Police Helicopter

[Lance Morgan]

Shame the previous thread was closed but I could not resist posting this link:
Police helicopter hunt for dad who 'stole twigs' - mirror.co.uk

[Deb London]

This interests me from several points of view. But not least because this is the sort of thing I have been known to do. I like to add to my log pile in this way. I often choose rotting logs, so I need to top up a couple of times a year. I don't go to nature reserves as I don't think this is quite right, somehow. But it's interesting for me to note that this man wasn't actually committing an offense in this instance.

[Jason Green]

Afternooon all,

I love these media headlines... he wasn't chased for stealing twigs, instead the aircraft was used as it was the nearest police vehicle and was required since the 999-operator heard a 'heated confrontation', in much the same way they would attend any altercation given an operator was sufficiently concerned.

Maybe they were hovering over/near his house because he could have lived in the next street to the reserve?

Take care,

Jason

[Stinky Bob]

Originally Posted by Deb London

This interests me from several points of view. But not least because this is the sort of thing I have been known to do. I like to add to my log pile in this way. I often choose rotting logs, so I need to top up a couple of times a year. I don't go to nature reserves as I don't think this is quite right, somehow. But it's interesting for me to note that this man wasn't actually committing an offense in this instance.

It maybe that he was commiting an offense, not a 100% sure but I don't believe you can go and just take wood. In the Forest of Dean near me you can buy a license that allows you to collect kindling. I n any event it does seem a bit over the top to scramble a helicopter unless the confrontation heard over the phone was deemed serious enough to warrant it but you would have thought the operator would have stayed on the line and advised the ranger to move away. It does seem that the police cannot win these days, it a thankless job at the best of times.

[Cowgirl]

Again the media making a sensationalistic account. We don't know how heated the confrontation got & if the warden thought he was in danger of being attacked. I realise there's always two sides to every story and I imagine some wardens can get a little officious (not saying all, just saying that we don't know the full story).

A long time ago, me & my husband was once taken to task for trying to rescue a dog which was obviously lost (it was 10 o clock at night, winter & it had run across the road in front of us) in an area of forest (near the roadside) that wasn't public. This 'person' had stopped his car, declared that he was a good friend of the warden & from this tenuous piece of officialdom took it upon himself to tell us to leave the dog, it would be alright & we should leave, then he just stood there, we eventually became uncomfortable & left. It still haunts me about that dog, there were a lot of livestock farms round and about. We returned the next day but there was no sign of it. I don't know why we left, had that happened nowadays I would have challenged him (albeit politely but firmly) to leave us alone & would have continued to try & lure the dog into the car (it had a disc on it's collar), poor thing wanted to come but was so scared & nervous.

It's true the police have a thankless task, heard on radio this morning or last night about the 2,000 or so complaints made against police due to rudeness, assaults etc. They're no angels but compared to the number of arrests etc 2,000 doesn't seem that many. Having watched a few of the police reality tv shows, I don't know how some of them keep their cool when stopping people 'specially for driving offences, they think it's ok to turn offensive & abusive & they're in the wrong. I wouldn't make a very good policewoman I'd just want to tazer the public all the time!

[Deb London]

Originally Posted by Stinky Bob

It maybe that he was commiting an offense, not a 100% sure but I don't believe you can go and just take wood. In the Forest of Dean near me you can buy a license that allows you to collect kindling. I n any event it does seem a bit over the top to scramble a helicopter unless the confrontation heard over the phone was deemed serious enough to warrant it but you would have thought the operator would have stayed on the line and advised the ranger to move away. It does seem that the police cannot win these days, it a thankless job at the best of times.

You are right Stinky. It's a no-no without prior permission from the landowner.

The Ranger's Blog - Post details: Is there a legal right to collect firewood?

Luckily the laws surrounding the taking of fallen wood from a public highway are much more muddy, I'm pleased to say.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Cowgirl

It's true the police have a thankless task, heard on radio this morning or last night about the 2,000 or so complaints made against police due to rudeness, assaults etc. They're no angels but compared to the number of arrests etc 2,000 doesn't seem that many. !

very true - and even more so as many of those complaints will be made vexaciously by criminals who have been arrested or stopped - when i was a ranger I used to work closely with the police and recall giving evidence to a proffesional standards investigation of an excessive force complaint where the cop concerned had broken a guys wrist with his baton which out of context sounds bad,

but the context was that the guy had previous for sex offences and we had encountered him hiding in the bushes near a subway frequently used by lone women - when we attempted to aprehend him he pulled a large flick knife and essentially said " so you want some do you copper" ( but with rather more expletives as i recall) - that was when the cop concerned clouted him on the wrist with his baton to disarm him.

needless to say that the complaint wasnt upheld, but it will still be counted as one of those 2000

[STYRBJORN]

Originally Posted by Deb London

This interests me from several points of view. But not least because this is the sort of thing I have been known to do. I like to add to my log pile in this way. I often choose rotting logs, so I need to top up a couple of times a year. I don't go to nature reserves as I don't think this is quite right, somehow. But it's interesting for me to note that this man wasn't actually committing an offense in this instance.

I trust that you ensure that the logs are not occupied by stag beetle larvae. They are in enough trouble as it is.

Ric

[Deb London]

Hi Ric,

I should add, none of the rotting logs are much thicker than my fist. No stags were injured in the making of this pile.

Deb

[STYRBJORN]

Originally Posted by Deb London

Hi Ric,

I should add, none of the rotting logs are much thicker than my fist. No stags were injured in the making of this pile.

Deb

Ric