Off duty copper gets knocked off his bike. Hit n run.

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Ian Raleigh

Off duty copper gets knocked off his bike. Hit n run.

Post by Ian Raleigh »

Just read this in our local paper and it seems the local Police force are out in force to catch the driver.

Shame they can't do the same for the 'everyday' ped' / biker :roll:

http://www.chad.co.uk/news/local/cyclis ... _1_4008546
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hubgearfreak
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Re: Off duty copper gets knocked off his bike. Hit n run.

Post by hubgearfreak »

Ian Raleigh wrote:Shame they can't do the same for the 'everyday' ped' / biker :roll:


i'm not sure. certainly i've been frustrated at the indefferent fobbing off i've had from lincs police, but then i've (thankfully) never been left in a critical condition either.
Ivor Tingting
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Re: Off duty copper gets knocked off his bike. Hit n run.

Post by Ivor Tingting »

Ian Raleigh wrote:Just read this in our local paper and it seems the local Police force are out in force to catch the driver.

Shame they can't do the same for the 'everyday' ped' / biker :roll:

http://www.chad.co.uk/news/local/cyclis ... _1_4008546



Looking after their own as usual, not that they shouldn't, but I should imagine other serious non urgent cases where victims were not plods have now been kicked into the long grass as they put all available resources in to catching this hit and run driver, not that they shouldn't, but if the victim is a non plod it is ......... we are really busy, whatever, or complete indifference.
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thirdcrank
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Re: Off duty copper gets knocked off his bike. Hit n run.

Post by thirdcrank »

Let's compare like with like. In my day, this would have been treated as a "potential fatal" whatever the identity of the casualty and, whatever has happened to the investigation of most collisions in recent years, my understanding is that the amount of effort devoted to so-called KSI collisions (Killed / seriously injured) has been increased.

The casualty in this case has something of a high profile locally. If I were investigating this, part of the "keeping an open mind" would include the possibility that it didn't happen just by chance. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... river.html

Like it or not, the media will often devote extra attention to things involving the police because they are "newsworthy."
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Off duty copper gets knocked off his bike. Hit n run.

Post by [XAP]Bob »

thirdcrank wrote:Like it or not, the media will often devote extra attention to things involving the police because they are "newsworthy."

Yes - it may well be the media attention that is unusual, not the police response. Depends on the severity of the injury.

"Left in a critical condition" doesn't mean that he was left criticising the driver...
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pete75
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Re: Off duty copper gets knocked off his bike. Hit n run.

Post by pete75 »

Ian Raleigh wrote:Just read this in our local paper and it seems the local Police force are out in force to catch the driver.

Shame they can't do the same for the 'everyday' ped' / biker :roll:

http://www.chad.co.uk/news/local/cyclis ... _1_4008546

Mmmm they'll be treating this like a murder enquiry rather than the complete indifference they'd show if it was a member of the public.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
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Si
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Re: Off duty copper gets knocked off his bike. Hit n run.

Post by Si »

Would someone like to cite the details of any particular case where this particular force has devoted noticeably less effort to a similar cycling-related event where the injured party was not a member of the force? Just so that we can deal with facts rather than speculation?

Whether or not it is the case that they are making extra efforts because it is "one of their own" I really do not know, however on a forum where any perceived anti-cycling comment is oft greeted with demands for real proof and data, it does seem a little odd that comment about the police is so often based on imagination and speculation. I am not defending the police, rather I'd just like to see them hung for a crime that they have been proven to have done, not just because they are the police.

Additionally, I'd also spare a thought for the poor bloke (and his friends and family) who was the victim of the hit and run in this case - policeman or not, I think that we'll all agree that he didn't deserve it and we all wish him a speedy recovery.
AlbionLass
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Re: Off duty copper gets knocked off his bike. Hit n run.

Post by AlbionLass »

This was all over the news this morning. Not sure it would have been so prominent if it have been a civvie involved. I've known of similar accidents locally that were never featured on the tv news, only the local paper.
karlt
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Re: Off duty copper gets knocked off his bike. Hit n run.

