Do police drivers abuse their powers?

I would particularly value Bob's opinion on this incident, which took place this morning.

I was driving towards my local town centre when, about 100 yards ahead there was a marked police Vauxhall Astra waiting to turn right out of a side road. Traffic was fairly heavy and, as I approached this junction, the Astra's blue roof lights came on. Thinking that this indicated that the officers in the car were required to attend an emergency 999 call, I slowed and allowed the police vehicle to pull out. However, as soon as they had pulled out into traffic, the blue lights went out and the Astra then just kept up with the rest of the traffic which was travelling at around 20mph.

It would seem that, in this instance, the officers had used the blue lights on their car to effectively bully their way out of this junction. I had always assumed that police drivers were supposed to set an example to the rest of us but, had it been me who had used the same sort of tactics and been observed by the police doing so, I have no doubt they would have stopped me.

What's the legal position on such a move Bob?

There could have been several reasons for them needing to be in the flow of traffic without their lights on but to actually get into the flow they needed to use their lights initially. Maybe, for example, they had spotted a suspicious driver and wanted to follow them from a few cars back.

I very much doubt it but there could be a genuine reason.

The thing to remember too is that in any line of work you will always get the ones who don't do their jobs properly. Every barrel has a few bad apples.

Andy

When you live in a country were it is standard practice for the police to overtake you even without the flashing lights on even when you are speeding or for BMW's and Mercedeses to follow ambulances on emergency call outs to get past traffic jams, very few things surprise you. Clearly, Andy is right and there could have been a reason but then again, I often find that power corrupts.

George

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Perhaps I should have titled this topic "Do SOME police drivers abuse their powers?". Don't get me wrong, the majority of police carry out their duties in a very professional manner but I have also previously observed one of the officers seen this morning do exactly the same thing in a different situation. If any of us drove in such a manner we would be stopped by the police for it, and quite rightly so. What really annoyed me on this occasion was the fact that these officers clearly abused their position by their actions. In a situation such as this a police driver is not above the law, and should therefore drive within the maening of UK traffic laws.

[migrator]

If you believe that you have justification and can prove what took place then write to the Chief Constable of the force concerned.

Write politely asking for an explanation - do not be antagonistic.

[GorgeousGeorge]

come on guys, i mean everybody abuses there position every now and again, i mean who is surfing at the moment when they should be working ???

cheers

scott

>come on guys, i mean everybody abuses there position every
now and again, i mean who is surfing at the moment when they
should be working ???>

Ha ha ha! Love it. Extremely valid point but a different league. There is no abuse of power going on here.

One reason I could never be a cop (I'd lose my job within hours) is because I would definately use my position in situations where I probably should not. I'd probably end up doing things like pulling up next to someone at the lights who'd just cut me up and show them my warrant card before telling them that if I saw them do it again I'd give them a ticket. I'd well get sacked because I'd take it upon myself to let every little wrong do-er on the roads know that they have done something wrong.

Perhaps it was shift change over time and they wanted a cup of tea?

As a former policeman in another country if you were caught abusing your powers you were immediately on a charge and could face a fine, confinement to barracks (house arrest) or even be detained. Obviously you would not be put in a cell with other prisoners but you could be put in a cell depending on the severity of the charge.
If caught speeding you could lose your "government" driving licence which prevented you from driving any form of government transport and this meant walking the beat! So you were very careful.

[Bob]

Yes, 'late for tea' is a common one, but it still makes me smile.

The driver of a police vehicle is personally responsible when switching on the blue light, flashing headlights if fitted and the sirens, and has to justify doing so if asked, for whatever reason. If the reason is not acceptable then that officer can be liable to prosecution or disciplinary action.

The driver of a police vehicle who switches on the emergency equipment puts his/her licence on the line each time. They do a darned difficult job with everyone lining up to throw criticism when something does not go right. "You're too late" or "Why did it take you so long" are common statements that police officers have to put up with.

In some police forces in the UK the top speed for police vehicles answering an emergency call is the speed limit + 20mph. If a police vehicle is caught on a speed camera above that then the driver could be prosecuted.

Despite these and many other difficulties the police officers of the UK still bend over backwards to do thier job and protect the public, and their job now is more difficult than when I was operational.

I expect there are times that something is done that could be called 'abuse of position/power', if it is minor, why make a mountain out of a mole hill? But if you feel strongly then there is no reason why you should not complain.

There may well have been a good reason for the driver doing what you report here and I could list many occasions that would justify it.
Police drivers have legal exemptions from certain road traffic regulations, but they still have to justify using them.