Mr Plod

It depends on who owns the property and whether they consider you're defacing the property. Also if there's a large group of you then it's considered to be a crowd and can be intimidating to the public and causing a nuisance by blocking the pavements (when in theory we're not allowed to be riding on the pavements in the first place...). There are lots of different factors involved.

How'd you mean? They might genuinely be interested in what you have to say. For instance if you highlight the problems you're having and maybe invite them to discuss your views on the matter then I'm sure they'll relay it back to their seniors... A lot of the projects arranged in the community come about from PCSO's and the meetings we have with the public. These meetings are a chance for us to hear your views and try to find a solution to the problem...

Why may I ask?

In fact it's our "boss" that tells us to move you on. If you have a problem and feel you're being harassed and have legitimate grounds then make a complaint but the chances are it'll get logged and reviewed but there's nothing illegitimate with what we're doing and so when you're out riding again they'll take a zero tolerance policy on things and instead of asking you to move on, just slap you with a fine straight away and if you're seen riding again and blatantly disregarding the fines and warnings then they'll look to have an Anti Social Behaviour order taken out against you. I don't know if your parents own your house or anything either but if not and you live in council residence or you're renting then it could even be that we work with your tenant to get you and your family evicted from your place of residence or you have to sign a behaviour contract by which if you disregard it and break the rules then you break the terms of the contract and are evicted... I know there's more than enough people who think we're just "Plastic Police and should get a real job" but the actual fact is we make a bigger difference than you think...

Exactly see you've found a spot where you're not going to be considered a nuisance and like you said earlier, the owners allow you to ride as long as you tidy up after yourselves. I'm not trying to cause any arguments but I'm just saying being a rider myself I know how annoying it can be but also being in the Service it'd be handy if you could step back and think how much hassle it's causing us when on duty and understand the reasoning behind why we're moving you on...

Well everyones entitled to their opinion but maybe next time when you're being asked to move on remember that you could have actually got fined and maybe an anti-social behaviour order brought against you as you're causing a nuisance, but the officers have given you the chance to move on and save you and them the hassle of paperwork and taking them away from their patrols. If you have any information that you may think is useful as well like "there is a group of youths (chavs as you put it) who are drinking in the park at 8pm, why don't you go catch them?" then that officer will more than likely make a note of it and include the area in his patrols to prevent it from happening again. It's a "you scratch my back and i'll scratch yours" scenario...

If we let you "do what you like" then whats to stop a "chav" sitting outside your house drinking and causing a noise and mess... It can't be one law for you and then it not apply to anyone else... Alot of the general public will see Trials riders as a nuisance and no better than the kids who stand around on street corners drinking alcohol and getting rowdy...

We don't need to turn a blind eye at all. How would you feel if your house was burgled or your bike stolen by a criminal that has been offending constantly but because we "turned a blind eye" we couldn't gather any information that may have got a conviction against the person and they could have been locked up... The police are there for everyone as we're a public service so we're there to help you when you have a problem as well as any other person in the community we'll be there to help...

