RAF Police, waste of space or not?
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monkeybumhead - Well said.
I was going to say something similar but was struggling to find words that didn't make it sound like I was 'slagging off' the police trade.
In my previous post (with those RTR lads in the West Mids) we often spent long periods deployed away and there was nothing better than returning from 4 months in Bos or watching MTV in Ulster and finding a 'report to guardroom with vehicle docs' note slapped on your windscreen (with that glue thats a b
d to get off), even though there is a nice big note inside the windscreen informing any wayward job worths of your OOA status. Obviously I'm talking pre-SORN.
I was going to say something similar but was struggling to find words that didn't make it sound like I was 'slagging off' the police trade.
In my previous post (with those RTR lads in the West Mids) we often spent long periods deployed away and there was nothing better than returning from 4 months in Bos or watching MTV in Ulster and finding a 'report to guardroom with vehicle docs' note slapped on your windscreen (with that glue thats a b
d to get off), even though there is a nice big note inside the windscreen informing any wayward job worths of your OOA status. Obviously I'm talking pre-SORN.
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uber plod
In your last post you state " it is now pointless due to the new system for us to check your vehicles for discs". So why the hell were the Lyneham plods wasting their time doing so? There is no justification for this if I understand your last post to be correct, so they are meerly out for brownie points, and who knows, promotion to substansive CPL.
In your last post you state " it is now pointless due to the new system for us to check your vehicles for discs". So why the hell were the Lyneham plods wasting their time doing so? There is no justification for this if I understand your last post to be correct, so they are meerly out for brownie points, and who knows, promotion to substansive CPL.
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Cars outside the wire, on quarters? If it's a designated patrol laid down by the Stn Cdr, then yes.
Away for extended periods, I'm a member of TPW so I know exactly what thats like. But my admin and that of my colleagues is in order.
Fair play though, mistakes are made. But is it such a drama to go to the Police Flt with a valid explanation? And as for the poor old feds having too much time on their hands, jeez, do you think before you post? Do you honestly think the LAC/SAC/A/Cpl's finish their brews then make a conscious decision to screw members of the RAF, who by the way, are contravening several orders? They are ordered by their seniors to carry out vehicle checks. Should they disobey those orders? Should the SNCO's or officers just overlook certain aspects of their job just because it may inconvenience or upset you?
Away for extended periods, I'm a member of TPW so I know exactly what thats like. But my admin and that of my colleagues is in order.
Fair play though, mistakes are made. But is it such a drama to go to the Police Flt with a valid explanation? And as for the poor old feds having too much time on their hands, jeez, do you think before you post? Do you honestly think the LAC/SAC/A/Cpl's finish their brews then make a conscious decision to screw members of the RAF, who by the way, are contravening several orders? They are ordered by their seniors to carry out vehicle checks. Should they disobey those orders? Should the SNCO's or officers just overlook certain aspects of their job just because it may inconvenience or upset you?
Being of Regt persuasion I have a moral duty to wind up all and any RAFP. However, they have a job to do and for the most part do it well, and just like our bunch there a some bad apples.......
But winding them up is sooooooo much fun. Furthermore, the return match attempts are amusing too!
But winding them up is sooooooo much fun. Furthermore, the return match attempts are amusing too!
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aes
I take it you haven't read, or taken in, uber plods last. He clearly states there is no point the RAF police checking to see if a car has a valid tax disc as the DVLA will be able to nab you with their system. It doesn't matter how well you sort out your admin, if you get extended for any period whilst OOA this may take you past your tax expiry date. If none of your friends have access to your vehicle insurance then plain and simple IT CAN'T BE TAXED! Just because someones insurance says they can drive any vehicle, it doesn't mean they can tax any vehicle.
Oh and by the way I wasn't upset or inconvenienced in any way by the tax inspectors, I was just highly amused by such a good use of time and resources.
