In Bath, England, a “teenager was shocked when police refused to chase joyriders who had just stolen his moped – because the thieves were not wearing helmets…. An officer told him they could not give chase in case the unprotected thieves fell off the bike and sued the police.” (“Police ruled out joyrider chase”, BBC, Jun. 30). The Association of Chief Police Officers confirmed that police on “most forces” would call off chases where a suspect fleeing on a motorbike was unhelmeted. “Sharon Ball, a Liberal Democrat councillor in Bath, said: ‘There is a terrible bike theft problem in this area, and this crazy approach means the issue will just get worse.'” (Richard Savill, “Police won’t chase if thief has no helmet”, Daily Telegraph, Jun. 30).
UK: “Police won’t chase if thief has no helmet”
In Bath, England, a “teenager was shocked when police refused to chase joyriders who had just stolen his moped – because the thieves were not wearing helmets…. An officer told him they could not give chase in case the unprotected thieves fell off the bike and sued the police.” (“Police ruled out joyrider chase”, BBC, […]
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So, the next time a thief gets a head injury because he wasn’t wearing a helmet in order to escape the police, he’ll sue the police for policies that encourage thieves not to wear helmets. After all, he couldn’t actually be responsible for his own behavior. 😐
Looks like the bobbies will just have to shoot at those helmetless perps from long range.
Oh, wait…
If they can’t chase, they will undoubtedly fling scathing comments at the malefactors.
I now regret the day I became a member of the Bar.
The Brits just can’t seem to hand over their country to street punks fast enough. Are these really the descendants of people who weathered the Luftwaffe and held the Germans at bay a few generations ago?