A Few More TITs

I just realised, it is some time since I last got my TITs out. Those of you new to my Terrific Investigating Techniques may care to look back at my advice on How to Attend Crime Scenes, and How to Manage Your Investigations.

For today, I thought it might be festive to describe how police in Blandshire deal with Public Order. This is not a new subject to my blog, and has risen in profile considerably since the advent of Penalty Notices for Disorder. A PND is an £80 ticket given out for Public Order offences (also low value shoplifting or criminal damage), and it counts as a Detection against violent crime, which is a "HOT TOPIC". It is basically part of the government's drive to bypass the need for police stations, courts, or anything else that costs money and scares people.

The important thing about the ticket is that it can only be given for Section 5 Public Order (that is, s.5 POA 1986). This is the most basic of public order offences and applies to anyone swearing, shouting or generally upsetting people. It may surprise you to discover that, sometimes, people in Blandmore do MORE than just upset others and actually go around pushing, punching, fighting and causing disorder in groups. All of these are different offences which cannot be dealt with "on the street" with a ticket, and require the use of police stations, courts and lots of things that cost money.

It is therefore a tricky task to stick to the government's policy of bypassing the above. But do not panic, just stick to my TIT and you will be fine:

• The first thing is that on attending a report of public disorder, your safety and the safety of the public are not nearly as important as considering the detection. The need to give out a penalty notice should therefore drive all your actions.
• First, keep your ears peeled for any swearwords. If you detect one, regardless of how and why it was uttered, slap the offender with a ticket.
• Secondly, do not arrest anyone, no matter how bad their behaviour. If you make arrests, you will be back at the police station with hours of ticket-giving time wasted.
• If you are FORCED to make an arrest due to peer/crowd pressure, make sure you arrest for s.5 Public Order no matter what the person has done (this can cover drunk and disorderly, s.4 Public Order and minor assaults). Then, take the prisoner around the corner. There you can issue the PND and de-arrest him/her without anyone knowing.
• If the offender is under 18, most forces will not issue a ticket on the street. Do not fear, just fill in the date of birth incorrectly. Or do it right and hope the bean counters don't notice (they won't, because it's an extra bean).
• If the worst comes to the worst and you have not arrested for s.5 Public Order, there are still some remedies you can take. For example, en route to custody you could reconsider the offence you have arrested for and decide that s.5 is the more appropriate one to tell the sergeant. Or, having presented the prisoner for Affray or ABH, the wisdom of the custody sergeant may help you realise it was actually only a s.5 after all. If you end up interviewing, the offender's account can sometimes bring things into focus, so that you realise his/her behaviour wasn't as bad as you first thought. Before releasing the prisoner from custody, you will get to issue your PND.

This guide may be too late for some of you, but I am sure it will still apply next year, and for many years to come...

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