About 2 weeks before Christmas a car appeared across the road from our house during the night. As the days and weeks passed it became fairly obvious that it had been abandoned. (A Peugeot 205, seemingly in reasonable nick, but tax disc due to run out 31/12/04.)
Not wanting to interfere in case someone had parked it legitimately I did nothing until one morning we noticed a large dent in the back wing that hadn't been there the night before!
That day, I popped into the local police station and mentioned it to them. They took the details and said they would 'look into it'. Sure enough, the following day when I came home from work it had the familiar 'Police Aware' sticker on the side.
The day after that, the front number plate mysteriously lost a screw and the plate swung to the ground! The next day it disappeared.
Since then nothing whatsoever has happened, although obviously I'm concerned that it will continue to attract the wrong sort of attention.
To get to the point - what is the idea behind the 'Police Aware' sticker? If it's intended as a 'keep off' warning, it probably does the opposite!
Is there a due process that has to be gone through after it's stuck on (ie will the car be removed by them after a set time?)
I thought it would have been the easiest thing in the world for the police to check the reg number on the computer and immediately contact the registered owner. If stolen, that would become immediately apparent.If simply broken down, then I would have thought that the rightful owner would want to get it shifted before the tax disc ran out - knowing that the police are 'aware' of it.
Do the police actually do anything in a situation like this - other than stick a sticker on?
Also - on a similar theme - what is the idea behind the current craze for 'torching' abandoned vehicles, other than sheer devilment? This is what I fear the next step might be.
Graeme
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Rond here (South Norhants) they seem to mean nothing more than "we know about this one; no need to report it". If it's abandoned and the registered owner is Mr M Mouse or claims he sold it three months ago to a guy he cannot remember probably not a police priority.
Disposal of abandons is for the LA I think.
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Report it to your local council and they will remove it.
PP
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TIC I always thought Police Aware was shorthand for 'probably abandoned, help yourself to any spares you need, the local scroats will come and smash the rest next week'
Saves the breakers a job.
Cockle
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There seems to be a sort of "scroats honour" with abandoned cars.
.*********
2) It's still here so he's obviously not bothered/can't afford to fix it - Let's nick some bits off it
3) That car with the lights and wipers missing has been here for a week - Let's smash all the windows.
4) Wouldn't it be fun to set fire to that abandoned car?
(Or possibly, "Blast, I return with a gallon of petrol and my car has been smashed up! I might as well pour the petrol over it and claim off the insurance")
How long would you leave your car by the side of a road?
I'd rescue it within the hour, if possible.
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IIRC local councils are now responsible for removing abandoned vehicles.
For a good laugh not only on the subject but also the antics of traffic wardens go to:
www.southportforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39...8
Since this was posted the car has been set on fire....
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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>>IIRC local councils are now responsible for removing abandoned vehicles.
My local council has a form to fill in on their webb site.I have used it a couple of times to report abandoned vehicles in my road..I gather they try to remove within 24 hours..so far they have been true to their word..
What I find most annoying. Is when the motor is taken away..the rubbish left. lays in the road for weeks
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Steve
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Perhaps they should extend the concept of "awareness" to other situations - burglaries, arson, muggings, etc. Then there would be no residual obligation to do anything.
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And it would be even more efficient to pay the burglars to stick the POLICE AWARE sign up where they'd been. No need to send a PC, then.
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Lets not go overboard chaps..police aware really means they are aware..It wont say they spend all their time looking out for anyone that nicks parts..
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Steve
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It's a sensible move. It just means -- yes, we know, don't block our phone lines with any more calls about it.
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And it saves you wrestling with your conscience if you think you ought to report something eg a car on its roof in the middle of nowhere.
Was a time when the powers that be stopped us putting them on as there was an implied implication that we had assumed responsibility for the property. Presumably someone had sued for further losses and won.
Anyway common sense (or a stated case!) has prevailed.
Fullchat
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And it saves you wrestling with your conscience if you think you ought to report something eg a car on its roof in the middle of nowhere. Was a time when the powers that be stopped us putting them on as there was an implied implication that we had assumed responsibility for the property. Presumably someone had sued for further losses and won. Anyway common sense (or a stated case!) has prevailed.
Wasn't there a case in the mid 90's (Bedfordshire) where the copers managed to place a "Police Aware" sticker on a vehicle but failed to observe the driver who had been thrown clear and mortally wounded.
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And it saves you wrestling with your conscience if you think you ought to report something eg a car on its roof in the middle of nowhere. Was a time when the powers that be stopped us putting them on as there was an implied implication that we had assumed responsibility for the property. Presumably someone had sued for further losses and won. Anyway common sense (or a stated case!) has prevailed.
Wasn't there a case in the mid 90's (Bedfordshire?) where the copers managed to place a "Police Aware" sticker on a vehicle but failed to observe the driver who had been thrown clear and mortally wounded.
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Sorry, don't know how that appeared twice. And Coppers not copers
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There was another? where the recovery crew summoned by the police to pick up a car out of a field discovered a woman's body in it.
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May be the same one, IIRC the officers involved got P45's.
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There seems to be a sort of "scroats honour" with abandoned cars. .********* 2) It's still here so he's obviously not bothered/can't afford to
Erm, I think 1) was "Poor bloke's broken down, let's give him a day to fix it/tow it away"
I seem to have fallen foul of the filter. Perhaps I didn't type "bloke".
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Essex have stopped using "Police Aware" notices as they are an open invitation to any light fingered friends or vandals.
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