Police Powers

Dr Vernon Coleman MB ChB DSc
VernonColeman.com

Everything the police do seems designed to isolate them still further from the communities they are paid to protect.

Back in 2010 I bravely (or idiotically) wrote a long book called `2020’ in which I tried to forecast what our future would be like in the year 2020. Here is a short extract from that book which is now available again as a paperback. (For details CLICK HERE)

My 87-year-old father parked his car (quite legally) and went into a hotel to have lunch. While he was enjoying his meal the manager tottered over and told him that the police wanted to speak to him. My father abandoned his meal and struggled down the steps to the roadside. Another motorist had nudged his car while parking. There was no damage to either car. My father's car was parked perfectly legally. The police were in the vicinity only because they had been called to another minor traffic accident. My father confirmed that there was no damage and was eventually allowed to go back into the hotel to finish his (by now cold and ruined) luncheon. A couple of weeks later he received a letter from someone in the local `collisions department' of the constabulary informing him that the police had given themselves six months to decide whether or not to take legal action as a result of his collision. At the time of the offence, remember, he was sitting in a hotel eating his lunch while his car was parked outside. And, remember, there was no damage done to the vehicle and neither he nor anyone else had complained. He received further warnings about this non-existent incident and was, as a conscientious, law-abiding citizen unnerved by them. He knew he had done absolutely nothing wrong. But the police were, nevertheless, warning him about some unspecified legal action.

A 71-year-old widow who prodded a 17-year-old hoodie who had been throwing stones at her window found herself charged with assault. When the hoodie threw stones at her windows she pursued the stone thrower to tell him off. When she caught up with him (the fact that she was able to do so says more than we would like to know about the health and fitness of the current generation) she `addressed him frankly' and prodded him in the chest with a finger. The police were called and instead of arresting the stone thrower they arrested the old lady and bundled her into the back of a police van. She was eventually ordered to pay £50 costs and given a conditional discharge.