PC Newman Exercises Discretion

Thu, 09 September 2010 Courtesy of: Police Oracle

PC Bill Newman is a young student officer who shares his experiences of being new to the job with Police Oracle readers on a weekly basis

“There’s one, he’s on the phone,” I shouted out excitedly to Andy who was driving.

It was a slow moving Early Turn and Andy, well known for his passion for traffic and rat-like tendencies, had already given someone a ticket. It was turning into a competition where we would try and match each other, ticket for ticket.

We had been passing slow moving traffic heading the opposite direction and a businessman in a sleek looking car was crawling slowly in the queue while chatting on his mobile phone. We spun the car around and set off in a slow pursuit after the vehicle. We eventually caught up to it and signalled for it to pull over. He did so on a 30mph dual carriageway which was also a red route. I hopped out of the car and the driver unwound his window.

“Am I okay to stop here on a red route?” he quizzed me.

“I think you’ll be fine,” I replied, wondering whether or not he was being serious, considering the police had told him to stop.

The bespectacled driver got out and as he joined me on the pavement I could see his name badge clipped onto his tie which showed he worked at a supermarket.

“Do you know why we’ve stopped you?”

Initially he shook his head. I asked him if he was sure if he had no idea. He looked a little sheepish and finally admitted that it was probably because he was on the phone. Perfect – this was moving exactly as I wanted it to.

I took his driver’s licence and completed a few checks and learnt that he was from Scotland.

“Have you just moved down here?” I asked.

“No I’m just down here for work,” he replied. “My family are still in Scotland and I come down in the week for work. I’m waiting to get my own store,” he added.

“Have you got any points,” I enquired, already knowing the answer but wanting to confirm it. He shook his head and I knew how important driving licences were for store managers who often had to travel.

“Was your call an emergency call?” I checked, before reaching for a fixed penalty notice ticket I was going to fill out.

“No, it wasn’t,” he said. “I was talking to my wife. My son’s not very well and I was getting an update. I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have done it.”

I looked down at the ticket but hesitated for a second. Something made me enquire about his son.

“He’s got leukaemia and hasn’t been well lately. I was just seeing how he was,” he informed me.

I nodded casually, trying to appear as if what he had just said hadn’t horrified me.

“Okay,” I said off-handily as if I was not concerned. “I’m just going to check a couple of things and I’ll be back.”

I walked back to my car, giving me a few minutes to think. What he had just told me had come out of the blue and shocked me somewhat. I spoke to Andy and told him what he’d said.

“So? Give him a ticket, he was still breaking the law,” he snarled. “Don’t be soft.”

I turned around and thought for a second. I had a strange feeling in my stomach, the sort that you get when nervous; I was struggling with what to do.

It was rare that we became involved in an incident whereby a person who had never been in any bother with the police or authorities could find themselves in trouble. I would have no problem dishing out tickets to criminals. But giving a ticket to a decent member of society was hard to justify, especially in circumstances like this. I could see the driver by his car watching me and I could also feel Andy’s eyes glaring into the back of my head. I made a decision and walked back over to the driver.

“What you were doing is illegal,” I said firmly. “I’m very sorry to hear about your son, but if you had knocked over a child because you were on the phone and not concentrating you could have killed them.”

He nodded his head, looking well and truly beaten.

“There are plenty of roads to pull over and talk on the phone,” I continued. “And so I don’t accept that you had to make that call while driving.”

I paused for a second and looked at him, wondering whether or not I was having any effect on him. I could see Andy at the corner of my eye leaning on the bonnet of our car with his arms crossed, watching intently to see what I was going to do. I gripped the ticket in my hand tightly.

“I trust you that you’re not lying to me,” I continued. “And on this occasion I’m not going to do anything about it, but if it had been anybody else, chances are you’d have three points now.”

I saw the relief across his face as he babbled his thanks towards me, stating that he would never do it again. I wondered whether or not he would keep him promise and walked back to our car.

“Wimp,” Andy said. “He probably made that up about his son and you fell for it.”

I thought about it some more and already knew that there was a possibility that the driver could have concocted that story. But the more I thought about it, the happier I was with my decision.

It could be true that his son was sick and I could have given him a ticket.

But then the last thing that he needed was three points and a fine when he’s already having real problems to deal with at home. I would have gone home and all weekend that would have been on my mind, worrying about the effect it could have on him.

On the other hand, he could have lied to me. He might not have any children and could have used that very excuse four times in the last week – I would never know. But if that was the case, what had I lost? I hadn’t personally lost any money. I hadn’t had to do any paperwork for it. I hadn’t spent my weekend worrying and feeling guilty over someone who had lied to me.

Either way, I had won by making the right decision and taken advantage of the use of discretion. I joined the job because I wanted to help people and in my mind, in some small way, I may have just helped him a little, in what could already be a difficult time for him.