Coming thick and fast these days, yet another "Prats of The Week" Award.This time it goes to South Yorkshire police for their plans to report motorists to insurance companies if they leave valuables, CDs or even old coats on show in their cars.
Thus, were a theft to occur from a car and the victim had been reported as being "careless" with his stuff, the victim may well not be entitled to receive any insurance payout.
South Yorkshire Police Community Support Office have sent letters to motorists in the Doncaster area, telling them to keep valuables out of sight in their cars and warning that the police would be carrying out spot checks to make sure belongings were not left on view.
"If items are on view a form is submitted for action stating your vehicle was left in a vulnerable state. This form can then be forwarded to your insurance company for their actions.
This can result in your premiums going up or potentially your company refusing to pay out should a break-in to your vehicle occur."
Fair enough to advise people not to leave things in full view. However, reporting them to the insurance companies seems to me as though honest people are being penalised, simply because they are easier to target than criminals.
Surely if there were more police on the streets, then the number of thefts from vehicles would fall?
Or is the idea of catching criminals "too radical"?
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Unless the owner's insurance policy specifies that such items may not be visible inside the car when not occupied, it seems to me to be an irrelevance. In fact, the whole thing seems rather pointless.
ReplyDeleteI think what this really demonstrates is that people care more about their insurance premiums than they do advice from an officer of the law.
ReplyDeleteI doubt S.Yorks Police will actually bother writing to the insurance companies. It's probably just that is the only threat they can make to get people interested in what they have to say.
This seems to be more of the "Mission Creep" that has infected our public services.(sic)
ReplyDeleteI can see insurance companies backing such a policy by our police, as it seems to me that, insurance companies will take your money willingly but, will often go out of their way to fight a claim, finding any petty excuse not to pay out.
I would like to see more police on the beat catching criminals and preventing crime by their presence, not targetting ordinary law abiding people for petty things such as the things described in this thread. Mind you, with all the new petty laws brought in over the last twelve years by Labour Nanny, leaving items in your car in view may well be a criminal offence.
The job of the police is to catch criminals, not to give the insurance companies yet another excuse to avoid paying up when they are required too.
ReplyDeleteSee below. Iwonder if this is a climbdown with a scapegoat or if it is true and the officer has been binned?
ReplyDelete"Inquiry over warning to motorists "
An internal police inquiry has begun after an officer threatened to report motorists to insurance companies for leaving valuables on display.
South Yorkshire Police said a community support officer devised and distributed a letter to drivers in Doncaster.
A force spokesman said the letters had been destroyed and police had no intention of reporting motorists to insurance providers.
He said the officer wrote the warning "with the best intentions".
'Vehicle crime'
Ch Insp Andy Kent said police would not contact insurance companies but officers would send advisory letters to the owners of any vehicles in which valuables were spotted.
He said: "Police in Doncaster have not reported motorists to their insurance companies for leaving valuables on display in their cars or vans and there is no intention to do so.
"We want to work with motorists, not against them, to continue to drive down vehicle crime in the town.
"A police community support officer, working on their own initiative and with the best intentions, unfortunately against force policy, devised and distributed a letter stating that insurance firms may be contacted. This is not the case."
PCSOs seem to be the type of people that would have been council car park attendatrotints in the past.....You know the type; A jobsworth cap and the power going to their heads.....I bet when the role of PCSO came into being, thanks to Blunkett, many of this type of person thought all their birthdays had come at once!!
ReplyDeletePCSOs are a laughable waste of space.
ReplyDeleteOne once followed my mate mick all the way to the gym demanding to look in his bag. Mick just kept telling him to get bent until he arrived at the gym and went in.
The PCSO did not follow him inside.
I'm worried. If Nanny sees this she will think what a good idea it would be to dob drivers in to their insurers. Insurers will, no doubt, be happy to pay a small fee to Nanny if it allows them to reject claims.
ReplyDeleteNext they'll be giving notices to woman who are dressing scantily on a night out. That way if they did get raped their case could be de-prioritised due them asking for it.
ReplyDeletePlod really hasn't thought this out. Cue the barristers of the thug that breaks into a car who's owner has been served with such a notice bringing it up in court as visual entrapment.
PCSo's are the sort of pratts who would have been issued with a nice shiny hat and badge as the karzi attendent in years gone by.
ReplyDeleteanything not to actually have to do their job and catch criminals!
ReplyDelete'A police community support officer.......'
ReplyDeleteSays it all really. Jumped up police wannabe demonstrates why they should spend the money on recruiting real PC instead.
On the subject of motorists have you seen this
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/pm/2009/10/splashing_a_bus_stop.shtml#more
One of the commenters has called it child abuse.....
Jay
I expect the atural progression will be that S.Yorks plod will start peeping through peoples' front windows and advising them to draw the curtains because 'valuable items may be on view and we'd have to tell your insurer' ;o)
ReplyDelete'atural?' 'Natural' shirley?
ReplyDeleteNote to dog:'By new eyboard'