Were they
"real" police or "plastic" community support officers?

What do you mean by "plastic"? IMHO they had usual police hats and
clothes, then again - I'm ignorant immigrant who had never have any
contact with the police before...


The main issue is to check with the station supervisor so they know you
are there and can provide any requisite local knowledge.

Seems a bit unreasonable - if all anoraks will start contacting
station supervisors, when would they do their work?

alex_t wrote:
Were they
"real" police or "plastic" community support officers?

What do you mean by "plastic"? IMHO they had usual police hats and
clothes, then again - I'm ignorant immigrant who had never have any
contact with the police before...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_...upport_Officer
--
Michael Hoffman

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_...upport_Officer

Thank you for the link, now I can see that they were (most likely)
PCSOs... at least colours were as described in the article + high
visibility clothing... :-/

alex_t wrote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_...upport_Officer

Thank you for the link, now I can see that they were (most likely)
PCSOs... at least colours were as described in the article + high
visibility clothing... :-/

But constables also wear high-vis clothing and similar colors. You can
tell a PCSO because their clothing will be labeled COMMUNITY SUPPORT
OFFICER in addition or instead of POLICE.
--
Michael Hoffman

On 12 Mar 2007 09:49:59 -0700, "alex_t"
wrote:


Were they
"real" police or "plastic" community support officers?

What do you mean by "plastic"? IMHO they had usual police hats and
clothes, then again - I'm ignorant immigrant who had never have any
contact with the police before...

Yes they look like policemen and we're supposed to believe that they are
policemen but they aren't. In my experience they are probably well
meaning people trying to do their bit for society but some are a bit too
stupid or arrogant for their own good. They therefore like to believe
they have "power" over individuals going about their business and the
stupid ones then believe they are doing their job by making treating the
public, who they are to serve, like morons. My own encounter with such
an idiot has soured my view of community support officers. Stories from
a range of other people simply confirm my worst suspicions. I say this
despite being fully aware of the current security issues and concerns.

Almost all properly trained policemen and women are capable of
exercising appropriate discretion, judgement and civility in their
dealings with the public. This way they get the respect they deserve in
return.

If I had the choice of 1,000 properly trained policemen vs 2,500
community support officers I'd go for the 1,000 policemen every time.

The main issue is to check with the station supervisor so they know you
are there and can provide any requisite local knowledge.

Seems a bit unreasonable - if all anoraks will start contacting
station supervisors, when would they do their work?

It is not at all unreasonable - it is the minimum sensible thing to do.
Most supervisors will be perfectly amenable and will be pleased that
someone has taken the trouble to identify themselves and to ask the
right questions/ obtain permission. It saves a lot of work and hassle
compared to having to deal with someone wandering around but obviously
not catching a train. Some of our better supervisors would probably
point out the best things to take a picture of if they are at one of our
more photogenic stations.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

But constables also wear high-vis clothing and similar colors. You can
tell a PCSO because their clothing will be labeled COMMUNITY SUPPORT
OFFICER in addition or instead of POLICE.

Well, then I have no idea - unfortunately I did not read the labels

On Mon, Mar 12, 2007 at 06:20:56PM +0000, Paul Corfield wrote:

Almost all properly trained policemen and women are capable of
exercising appropriate discretion, judgement and civility in their
dealings with the public.

They are? Coulda fooled me. The impression I've got from dealing with
the filth a few times is that people only join the police because
they're too stupid to do anything productive and too nasty to be allowed
to join the army.

It comes as a pleasant surprise when the occasional officer turns out to
not fit that, but they are few and far between.

This way they get the respect they deserve in
return.

Oh they certainly get the respect from me that they deserve.

If I had the choice of 1,000 properly trained policemen vs 2,500
community support officers I'd go for the 1,000 policemen every time.

Indeed. 1500 fewer arseholes in uniform has to be a good thing.

--
David Cantrell | Cake Smuggler Extraordinaire

Longum iter est per praecepta, breve et efficax per exempla.

If I had the choice of 1,000 properly trained policemen vs 2,500
community support officers I'd go for the 1,000 policemen every time.

Oh, well...


It is not at all unreasonable - it is the minimum sensible thing to do.

Well, I'll try next time :-)
I'm not sure where to search for station supervisors though - I
suppose they are not the people, who stand at the platforms and try to
control the passenger flow... oops, I mean... the *customer* flow.

alex_t wrote:
If I had the choice of 1,000 properly trained policemen vs 2,500
community support officers I'd go for the 1,000 policemen every time.

Oh, well...


It is not at all unreasonable - it is the minimum sensible thing to do.

Well, I'll try next time :-)
I'm not sure where to search for station supervisors though - I
suppose they are not the people, who stand at the platforms and try to
control the passenger flow... oops, I mean... the *customer* flow.

I'm sure any staff member in the station will know, though
--
Michael Hoffman

• take flash photographs and/or use a tripod or other camera support
equipment
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^

Last year for a non-commercial photo project I was doing I asked if I
could use a tripod at East Putney Station because I wanted to take
long exposure photo as a train came into the station.

They said yes - provided
It was not at rush-hour.
I did not obstruct anybody
I did not use flash
I kept all equipment behind the yellow line.

I was quite happy to comply with these conditions and had a good chat
with the station manager who was keen on photography himself.