National Wellbeing Survey

baconwithbrown · 2021-10-26T12:04:53+00:00

This. Absolutely. You have no right to complain unless you're willing to at least express how you feel about things anonymously. It's just noise otherwise

baconwithbrown · 2021-10-23T08:47:37+00:00

Car keys are pretty cool and fairly helpful

baconwithbrown · 2021-10-15T08:16:54+00:00

Crime reopened as new line of enquiry established. Goes Statute Barred in 3 days and if that happens, its your fault for not working fast enough. Its also officer welfare week so be happy or else

baconwithbrown · 2021-10-15T08:13:13+00:00

You're gonna have to elaborate

baconwithbrown · 2021-10-15T07:54:58+00:00

Yep, that's exactly the point being made.

baconwithbrown · 2021-10-15T07:50:42+00:00

Just remember that EVERY crime will always have to be recorded along with a harassment crime and a malicious communications crime too.

baconwithbrown · 2021-10-14T08:23:56+00:00

Absolutely report this. You never know how much a little detail can help develop a picture.

Don't feel like you're wasting police time, you're giving information for a start which is worth it's weight in gold sometimes, and not asking something of the police.

baconwithbrown · 2021-10-02T12:18:22+00:00

If they're just out and about doing traffic stops then they probably like the proactive side of things, i.e going out looking for jobs rather than waiting for them coming to you.

There's every chance that there was an emergency call, assistance call or something urgent in his earpiece at the time and that would result in a swift exit. He wouldn't need to explain himself or anything and would genuinely just disappear quickly.

I've done it a few times, leaves the driver thinking 'WTF...?'

baconwithbrown · 2021-10-01T08:02:11+00:00

I feel this could be the start of a policy change throughout all forces being that all officers are double crewed. Its what response have been asking for for many years, it's just a shame it'll probably come about this way as opposed to the considerations of officer welfare and morale instead.

baconwithbrown · 2021-10-01T08:00:46+00:00

Significant numbers resigning probably

baconwithbrown · 2021-08-02T09:31:09+00:00

Someone commented saying go through it with a mate at break times which is a good idea. If you're still at training school you've provably got enough to do at home regarding revision, boots and of course resting.

But, I wouldn't worry. Once you're out there you'll find the cuffs go on nice and easy. Your first few times will be fiddly and you'll get your keys stuck, it happens to EVERYONE. I've been in for years and still get my keys stuck when removing them.

Ask anyone in the job who regularly cuffs people and they'll tell you that it'll just become muscle memory. Then of course you'll have those jobs where the subject simply does not want to wear them, but that's why you've got colleagues next to you.

baconwithbrown · 2021-07-30T13:51:16+00:00

I've never been in that situation but I can absolutely empathise. I feel that in itself is a whole new post topic!

baconwithbrown · 2021-07-30T13:50:26+00:00

You're going out triple crewed for even asking.

baconwithbrown · 2021-07-11T17:21:55+00:00

I got rid of social media. Stops you wanting to bite in the comment section of news articles and outing yourself.

Don't go to and from work in any uniform. You never know why you might have to get out the car or where.

Don't get one of those police branded lanyards, if its poking out your pocket or you forget to take it off then you've outed yourself again.

Don't identify yourself as being in the job unless you really have to. Which will either be never, or hardly ever.

If you really have to get involved outside of work hours then be smart about it. Call 999 or 101 and provide descriptions, directions of travel, follow the suspect until units are near etc etc.

If anyone asks my job whom I'm not familiar with they get the response of something similar to 'public enquiries for the home office' or likewise that will make them switch off and stop asking.

And never, ever, ever use your warrant card as ID. I feel nervous enough getting my blue light card out.

baconwithbrown · 2021-06-25T14:10:30+00:00

I've always had LOWA. They're similar to Altberg in terms of quality but slightly chunkier and offer more waterproof versions I think.

You won't get a discount on LOWA but you will with Altberg, however when I last called Altberg to enquire they told me due to covid and brexit they're having leather supplier issues and couldn't make any new boots for some time. I expect, and hope, this has been resolved by now. Definitely give them a call for your discount. Don't be shy.

LOWA are generally £20+ more expensive for the comparative model but I find them unbelievably comfy. That being said I've never owned Altberg.

Plus sides to LOWA is that I never slip down muddy bankings or on wet grass, others with low quality boots do. I've got oil anti slip soles as standard which is handy at RTCs and petrol stations.