I take it you haven't read, or taken in, uber plods last. He clearly states there is no point the RAF police checking to see if a car has a valid tax disc as the DVLA will be able to nab you with their system. It doesn't matter how well you sort out your admin, if you get extended for any period whilst OOA this may take you past your tax expiry date. If none of your friends have access to your vehicle insurance then plain and simple IT CAN'T BE TAXED! Just because someones insurance says they can drive any vehicle, it doesn't mean they can tax any vehicle.
Oh and by the way I wasn't upset or inconvenienced in any way by the tax inspectors, I was just highly amused by such a good use of time and resources.
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Regardless of what has been posted previously, the tax issue is of importance to the stn authorities. A ticket is placed to ensure the owner reports to the RAF Police as soon as practicable. If you're OOA, then so be it, no dramas. You return from det, get the car taxed, offer the valid explaination, job done.
If however, you're not on det, the car has no tax, by default has no insurance, the vehicle shouldn't be on the unit. The relevant chain of command is informed and the vehicle hopefully won't be driven and hopefully not be involved in any RTA's.
And finally we get back to your point of good use of time and resources, we should be out catching real crims eh fella?
If however, you're not on det, the car has no tax, by default has no insurance, the vehicle shouldn't be on the unit. The relevant chain of command is informed and the vehicle hopefully won't be driven and hopefully not be involved in any RTA's.
And finally we get back to your point of good use of time and resources, we should be out catching real crims eh fella?
Last edited by aes69; 23rd Apr 2005 at 19:10.
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Perhaps, or maybe instead of leaving someone to defend themselves from some army thugs and then nicking them you should take charge of the situation before it degenerates. Or is that too much to expect from such wonderfull people and upholders of the law.
As a wise old man once told me, never trust a RAF copper as they won't think twice about stabbing you in the back and are the biggest criminals on camp. The latter confirmed by a dog handler at Marham many moons ago, instead of feeding the dogs the chicken provided he took it home and fed it to his family.
As a wise old man once told me, never trust a RAF copper as they won't think twice about stabbing you in the back and are the biggest criminals on camp. The latter confirmed by a dog handler at Marham many moons ago, instead of feeding the dogs the chicken provided he took it home and fed it to his family.
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If any of my lads stood by and watched someone getting a kicking, then they'd be in for the high jump. They receive the correct trg, they have the equipment and it's their bloody job to deal with the situation mentioned. I can understand the grievance, but does that make the whole trade bad?
We've had our crooks, the same as techies that have been selling a/c parts on e-bay, the same as mechanics have used service parts for their cars, service computer parts being changed for their inferior personal ones. It goes on & on.
The RAF police can't screen potential recruits to make sure they're trust worthy, just like they can't screen for bitter & twisted individuals who believe every 40th generation story they've heard.
We've had our crooks, the same as techies that have been selling a/c parts on e-bay, the same as mechanics have used service parts for their cars, service computer parts being changed for their inferior personal ones. It goes on & on.
The RAF police can't screen potential recruits to make sure they're trust worthy, just like they can't screen for bitter & twisted individuals who believe every 40th generation story they've heard.
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Perhaps you could come to Lyneham and re-educate our plods then as there are some who ain't doing your trade much good in the reputation stakes. Unfortunatly the good don't outweigh the bad here. Maybe your bretheren here could apply a little more common sense where parking is concerned, especially around the area of J2, J3, TTF, GEF, SES and Eng Wing Trg Cell as you have 6 sections fighting for parking.
It has been nice to see some of the plod fighting their corner, but none have admitted to being from Lyneham.
It has been nice to see some of the plod fighting their corner, but none have admitted to being from Lyneham.
