General Policing Discussions

From things like maps, to translation apps, what if any apps do you have that are helpful on the job?

Hypothetically, if I accidentally (as in, I didn't see her step out into the road) hit my neighbour with my car but she wasn't injured, apart from a few scrapes and bruises, what would happen to me? Presumably, I'd be tested for alcohol on the spot? Would I also be taken back to the station for a drugs test? Would I be arrested? Would it depend on how much of a fuss she was making? She'll be making a real fuss. She'll want me to be arrested and thrown in jail! Don't worry - I'm not planning on running down my neighbour with my car. I write thrillers.

I have searched the forum, so please do point me in the right direction if I have missed something. If you look in this Youtube video of Traffic Cops - "Moment of Madness" you will see a RTC at 32 minutes in where an off duty PC is already on the scene as a professional witness. On his private vehicle, he has a mobile (not sure if thats the right word?) blue light on the top of his car- you can clearly see that its plugged into his cigarette 12v. What are the laws/rules & regulations about off duty police officers using blue lights on their vehicles whilst static? Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A48gNSHIa_E Screen shots are attached.

Morning All, I'm fairly new to the job, I've been issued my kit and noticed my stab vest has rips in the material covering the plate, it's not actually done damage it's just the cover that has been torn. Thought I'd reach out here as to how to get a replacement, or if a replacement is even necessary as it's just torn material? Don't want to cause issues early on in my career or lose my job or something. Thanks

This is one of the glaring differences I've seen when looking at how the police are portrayed in fiction compared to non fiction/reality shows. In fiction officers will often show overt hostility to a suspect being interviewed. Whereas if you put on 24 Hours In Police Custody you can see them interviewing paedophiles and murderers in a calm, civil tone. If you didn't understand English and could only hear the tone of those interviews you might think it was two people chatting about the weather rather than someone being interrogated about a crime. There's less hostility that we see in fiction. Also, when someone is in custody and restrained, shouting abuse and making thre…

Another post, whilst this subject is somewhat depressing and done many times on this forum it's still a great post credit- Uk cop humuor An excellent blog post by Dominic Adler: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘜𝘒 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 Meet Hannah and Rob, a couple of police officers I sort-of invented for this article. If you’re in the police, you might recognise them. Sergeant Hannah, age 27, has 6 years’ service. A graduate from a redbrick university (she has a 2:1 in Psychology), she’s studying for her inspectors exam. Personable, intelligent and socially-engaged, in another timeline Hannah would have made an excellent detective. As…

Hi everyone, Apologies if this is posted in the wrong place but I'm a newbie to the forum. I'd be grateful if anyone could offer me some guidance on a vetting matter. In 2015, I was suffering a mental health crisis. My father had just had a suicide attempt and I felt suicidal myself. I was in bits for lack of a better word. Stupidly, I decided at the time it was wise to steal a trolley of shopping from Asda. I had no money due to being on benefits because of my mental health and I was essentially desperate to feed myself, not thinking clearly or wisely. I was caught and received a Community Resolution Order. I haven't had any dealings with the police…

Hi all, I have recently received confirmation that I have been accepted as a student PC with West Yorkshire Police, starting in January. I’m currently 34 years old and I’ve spent the last 10 years as a teacher. Joining the police is a bit of a childhood dream that I’m realising after doing all I can in the field of education. I am very excited and motivated to get going! As I am a little older than most applicants, I guess my question is do older applicant face any barriers within the role? Has anybody got any experience of this? Any and all advice welcome.

What powers do the police have to enforce a crime scene. I've often heard common law cited, but can't seem to actually find this in common law? Someone wants to enter the crime scene I'm guarding, what powers of force do I have to prevent/remove them? Also, I believe a serious crime has taken place in the address but know the suspect and victim are not present, what powers of entry do I have to secure the scene, either by forcing entry? Many thanks, J

I'm a recent addition to the force and I was curious how to handle social media. I have a twitter account as soon as I mentioned I was a police officer. I found myself having a profile pre-created for me on a site called OpenRapport almost as if I was scanned in by digital aliens.. (It seems to be a less brutal site than some of the other sites that I have seen. As I've found some of my colleague on their that were nice to me having a high score.) Whilst I'm generally of a strong mind and opinions don't really hurt me, how do officers handle trolls and negative comments online. Do you respond or just ignore them? What happens if a member of the public has a pro…

For example you stop a car because it has a drugs marker. Do you explicitly tell the driver there's a drugs marker on the vehicle or do you keep it vague and along the lines of "we've received intelligence"? If the suspect later challenges the legality of the search in court, disputing whether the intelligence in question really did amount to enough grounds for a search, would it be disclosed then?