Police caught on camera parking on yellow lines for shopping trips in Watford
10:00am Friday 1st June 2012 in News By Mike Wright, Chief Reporter
Police officers in Watford have been caught on camera for the second time in two weeks parking on double yellow lines to go on shopping jaunts to supermarkets.
The town’s force is facing a mounting outcry after officers were snapped on Friday parking up on a pavement in central Watford for a trip to Iceland.
The revelation comes just a week after pictures emerged of police illegally parking in St Albans Road to visit a Tesco Express.
The pictures have been branded “disgraceful” by one former police detective who said the abuses damaged the force’s standing with the public.
Watford’s Chief Inspector Nick Caveney has also come down hard on the practice, saying the officers involved have been reprimanded and prosecuted.
The town’s top policeman also described the two incidents as a “rare lapse” in the behaviour of his committed and dedicated force.
The latest picture taken by a Watford resident who saw officers park their car on the pavement in Albert Road South, a stone’s throw away from Watford Police Station, where there are double yellow lines.
The resident, who asked not to be named, said: “A patrol car pulled up with all four wheels on the pavement, two officers jumped out slammed the door shut and left the engine running, presumably with the keys inside.
“I thought they were going to make an arrest but they strolled over to Iceland to do a bit of shopping.
“They emerged from the shop 10 minutes later with a bag of shopping. I wouldn’t mind but it would be quicker to walk from the police station in Shady Lane than to drive there.”
A retired Metropolitan Police detective, Terry Hymans, who lives in Rickmansworth, said he felt there was no excuse for officers misusing parking privileges.
He also said actions like the ones caught on camera damaged the public’s trust in the police.
“I think it is disgraceful personally,” he said “I don’t think there is any excuse. This is part of the reason people have little regard for police officers today.
“It sends out a signal of don’t do as I do, do as I say. People will naturally assume they (the police) all do it and that is not true.”
The first pictures police parking on yellow lines was first captured by Abbots Langley resident Kevin Brown who submitted them to the Watford Observer last week.
He said he was “amazed” to see an officer park on a double yellow lines on a pavement in St Albans Road before spending seven minutes in Tesco Express and emerging with a shopping bag.
Following the revelations Chief Inspector for Watford, Nick Caveney said he was “shocked and surprised” to see the pictures.
He said: “As police officers, we have a very clear responsibility to operate totally within the law, whether this is when dealing with people we have arrested or while using a public highway in a police vehicle.
We have to set a good example to our communities and these incidents clearly do not. I am glad these have been brought to my attention and have since spoken with the officers concerned to establish the circumstances.
“Had they been responding to an emergency, illegal parking is justified and allowed, but this was not the case.
The officers concerned have been reprimanded for their behaviour and just like any other member of the public, are being prosecuted for their actions.”
“I’m very proud of our team here in Watford who work beyond the call of duty on a daily basis in order to keep our communities safe.
“These incidents are a rare lapse in an otherwise committed, dedicated and upstanding team.”
Comments(14)
TRT says...
10:02am Fri 1 Jun 12
Hornets number 12 fan says...
10:04am Fri 1 Jun 12
Taximan says...
11:07am Fri 1 Jun 12
AWatfordTaxpayer says...
11:34am Fri 1 Jun 12
One of the horses then did his business right there in the middle of the pedestrian walkway, a few yards from the entrance to McDonalds, leaving a load of manure for any lucky gardener passing by, or any unlucky pedestrian going by, if you get my drift.
I asked the rider, a policewoman, what she was going to do about it. She replied it was a job for the council and that she was going to do nothing about it. After chatting a while longer, the riders went on their separate ways, leaving the steaming deposit for the people of Watford to enjoy at their leisure.
As a dog owner, I would be liable to a £1000 fine for leaving a dog poo on the pavement. The police leave something altogether more impressive and just ignored it, and that outside a popular fast food restaurant.
It really is one rule for us, and one for them, isn't it? The policewoman was not embarrassed at all, it was really just a case of "tough luck, shoppers".