The fourth isn't really an option though is it... and it'll link into what I say below... I myself being a former trials rider (well I say former but I didn't really ride much) have been moved on by the police myself before I gave up riding. The reason P.C.S.O's were first brought in was because of the terrorist act... After 9/11 we was introduced to be the eyes and ears of the police force and our main role and what we're taught is to gather intelligence. To do this we need to build a relationship with the community and in doing so hopefully we'll be gathering bits of information like a neighbour coming up to us in the street and telling us, 'I've seen Mr Bob at number 49 was loading gas cylinders into the back seat of his car late last night'. Mr Bob could have a perfectly legitimate reason for putting the cylinders in the backseat of his car but we'll then take that information and link it into a system where we can start to build up a profile and anymore information can be added and would then be flagged by the intelligence unit when it's worth checking through. It could turn out Mr Bob is planning to detonate explosives outside YOUR local school but without this information from the neighbour we wouldn't have a chance in stopping terrorists or other criminals from committing offences. So to build up a strong relationship we need to help the public. If you're outside or near their property late at night riding and causing a nuisance with you're brakes and so on then they're going to want you moving on but if we're to completely avoid their needs and just leave you be then they're not going to think very highly of us and so might think to themselves "well he hasn't helped myself or any of my neighbours by moving on the boys that ride outside my house so what use is he going to be when I want to give him some important information". I know this is dragging on but hopefully you can see the point I'm trying to make. It's all about building up relationships with the community and if you're causing them a nuisance then they're going to expect us to ask you to move on and by doing so it helps us to show the public that we actually do more than patrol but we listen to their concerns. If you feel there's nowhere else to go or there is but maybe there's drug dealers that hang around the spot designated for riding or there's poor lighting and no security, then you can let us know and we'll suggest it to our seniors that although you're doing no harm to the general public other than cause a nuisance by being noisey, you only do so because the designated area you usually ride in that is out the way and won't disturb anyone is infact blighted by drug dealers and you don't actually feel safe riding there. We might contact the council to maybe improve the lighting or work out additional patrols to cover that area just to add a presence and drive out the dealers and so on. I don't know if you'll understand all that but it makes sense to me as I type it. In conclusion: We're there to help the communities with any problems they have and by helping them they can feel safe and relay helpful information onto us that may make a big difference and prevent a major crime or terrorist attack. If they have a good enough reason then you have to provide them with your proper details. If you don't then it's only going to make you look more suspicious and they'll more than likely call a unit down to search you as they think you may have something to hide. In the long term it just saves the hassle if you "cut the crap" and help us out. We're only human at the end of the day and so if you strike up a conversation with us you'll more than likely find we're genuinely nice people and a chat would be good every now and then as we'll ask if you have any problems and if we can help in any way...

Being a member of the Metropolitan Police Service myself as a P.C.S.O I feel I should highlight a few areas... I'm currently doing my training and we've just covered some of the powers we have. So this is fresh off my mind. Obviously we have the power to fine anyone riding on the pavement but we don't have to issue a ticket... It's of our own discretion to advise instead. For instance, telling you what you're doing is an offence and it's probably in your best interest to move on as it's causing a nuisance to the general public or causing criminal damage. If you're caught more than once then you'll more than likely be issued with the fine as you've already been warned. We also now have the powers (in the MET at least) to stop people on their bikes if they're riding so that might be worth thinking about instead of just trying to ride past... One of the things we was taught today was the 3 types of people, there's the submissive type who move on and just do what they're told without a word, then there's aggressive type who are more forward in their actions so are a bit heavy handed in their tactics, then there's the assertive type which is what we're trained to be. We see a problem but instead of just issuing a fine and so on we'll give you the benefit of doubt and give you a bit of a warning and advice and ask you to move on. So the chances are most the P.C.S.O's you'll come across will be quite nice and looking to build a friendly relationship where you can talk to one another in confidence if there is a problem. If you happen to come across a P.C.S.O who's a bit aggressive then it's probably because they're having a bad day and we do (believe it or not) have better things to do rather than issue fines and move you on so your best bet is just to be very apologetic and maybe strike up a conversation highlighting that you don't really have anywhere to ride and would be interested in maybe arranging a talk with someone who can help set up a set area for your riding or get funding for a trials park... If you're rude to us then you'll find we'll warn you of your behavior and that it isn't needed and if you become threatening then we do have the right to detain you... Whether you choose to go quietly is completely up to you but if given enough of a reason, then we'll be putting you on the floor until a unit arrives to whisk you away... So just be nice and apologetic as after all we are actually in the wrong when riding in urban areas. So just be nice and apologetic and maybe strike up a conversation and you could maybe strive to set up a trials park with the help of the P.C.S.O's and your local authority. At the end of the day we're there to be a deterrent to crime and gather intelligence and we'd much rather do without the paperwork so we can catch the "real criminals" who could at that very moment be breaking into your house or car... Any questions then feel free to ask. Thanks

I just put "legally binding" just to act as an enforcement... Obviously it wouldn't be legally binding but if a problem does arrive then the seller or buyer can present their case to the Mods and Admin and then action can be taken where there isn't a valid excuse.... Like I said it'd need to be ironed out but it's just a suggestion and one we can improve upon... And lets not start the slagging one another off game... If you don't have anything to add that is relevant to the topic then simply don't post. I'm fed up of the amount of bollocks that goes on in threads as of late so I'll have none of it here thank you.