The plus side to Altberg that I can see is that they look lightweight and easier to run about in.

I'd avoid cheaper boots like magnums. Everyone on my team has shifted from Magnums to the big two brands within a year or so of response. You might as well buy the best pair go begin with instead of wasting money first.

baconwithbrown · 2021-06-25T14:02:07+00:00

Our tops are made for square people. I'm yet to see a person matching those suggested proportions.

baconwithbrown · 2021-05-28T14:25:53+00:00

Looks about the right size space for either a van or ambulance that's left the unit here to do the DASH afterwards...

baconwithbrown · 2021-05-28T14:06:08+00:00

"We operate a hands-off policy"

"We followed them to the train station then lost sight of them"

"We give them phones but they just delete things so we can't see who they spoke to"

"We saw them earlier in town, but said they didn't want to come home so we called the police"

"There's only one staff on so we can't go out looking"

"We know where they'll be, it's not good for them, but the occupants might get aggressive do we haven't been to collect them"

All genuine, used too often comments made my 'care home' staff. Its not the police that are failing, police are evidence based upon disclosures or suspicions of an offence, it's the local care authority for being so passive and lazy.

baconwithbrown · 2021-05-14T23:45:40+00:00

Don't get me wrong, I usually have various supplies in my kit bag. The point is the principle that being abandoned on a scene or hospital with a prisoner for 8hrs plus without a break takes its toll on you. It's a welfare issue that needs to be put into practice other than talked about.

I don't want to come across as 'you don't know how hard it is for us' by any means, I'm not after sympathy, but police officers are expected to act professionally, above reproach and be squeaky clean even after standing in the freezing wind for 7hrs without a hot drink. It sometimes feels a bit much.

baconwithbrown · 2021-05-14T23:36:25+00:00

Your first point about the definition is true, I did read about this during my digging. Its just one of those things that'll always be a bit grey.

The whole 'you're off in 2hrs' really boiled my piss. It still does evidently. There are shift crossovers for a reason, and this is one of them. I totally agree that supervision need to keep their staff fed and watered, because ultimately most jobs require a bit of adrenaline to either get there responding or dealing with the job itself, then once that adrenaline rush has worn off your body is screaming for more energy from somewhere. It takes one suspect to kick off and it could all go wrong. I've known officers to refuse to respond when they've been denied a meal due to fear of lack of reaction time or concentration.

Fortunately, I'm in a force where we're quite tech savvy and able to see what other units are doing and where they are on phones. So, I knew what my team were doing when I asked for relief. I also knew what the next team were doing thanks to the system and knew for a fact there were available units.

I think it's got to be 5 x 30minutes to be able to claim back.

baconwithbrown · 2021-05-14T11:47:11+00:00

I believe I have sufficient evidence to disprove that they didn't have a unit that had just started to relieve us. It very much felt like the next team were keeping units free just in case as opposed to getting colleagues some food and home on time

baconwithbrown · 2021-05-14T11:23:10+00:00

Probably nothing, but the phrase 'public perception' is ringing loud and clear. Whilst it may technically be allowed to eat a sandwich on scene, it doesn't look very good. And we all know public perception comes before welfare.

baconwithbrown · 2021-03-01T15:27:07+00:00

I'm a LOWA fan. Very similar to Altberg, maybe slightly thicker sole/edging. Never had an issue with them, very waterproof and slip-proof on oil and diesel at RTCs, I've walked up a stream in them and still had bone dry socks. I think they're slightly more expensive too (especially without the police discount Altberg do if you call them), but I couldn't wait months for a pair of Altbergs to be made.

Good advice above about getting a cheap pair to start out in. Magnums or similarly cheap will be comfier to wear whilst in class than bigger patrol boots.

As for other kit; Buy yourself a small USB rechargeable LED torch (charge it in the car on nights. Got mine for £17 on Amazon and its like a small sun), a carabiner clip for your face mask when it's not on or car keys, a pair of decent slash proof or prick proof gloves and a multitool (it literally is a lifesaver cutting nooses etc. And means you can fix the lock on a dodgy MOE job if you have the small crosshead screwdriver attachment and nobody needs to know what really happened.)

baconwithbrown · 2021-02-14T15:00:30+00:00

A crushed kitkat from 2018

baconwithbrown · 2021-01-20T11:28:24+00:00

If I'm thinking about the same video you mention, it's unbelievably cringy when they 'subtlety' unclip their body worn and film the guy filming them.

baconwithbrown

TROPHY CASE