I took photos to send to the council, of the horse in the act and the mess left afterwards, but decided not to as I doubted they would care or do anything about it.
I must admit, I was very disappointed in the police for leaving this steaming manure in the middle of the street and doing nothing at all about it. The policewoman just tried to ignore it until I brought it to her attention, whereupon she dismissed it.
Taximan says...
11:47am Fri 1 Jun 12
Reg Edit says...
11:53am Fri 1 Jun 12
Reg Edit says...
11:59am Fri 1 Jun 12
garston tony says...
12:12pm Fri 1 Jun 12
TRT says...
12:25pm Fri 1 Jun 12
garston tony says...
1:05pm Fri 1 Jun 12
LSC says...
1:10pm Fri 1 Jun 12
TRT says...
1:14pm Fri 1 Jun 12
onlyonerodthomas says...
1:22pm Fri 1 Jun 12
Maclanx says...
2:57pm Fri 1 Jun 12
Drivers won't benefit from falling oil prices - Citywire.co.uk
The price of oil fell below the $100 a barrel mark on Friday for the first time since last October, but a weaker pound means drivers won’t save a penny at the pumps.
A barrel of Brent crude fell to $98, down from $120 a barrel last month.
The 2p saving drivers should see at the pumps as a result of lower oil prices, however, has been 'knocked out' because the pound has fallen in value by 4% since the middle of May, the AA explained.
'Had the pound remained worth $1.61 instead of around $1.53 now, further falls in the NW Europe wholesale price of petrol (taking it below $1000 a tonne for the first time since January) would have saved drivers a further 2p a litre,' the AA said.
Meanwhile, retailers have also yet to pass on the full 10p a litre saving from previous falls in wholesale prices to drivers.
Drivers have seen a saving of just seven and a half pence per litre at the pumps, Luke Bosdet of the AA explained. So while a weaker pound means they will not benefit from the most recent drop in wholesale prices, they are still owed a two and a half pence saving from the wholesale price falls seen since mid-April.
Yesterday the average price of petrol in the UK stood at 134.92p a litre, down from the record high of 142.8p seen in April. The cost of diesel, meanwhile, has fallen from 147.93p to 140.52p.
Earlier this week, the government warned fuel companies that they were being given 'one last chance' to improve transparency in the market.
Retailers have long been accused of responding to increases in wholesale prices much more quickly than price falls – prices shoot up like a rocket and fall like a feather, said Bosdet.
Transport secretary Justine Greening has now ordered retailers to set up a code of practice that allows drivers to monitor changes in petrol and diesel prices. If they don't, the government has said it will implement legislation.
Retailers claim that the industry does not understand the complex pricing mechanism, said Bosdet. Yet this fall in the price of oil is a perfect example of why greater transparency in the market would benefit suppliers as well as drivers.
On the one hand transparency would show drivers that a quarter of the savings from the original fall in wholesale prices was yet to be reflected at the pump, while on the other retailers and suppliers accused of pocketing the benefits of falling oil prices, would be able to defend themselves as to why a weaker pound means there will be no added savings.
Gold Price Jump Wipes Out Week's Loss After Disappointing U.S. Nonfarms Report - marketoracle.co.uk
By: Ben_Traynor
WHOLESALE MARKET prices to Buy Gold jumped to $1589 per ounce on Friday, immediately after the release of worse-than-expected US nonfarm jobs data.
The US economy added 69,000 nonagricultural private sector jobs in May, according to official data published Friday, compared with analysts' forecasts for 150,000.
The US unemployment rate meantime ticked higher to 8.2% - up from 8.1% in April.
Gold's jump wiped out its losses for the week. By Friday afternoon in London, prices to Buy Gold looked set for a 0.6% gain on where they started the week.
Silver also spiked higher following the US jobs news, climbing to $28.14 per ounce – though this was still 1.4% down on the week.
"The larger trend [however] remains bearish," says technical analyst Russell Browne at bullion bank Scotia Mocatta.