Post by karlt »

AlbionLass wrote:This was all over the news this morning. Not sure it would have been so prominent if it have been a civvie involved. I've known of similar accidents locally that were never featured on the tv news, only the local paper.



The prominence on the news isn't the same thing as the amount of effort being employed by the police.
AlbionLass
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Re: Off duty copper gets knocked off his bike. Hit n run.

Post by AlbionLass »

I think the fact that this accident made the tv news means that someone, probably the police, wanted it publicised in the hope of getting more information, doesn't happen for every cyclist involved in a hit & run.
It just makes a better headline, Policeman hit by a hit and run driver rather than Housewife or Plumber or any Average Joe.
I'm fine with it if the driver is caught, he may have a record of doing this kind of thing before and the sooner he's off the road the better. With any luck the fact it was a copper he hit will mean he'll get a stiffer penalty.
karlt
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Re: Off duty copper gets knocked off his bike. Hit n run.

Post by karlt »

AlbionLass wrote:I think the fact that this accident made the tv news means that someone, probably the police, wanted it publicised in the hope of getting more information, doesn't happen for every cyclist involved in a hit & run.
It just makes a better headline, Policeman hit by a hit and run driver rather than Housewife or Plumber or any Average Joe.
I'm fine with it if the driver is caught, he may have a record of doing this kind of thing before and the sooner he's off the road the better. With any luck the fact it was a copper he hit will mean he'll get a stiffer penalty.


It made the TV news in all likelihood because "copper in hit and run" is a story whereas "man in hit and run" isn't, in the same way that "dog bites man" isn't a story but "man bites dog" is. The police do not have the final word in editorial decisions by the media.

As Si says, unless we have some good evidence that the police are taking this more seriously because it's one of their own, it's most unwise to go around casting nasturtiums.
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beachcomber
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Re: Off duty copper gets knocked off his bike. Hit n run.

Post by beachcomber »

Perhaps it's time the moderators set up a specific Police bashing thread.
It appears that any mention of the Plod instantly gets a string of replies with posters wanting to vent their spleen.
If successful, perhaps we could extend it and have one for teachers, NHS workers et al.
If some of those posters who so frequently bash the Police would like to tell us what they do for a living perhaps we could include them too.
I'd hate this to become elitist. :lol:
The Mechanic
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Re: Off duty copper gets knocked off his bike. Hit n run.

Post by The Mechanic »

I'll go for the "bash the teachers" one :twisted:
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thirdcrank
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Re: Off duty copper gets knocked off his bike. Hit n run.

Post by thirdcrank »

AlbionLass wrote: (A) I think the fact that this accident made the tv news means that someone, probably the police, wanted it publicised in the hope of getting more information, doesn't happen for every cyclist involved in a hit & run.
(B) It just makes a better headline, Policeman hit by a hit and run driver rather than Housewife or Plumber or any Average Joe.y.


There seems to be a bit of a contradiction there between (A) and (B) Many if not all police forces have a department whose duties include publishing countless press releases. (I have a fair bit of experience, having worked in a force control room which undertook the press office function outside office hours.) Not all, by any means, make it into even the local media, no matter how hard anybody tries. I don't suppose there's much of a market for papers full of "Police are appealling for witnesses..." As pointed out there, anything with police connection stands a much better chance than normal, even when it's a remote connection. Bearing in mind, in other circumstances, the cry would be that something had been surpressed, I'd add that even the slightest delay in issuing a press release about anything involving the police just fuels media interest.

The then head of the police press office around here, who may still do the job for all I know, once told me about an incident where at some sort of party thrown for a constable - admittedly a nationally known constable - there had been some publicity about a policewoman doing a rather energetic dance. A reporter from a national newspaper spent a long time on the phone, trying to extract an answer to a question about whether the policewoman had been wearing suspenders. :shock:
AlbionLass
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Re: Off duty copper gets knocked off his bike. Hit n run.

Post by AlbionLass »

I know what I meant (which is the main thing :roll: ) I've huge respect for the police, I'm under the impression that they do tend to look after their own but then if I or a member of my family were in that line of work that's exactly what I'd want them to do.
Last edited by AlbionLass on 29 Nov 2011, 10:22am, edited 1 time in total.
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