The main problem used to be the lack of feedback from plod, unless you see them and ask the right questions no one hears anything, because of this no one was bothering to report anything. All I have done is ask and then passed on to those that are interested[1] some very basic info, no names or pack drill, just minor details like they nicked someone for X or someones gone away for Y. This has resulted in more info flowing back and forth and more phone calls being made, both to local law and one or two others that have excess time available. The local plod have been a great help, but not always in the way that they intend Some bikes have been recovered because they have been hidden whilst evading plod, some scroats have been caught whilst trying to evade non plod and run straight into local law. some have been followed and caught by police helicopter after pissing off a copper or two. Funnily enough the law were very slow to respond when a freshly stolen bike was spotted in one back garden and a dozen of the owners mates recovered it with force. I walk my dogs regularly and just keep my eyes open, I know where most of the scroats hiding places are and when they are not liable to be there, I also get info like that passed back to me by those that may see but are unable to do anything about it. In the last few months everything has just seemed to fall into place, if some scroat starts anything he knows that there is a high probability he will be seen and dealt with, so they seem to have taken their troubles elsewhere. [1] its mainly the regular dog walkers and elder folk, those that are around on a regular basis but are not nessisarily able to defend themselves, care has to be taken so that suspicion does not fall on them, but they are good sources of info and with the right incentive they will make the right phone calls. -- Kevin - Basildon XV535 GPZ305 (her's) BOTAFOT#67 BOTAFOF#23 OSOS#29
You got to keep something in reserve. <checks shed> Old lorry ropes hanging up behind door -- Kevin - Basildon XV535 GPZ305 (her's) BOTAFOT#67 BOTAFOF#23 OSOS#29
I'm reminded of the scene from The Long Good Friday where Bob has all the local villains hung upside down on hooks... http://www.whom.co.uk/jgf/lgf_chiller.jpg
Lozzo wrote It could be they have something more important to do. Vis: The dark blue cars and matching aerial accessories which I saw this evening not more than a hundred yards from where the bike was nicked who were being busy trying to catch what was described to me as an, "armed nutter." A mate of the one they had in the car already. And, "No they weren't going to ask the bloke driving the helicopter if he minded giving me a go for a bit so I could look for the Benly." The Benly may have been seen though. I was round at Em's house tonight and a neighbour knocked and asked if a red bike with a blue tank was anything to do with us. The story goes that he had seen it when parked there before and yesterday he saw what looked, to him, like a very similar bike being wheeled down the street by kids towards the park. Nice man. This being the case and if it is not yet in the lake we have a better clue of where it is not likely to be stored. And I may owe a couple of possibly innocent in this instance scrotes an apology for blackening their good name.
The heavy mob, I should be seeing a couple of them in a few weeks, in their spare time they ride the country attending bike rallys. 3 times within the last year it has been used over the park area. never asked why it has been called in but have heard of the results. If you find out shout, phone no's in the book. -- Kevin - Basildon XV535 GPZ305 (her's) BOTAFOT#67 BOTAFOF#23 OSOS#29
Because when all's said and done, it's only a few stolen motorcycles. When the police force is stretched - as most coppers will tell you that it is - they need to prioritise. Seems perfectly reasonable to me. I'd rather they catch rapists and murderers than kids nicking wanky old bikes.
Ask yourself who else but me would choose a claret and blue colour scheme for a Benly. (I don't believe Sir Trevor is a motorcyclist.)
You've just been the custodian for a while! I should have a better idea of potential dates soon. I'm just sorting an office move, and when I know by how much I'm going to miss the (unrealistic, customer-determined) deadline, I'll know when I can hop a flight up to your gaff.
AOL. There's something about the music in it too. Only a couple more viewings and I can confidently obsess about that one's dialogue too.
I don't see the causal relationship. The number of "bobbies on the beat" has next to no effect on crime rates. But the general public /thinks/ it does, so the politicians lob out soundbites. As discussed yesterday: we get the politicians we deserve.
That depends on your viewpoint, most of what the scroats are doing broken down into individual crimes is minor. The total effect of what they are doing is not so minor. The total cost to the community both in hardship and pounds shillings and pence can be high as well. Some of what they are doing has got potential serious risks. On just the wanky old bikes side of things, do you let them carry on and only try to catch the ones that injurer or kill others, and yes both have happened locally, or do you try to prevent it before it happens? As for your rapists and murderers, the more kids that grow up with a total disregard to others and authority the greater the number of these crimes will be commited. The greater the trust that the general public has in the police the more chance that these crimes that are committed will be solved. -- Kevin - Basildon XV535 GPZ305 (her's) BOTAFOT#67 BOTAFOF#23 OSOS#29
Jesus, man. Move to a bit of London that isn't a complete shithole! I used to live within spitting distance of the South Acton estate (aka Mandela House) and the only, and I mean only, thing that ever caused me trouble was my ZXR being nicked from outside my house.
That's not what you said. Because the police are too busy to control teenagers nicking motorbikes, doesn't mean that more people have homicidal tendancies. Can you cite the research that disproves it?
Survey's are like statistics, it depends on who commissions them, what the commissioning agents objectives are, whether the people doing them want other work afterwards and what baseline definitions they apply to the initial data that they use. -- Kevin - Basildon XV535 GPZ305 (her's) BOTAFOT#67 BOTAFOF#23 OSOS#29
"Going out like a raspberry ripple..." I saw it when it was first released by Handmade Films in the early 1980s. I think the TV versions are toned down slightly - I remember the "bottling" scene as being very nasty. Truly brilliant gangster movie, in the best Brit traditions. And frighteningly prescient in what it said about Docklands and the business of redeveloping the place, bent officials and all.
I think I do, sort of. If you get an area where petty crime is, effectively, tolerated (if not actually condoned), then it's likely that the scumbags will move fuurther up the nastiness ladder. Or down, IYSWIM. Either way, they reckon they can get away with it, and push the envelope further. Whether that includes murders and rapes - I might agree with you here. I can't see a sausal relationship between nicking a bike and rape. Except that, again, the rapist might think he has a better chance of getting away with it in such an area.
