75ZT Community

Crass srupidity rears its ugly head.

Last Friday a woman was in my Court charged with failing to display a valid tax disk.

What actually happened was that she'd bought a new one online and when it arrived placed it in the holder on her car's windscreen. So, not only was she covered for the remains of this tax year, she had paid her dues two weeks early for next year as well. How law abiding can you get?

Anyway, a PCSO spotted that this year's tax disk was not on view and, despite the driver explaining the situation and producing this year's disk, insisted upon reporting her for consideration of prosecution.

Luckily, she had the gumption to refuse to take it lying down and chose to plead not guilty.

We heard the details of the case and asked the Crown Prosecutor to give the case some further consideration and take a view. In this case, common sense prevailed and the prosecutor dropped the charge in the interests of jutice.

Had he not done so, we would have been obliged to find her guilty.

Talk about being penalised for for being too keen to obey the law.

That PCSO should be sacked, he obviously lacks any intelligence or common sense and has wasted a great deal of public money.

Good to know that magistrates challenge and oh dear what a jobsworth.

Would have thought that with the number of ANPR cameras about displaying a tax disc is not that important.

Rover418275 wrote:That PCSO should be sacked, he obviously lacks any intelligence or common sense and has wasted a great deal of public money.

He can't be - free labour so that the police forces can reduce their costs.

Apparently if you want to join a force as a police officer you have to do 2 years as a PCSO first.

PaulT wrote:

Rover418275 wrote:That PCSO should be sacked, he obviously lacks any intelligence or common sense and has wasted a great deal of public money.

He can't be - free labour so that the police forces can reduce their costs.

Apparently if you want to join a force as a police officer you have to do 2 years as a PCSO first.

I think you are confusing PCSOs and Specials. As far as I know and can check, PCSOs are paid, Specials are volunteers (as a rule).

In any case, even if volunteers, they could be got rid of if incompetent.

Duncan you are right I am confusing the two - makes it even worse that they are being paid to make moronic decisions.

Guys, Jobsworth as the PCSO may have been, it would not be his decision to prosecute. That would have been down to the CPS advisor at his Police station.

Am I correct in understanding that the woman had the current tax disc covered by a new one that must have had an expiry date exceeding 12 months? If correct the PCSO should just have asked the woman to swop the discs over, ie use some common sense. Then that should have been the end of the matter.

Rover418275 wrote:ie use some common sense.

Aye. There's the rub.

Isn't the term 'common sense' what Zeb would refer to as a oxymoron?

Can the term "common sense" still be found in a dictionary? Or will it become extinct soon?

In certain walks of life Jürgen it most certainly has become extinct.

raistlin wrote:Guys, Jobsworth as the PCSO may have been, it would not be his decision to prosecute. That would have been down to the CPS advisor at his Police station.

Yes, the common sense thing. The police already have a bad reputation with some of the young rightly or wrongly (my experience with one when I was 18 was quite interesting) and now some of them are trying to alienate older people.

PR is a powerful weapon. Here, in my opinion, the PCSO should have educated, in a very pleasant way when he discovered that she did in fact have a current tax disc, that the current one must be displayed until it expires. Seen that the lady had swapped the discs over and then let her on her way.

That way the CPS would not have been involved. However, it leaves a lot to be desired of the CPS of some of the people they do not take to court.

Here's a "point of law" question

PaulT wrote:[she did in fact have a current tax disc, that the current one must be displayed until it expires

How accurate do you need to be with the swap?

I'll normally end up doing it on expiry day, but sometimes I will do it a little in advance, say a day or so. If you can buy the disc early, is it effectively usable on receipt, or do you have to wait until it's got exactly a year (or six months) to run? I guess most often it would be replacing a current disc, and thus just be a continuation, but on occasion, say the car had been SORNed, then perhaps if the new disc was on early, it might actually be the case that the car wasn't covered?

You have to do it at the stroke of midnight on the day the older disc expires . . .

Yes, that's right. You can't use the new one until the old one expires. The DVLA website now clarifies this. It surprised me too, as I usually put the new one in as soon as it arrives.

Well, mine is in place for next year and they can get stuffed.

raistlin wrote:Well, mine is in place for next year and they can get stuffed.

You want to watch that. Apparently, I heard that in Wolverhampton, they are hot on that and might prosecute you if you are seen..

Duncan wrote:You want to watch that. Apparently, I heard that in Wolverhampton, they are hot on that and might prosecute you if you are seen..

Now that would be fun to watch!

Dave wrote:

Duncan wrote:You want to watch that. Apparently, I heard that in Wolverhampton, they are hot on that and might prosecute you if you are seen..

Now that would be fun to watch!

Not unless you like blood sports