A day earlier, gold's final London Fix of May 2012 was down 5.6% on April's last Fix – the third monthly fall in a row by Gold Fix prices. Spot Gold meantime – which back on February 29 fell by $100 an ounce after the PM Fix – ended May by making fourth straight monthly loss in Dollar terms.
By London Fix prices, gold has not fallen four months in a row since summer 1999.
In contrast with gold, European stock markets fell following the nonfarms release, extending their losses from Friday morning's trading.
Earlier in the day, German 10-year Bund yields fell to a fresh all-time low below 1.15%, while on the currency markets the Euro sank to its lowest level against the Dollar since June 2010.
Spain's banking system meantime saw €97 billion of capital leave the country in the first three months of 2012, according to figures published Thursday evening by the Spanish central bank. The Spanish government, which this week saw its implied 10-Year borrowing costs breach 6.7% for the first time since November, is trying to raise €19 billion to rescue nationalized lender Bankia.
The International Monetary Fund yesterday denied rumors that Spain's government has approached it for a bailout.
Over in Ireland, votes were being counted Friday following yesterday's referendum on whether or not to ratify the European Union's new fiscal treaty, which would impose limits of government borrowing.
"We are very, very confident [of a 'Yes' vote]," said Lucinda Creighton, Ireland's European affairs minister.
Press reports suggest around half of those eligible to vote in the referendum actually did so.
In Greece meantime, the biggest pro-bailout party New Democracy leads second place Syriza in the opinion polls, with just over a fortnight to go until the June 17 elections, news agency Bloomberg reports.
Syriza's leader Alexis Tsipras said Friday that the bailout agreement is a failure, reiterating that Syriza would reverse some of the Greek government reforms if elected, including privatizations and cuts to public sector wages.
"The [bailout] memorandum equals a return to the Drachma," Tsipras added.
The Eurozone's purchasing manager's index for manufacturing, a survey indicator of whether the sector is expanding or contracting, fell from 45.9 in April to 45.1 last month, figures published Friday show. A PMI above 50 indicates sector expansion.
Germany's PMI meantime fell to 45.2 in May – down from 46.2 a month earlier.
The Eurozone's unemployment rate meantime remained at 11.0%.
On the currency markets, the Euro fell to a two-year low against the Dollar Friday morning, remaining below $1.24.
European Central Bank president Mario Draghi warned Thursday that the current Eurozone structure is "unsustainable".
"At the moment, Europe and downside risks to the Euro are the problem for gold," says Michael Lewis, head of commodities research at Deutsche Bank.
"Dollar strength is going to be the big problem over the next few weeks."
The US Dollar Index, which measures the currency's strength against a basket of other currencies, hit its highest level since August 2010 this morning.
Here in the UK, manufacturing activity fell into contraction last month. May's manufacturing PMI was 45.9, compared to 50.2 in April. The consensus forecast among analysts ahead of Friday's PMI publication was for a figure just below 50.
The disappointing UK PMI figure "has increased dramatically the likelihood of the [Bank of England] announcing more quantitative easing next Thursday," reckons Deutsche Bank's chief UK economist George Buckley.
Manufacturing activity also slowed in China, the world's largest source of demand to Buy Gold in the first three months of 2012.
May's official PMI figure was 50.4, down from 53.3 in April. HSBC's PMI meantime, which looks at smaller Chinese firms, showed ongoing manufacturing contraction, falling to 48.4 from 48.7.
In India meantime, traditionally the world's biggest gold buying nation, gold demand for 2012 will fall by 4% by volume compared to last year – but will be 4% up in value terms – according to a report published by researchers at Morgan Stanley.
By Ben Traynor
BullionVault.com
Gold price chart, no delay | Buy gold online at live prices
Editor of Gold News, the analysis and investment research site from world-leading gold ownership service BullionVault, Ben Traynor was formerly editor of the Fleet Street Letter, the UK's longest-running investment letter. A Cambridge economics graduate, he is a professional writer and editor with a specialist interest in monetary economics.(c) BullionVault 2012
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