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Might be aircrew, definately have a brain the size of a planet. The amount of right-wing stuff that is spouted in these forums seems to be hot air. Tax evasion, driving without insurance...what next? "It's ok occifer I've only had a couple. hic"
I agree with the plods, it's your choice to break the law, tough jobbies if you get caught.
crime: an offence punishable by law
criminal: a person who has committed a crime or crimes
No tax= criminal. Ergo you are a REAL criminal. Don't pick on the guys and gals doing their job just because you are guilty. Spoke to DVLA a few months ago and they assured me that they are fully aware that servicemen may be out of the country at short notice and would take this into account.
I agree with the plods, it's your choice to break the law, tough jobbies if you get caught.
crime: an offence punishable by law
criminal: a person who has committed a crime or crimes
No tax= criminal. Ergo you are a REAL criminal. Don't pick on the guys and gals doing their job just because you are guilty. Spoke to DVLA a few months ago and they assured me that they are fully aware that servicemen may be out of the country at short notice and would take this into account.
"What if my vehicle licence (tax disc) is due to expire while I am abroad?"
Unless the procedure for sorting this out has changed recently, it is a right bugger. First you have to explain to some DVLA halfwit that you will be away on duty and physically unable to renew your tax much as you'd like to. I did this once - and then had to fax (they don't have e-mail...) a letter explaining my circumstances to the Head Post Office hereabouts. Not just any post office - only a few are allowed to hold tax discs more than 1 month ahead of the normal issue date in order to minimise the risk of theft.
Then set off for (in my case) Oxford. Park, step over the babbling drunks and asylum seekers clogging up the entrance to the post office, hand over all the papers, plus a copy of the faxed letter to the counter assistant, then wait whilst she descends to the bowels of the earth and opens up the safe to obtain a disc.....
Such an embuggerance that it is hardly surprising that many people simply can't be arsed - or don't have the time - to go through this tortuous process, preferring instead just to risk not being caught by Plod of whatever hue....
Why can't we just $hitcan the tax disc and put the cost onto fuel. It would then be impossible to avoid paying it!
Unless the procedure for sorting this out has changed recently, it is a right bugger. First you have to explain to some DVLA halfwit that you will be away on duty and physically unable to renew your tax much as you'd like to. I did this once - and then had to fax (they don't have e-mail...) a letter explaining my circumstances to the Head Post Office hereabouts. Not just any post office - only a few are allowed to hold tax discs more than 1 month ahead of the normal issue date in order to minimise the risk of theft.
Then set off for (in my case) Oxford. Park, step over the babbling drunks and asylum seekers clogging up the entrance to the post office, hand over all the papers, plus a copy of the faxed letter to the counter assistant, then wait whilst she descends to the bowels of the earth and opens up the safe to obtain a disc.....
Such an embuggerance that it is hardly surprising that many people simply can't be arsed - or don't have the time - to go through this tortuous process, preferring instead just to risk not being caught by Plod of whatever hue....
Why can't we just $hitcan the tax disc and put the cost onto fuel. It would then be impossible to avoid paying it!
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From the comfortable vantage point of retirement, I can say that the RAFP tend to be highly dedicated and competent, in the same way that all branches and trades are - there will be the odd idiot as in any part of the RAF, but I never personally encountered one. My last station duty occurred after the roll-out of the MPGS with a JNCO/SNCO RAFP on a bleeper, and not having the on-the-spot expertise and experience in the guard room was definitely a minus point.
Checking out tax discs on FMQs is a fairly stupid exercise, but the rules are to be followed by those in uniform, and such a decree probably emanates from SHQ or further up the chain. If we all had a penny for every stupid instruction in SROs we'd all be rich!
Likewise, the suspect package incident would have generated a formal response according to the security orders and it is unlikely that the RAFP would have had any discretion whether to investigate or not. Leaving an unlabelled holdall around is fairly stupid but it is surely a case of taking the hit and getting on with life rather than blaming the system.
I have only had positive experiences in my encounters with the RAFP, sometimes in tricky situations - a burglary when I was OO and a drugs case on another OO occasion.
