The start of last Wednesday night’s meeting of Bradley Stoke Town Council at the Jubilee Centre was delayed when a senior police officer attending the meeting was called into action to deal with a nuisance motorcyclist.
Town Clerk David Chandler exclaimed (somewhat tongue in cheek): “Arrest that man!” – as the errant biker sped across Jubilee Green, in full view of the gathered Councillors and Police Inspector Bob Evely, who was about to address the meeting.
Inspector Evely rose to the challenge and after a brief survey of the scene was able to collar the offender as he foolishly made a second pass across the green.
After speaking with the biker for several minutes, Inspector Evely returned to the meeting and proceeded to present his case for introducing an extra part-time police officer on the Bradley Stoke beat.
Combating nuisance motorbikers has long been a police priority in Bradley Stoke. Last year, the neighbourhood policing team announced a clampdown on the illegal riding of mopeds, motorcycles and mini-mopeds in the Three Brooks Local Nature Reserve.
More recently, the problem of motorbikes using footpaths around Saxon Way and Winsbury way was agreed as a priority issue at the April meeting of the Bradley Stoke Safer & Stronger Community Group.
The police have said they will continue to issue notices under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act and seize motorbikes where applicable.
So no arrest, no confiscation of the bike and no punishment over than being spoken to for several minutes.
And the police wonder why the public are fed up with them……
The male rider was issued a Section 59 warning under the Police Reform Act 2002. This means if he is caught riding around again on this bike, we shall seize it. But also, if he is caught on someone else bike, we shall seize that one.
He will then either have to pay a fine to reclaim his bike (or his mates) or we crush it.
Thanks for the replay LocalPCSO – so you admit he was breaking the law but was (as viewed by those of us who sit in Harriet Harman’s “court of public opinion”) let off.
It’s about time those in uniform remembered who pays their wages and actually applied the law the first time around rather than give out second chances.
I defer to the last sentence of my first posting.