punishment this man will get? thanks.

Here's a question about robbery in the UK. John is a petty criminal. He owns a handgun, which he usually carries to protect himself against other criminals in the constant turf wars. In need of money, he goes to a small bank with a couple of friends, with his pistol loaded and concealed in his waistband, stands up on the counter and says "Alright this is a robbery! Fill the bags with money and nothing bad will happen." The cashiers oblige by filling his bags, presumably with money. He then flees from the premises with his friends. Nobody saw he was carrying a gun and nobody was threatened or harmed. What offences has this gentleman committed?

I need a little advice. I gave a FPN for no insrance to a guy driving a vehicle with paying passengers that was only on SDP insurance. The driver gave me the same details on PNC as he had no DL on him at the time, even matched the address and DOB and he pruduced some reg. documents at the scene. Now I have been infomed that the registered owner is claiming that it was not him driving and it was a family friend who borrowed the car without the owners permission when he was staying with him. Any suggestions what I can do as ths has been referred back to me?

As Sec 17 has been discussed to death and some brushed up on their police powers, I would like to discuss PACE sec 32 search powers. Example; Police enter property of suspect whilst in hot pursuit. When police catch up on suspect they conduct search of him for the items listed in Sec 32. This search draws a blank. THe offence is NOT Indictable. The officers suspect the arrested has hidden 'evidence' when he entered the house. Sec 32 only permits search of the person for offences which are not indictable. Quest: What would you do in this situation to ensure you obtained the evidence?

I understand that there are specific rules in regards to having coloured flashing/moving lights on vehicles... ...BUT what I really want to know is whether it is illegal to have lights underneath your vehicle like so:- I have seen a car recently near where I live that has under car lighting like this, and it also flashes. Shall I forward the registration plate to my local NPT Sergeant?

Hi all, Being so old and warty, from my memory you can exceed the speed limit in order to overtake another vehicle as long as you reduce your speed to the posted limit and return to the left hand lane (single carridgeways). Same if your in fear of your life and being chased down. Can anyone name me the section where this is contained and perhaps if you have it, a copy of the exact wording. Many Thanks,