Checking out tax discs on FMQs is a fairly stupid exercise, but the rules are to be followed by those in uniform, and such a decree probably emanates from SHQ or further up the chain. If we all had a penny for every stupid instruction in SROs we'd all be rich!
Likewise, the suspect package incident would have generated a formal response according to the security orders and it is unlikely that the RAFP would have had any discretion whether to investigate or not. Leaving an unlabelled holdall around is fairly stupid but it is surely a case of taking the hit and getting on with life rather than blaming the system.
I have only had positive experiences in my encounters with the RAFP, sometimes in tricky situations - a burglary when I was OO and a drugs case on another OO occasion.
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I recall an occurance when on guard, just a few moon ago, we were at amber and very busy. Whilst carrying out a routine patrol around the Os mess at oh my god o'clock doors to the tv room and dining hall were found wide open for anyone to enter unobserved. Matter was reported to RAFP to which they replied "it's alright there is always somebody in the building". True there is always somebody in the building, but at that time of night asleep. The patrol 2 hours later reported the same doors still unsecured. It's nice to see the safety and security of the master race is foremost in the minds of some RAFP if not those on duty that night. I for one was all for getting the authority to set off the fire alarm, or swaping TVs.
One of the worst threads to appear on this forum. I am based in Wiltshire and have not come across any of these 'rogue' coppers. From my observations including a stint as Guard Cdr, they all seemed to be doing their job as ordered. Some might be keener than others, I am sure their is the odd one who has a problem, but what trade doesn't. A final note. Yes there is a problem parking cars, however one of these days the Emergency Services are going to be held up getting to an incident because of the number of cars that are illegally parked on, double yellow, or yellow grids. The car parks nearby usually have space but obviously in this modern age some people don't like walking any distance. If the RAFP were so zealous then there would be tickets on many many cars round by J1,2 & 3. Why can't we work as a team and get on. I realise this is a rumour forum, but this is a waste of time.
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Here here!
If you started by banning all those living inside the wire from driving to work things would improve. A lot. I know it's crap at 2am to cycle back to the block, but honestly!
Have you taken your grievances to OC Plod? Asked for help? Asked for more slots or...
A shuttle bus?
Oh yeah, they tried that and it wasn't used. Hmmm. Maybe Lyneham should taxi you in - obviating the need for a car at all! Brilliant! Lets get the plod on to it right away!
If you started by banning all those living inside the wire from driving to work things would improve. A lot. I know it's crap at 2am to cycle back to the block, but honestly!
Have you taken your grievances to OC Plod? Asked for help? Asked for more slots or...
A shuttle bus?
Oh yeah, they tried that and it wasn't used. Hmmm. Maybe Lyneham should taxi you in - obviating the need for a car at all! Brilliant! Lets get the plod on to it right away!
Back it up
I may well be missing something here
but.
"the same as techies that have been selling a/c parts on e-bay"
I cant recall a genuine non-surplus piece being sold ..........Clothing however.
Just one question though how does scouring MQs for expired tax discs promote team spirit between the various trades/branches?
but.
"the same as techies that have been selling a/c parts on e-bay"
I cant recall a genuine non-surplus piece being sold ..........Clothing however.
Just one question though how does scouring MQs for expired tax discs promote team spirit between the various trades/branches?
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Were they looking for expired ones, (did they say so?), or had they been advised of forged ones, altered ones or stolen ones perhaps, thought to have been seen on cars known to frequent the MQs? If they find expired ones they may well report them but was that their primary purpose in looking in the first place? 
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Do you know what, I and most my colleagues would love to have some team spirit but there are just too many people that bitch when we do our jobs, and too many that think they know our jobs and bitch when we dont do them. Cant win really. Maybe I should have chosen a nice safe techie trade where I dont have to pick anyone up for anything and could have lots of friends and tea parties. People ho dont like the police are normally the ones who have had a run in for some minor offence, but from that moment on will tell their little tales and hate every copper no matter who the person is behind the police uniform.