Exactly like a receipt... Sort of along the lines of ebay after you've won an item you go through the whole process... Yeah maybe a picture of the money once it's been received or the letter containing it. Also maybe state that all items now have to be sent recorded... For instance, the buyer will have to send the money recorded and a tracking number sent to the seller so they can keep track of it. And the items would then have to be sent out recorded... I for one know that I'd much rather send items recorded just for comfort of mind... Like I said, there's room for improvement

Hey guys. Bare with me on this one but I feel it may help... Whilst talking with Synergy about his missing parts I came up with an idea of how we can give both the seller or the buyer more support in a dispute. Basically once a deal has been struck then maybe the seller can pm or email the buyer. In this email will be a list of the item(s) sold and the condition stated as well as a recent picture of the current state of the item. A grand total of the item with postage included can then be added and sent to the buyer. The buyer would then have to maybe tick a box stating that they agree to what has been said and accept the terms and then send the email back to the seller. This could then be the basis of a legally binding contract of some sort thus maybe helping out with any of the disputes we've been having recently e.g. Beau and Synergy and various others... Just an idea really that can be improved upon as I know there is room for improvement. Let me know your thoughts and shoot me down if you like Thanks for looking.

I want a video of this in action! Got any links to videos showing the racing itself maybe on youtube and so on? Looks positively AWESOME!

Haha beautiful frames aren't they... And yes I wonder why you're a fan of the booster

Michael Kamen! Without a doubt the Band of Brothers soundtrack is one of the most listened to albums on my media player! Truly soothing and just beautiful. Example one Example two <--- Gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it!

At the moment I'm a Warehouseman for Cole & Son (Wallpapers) LTD. But as of the 13th March I'll be a Metropolitan Police PCSO. Canny wait! haha

Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree. Awesome album. Proper into them now and A&E is awesome!

Editors. Can see the similarities between Tom and Ian Curtis from Joy Division. Awesome though

Joy Division. Just shit loads of their stuff like Atmosphere and Transmission and various others. Rediscovered them after purchasing Control on Saturday. Absolute ledge film!

Hey guys. This thread stems from a conversation me and the wonderful Synergy had earlier and we're both stuck on what books to read... I like to read but haven't read for a while now partly due to not knowing of any good books nowadays... and so thought I'd ask for some of your suggestions. The last book I read was called Underfire and was pretty much the memoirs of a London Firefighter and his time in the brigade. I like my war based books such as Band of Brothers and many others but would like to try to read some decent novels as well. Anyone got any suggestions? If you've read a good book then recommend it in here and maybe give a short synopsis on the book as well without ruining it. Maybe give the book a rating out of 10 as well and what genre it fits in. Will be interesting to see some of your suggestions. Thanks

Haha! Leytonstone? Why?! Whereabouts are you looking to ride there? I may have to pop along for this one seeming as I only live like 20 minutes away by bike

Haha thank you. I'm only a going to be a PCSO at the moment but I'll hopefully be going into the regulars next year but ideally I want to be joining the London Fire Brigade so using it as a stepping stone at the moment... Thanks anyways and I'll deffo get all the rules and regulations regarding trials

I'm guessing that because mine isn't a ring of death problem I'm not covered. Complete bollocks really!

Hey guys. My premium console kept going tits up back in November so I rang microsoft and they gave me a few tests to run. I ran the test but it still froze but by this time I'd gone and bought an Elite console and never got back to them.. My brother now wants the premium so I need to get it sent off for repairs... I phoned them back up a minute ago and they said it was out of warranty and so I would need to pay £60 to have the console repaired... I bought the console in August 06 but I'm sure my friend mentioned to me that microsoft had increased the warranty to 3 years as they had so many consoles buggering up just after the year... So am I correct in thinking that or am I just thinking crap and got the wrong end of the stick? Anyone who's had to send their consoles back for repair could you let me know and also your experiences e.g time it took to be repaired and so on... Much appreciated guys.