police stops.

[fahey2512]

i have had my new car for just ova a month now.it is fully legal to drive on the road .i have a licience insurance tax all the rest of it.the prolbem is i have being stoped 5 times by the police in just under 30 days.i have all the stop forms as evidence.every time i ask the officers why they stop me they just say routine stop check.are there any laws against this.i know it sounds stupid but its getting right on my nerves now.

[Law Man1856]

Fahey,

Are you being stopped by the same officers? in the same road? at the same time of day?

If the answer to any of these is yes then try speaking with the duty sgt at the station or the duty inspector.

The officers can do routine checks but these are usually random.

5 times in 30 days may seem excessive but if the police have received complaints from residents in a area they will increase stop checks to respond.

Best of luck

[Ethel]

Are you driving in the early hours of the morning?

Is your car souped up? Tinted windows? Boom box?

Anything at all to single you out? If you are driving such a vehicle you are drawing attention to yourself and can expect to be stopped.

I have never been stopped - ever!

[dantheman123]

If the stops are between 12 and 2 in the morning they're probably looking for drunk drivers.

[fahey2512]

my cars got alloys on thats it.they had me there for twenty mins on one occasion because there anpr wernt working or sumthing like that and they ended up phoneing my insurance company up to check directley with them very rude i think.it was all diffrent officers and i was on my own on all but one occasion.i told the officer once that i keep getting stopped and he just laughed and made a very rude and insulting remark.i think iam going to lodge a complaint do i have any grounds to complain tho

[madman06]

have you thought the car you have might havebeen used for something illegal befor you got it,not saying it was,id check with police to see y they have a grievence with you or the car GOOD LUCK

[noxlumos]

Complain.Politely but firmly and in writing to the Chief Constable. I had similar some years ago and it stopped instantly.

[jake-the-peg]

I'm pretty sure the "routine checks" is a pile of crap

I think they have to have "reasonable grounds" see here:

http://www.yourrights.org.uk/your-rights/chapt ers/the-rights-of-suspects/police-powers-to-st op-and-search-persons-and-vehicles---without-a rrest/index.shtml

I wonder if you happen to look a bit like someone they're after

Of course that doesn't help because it's easy to come up with something. I've had "your car seemed a bit low to the ground" and "you have an intermittantly defective rear brake light" is also a stormer!

Having said that although I was stopped a number of times (but nothing like your figure) that magically seemed to stop after I got to about 30!

I'd follow nox's advice, you'll probably get a polite reply informing you about all the good things that they are doing to protect you and how they don't use crude profiling and that you've been unlucky.

They'll then probably send out a memo saying "pack it in boys"

[Yorkie580]

Actually what's been described here doesn't sound like stop and search which is very different from normal vehicle stops.

No grounds are actually needed to stop a vehicle, although there should usually be a reason. Police have the power to stop vehicles and ask various questions of the driver (and to a certain extent the occupants) to establish ownership, driver details etc. Even examining a car either generally or in detail (by an authorised examiner) isn't stop and search. It's all powered by the Road traffic legislation.

Stop and search does requires grounds and would involve a search of the person or the vehicle for specified things.

There are many very legitimate reasons why you might be stopped and they would all be lawful. If you think you've been spoken to rudely then you can complain about that at any police station, but don't fall into the common misconception that complaining will mean that any other matters against you will be dropped. In fact they are more likely to be rigorously followed up in order to show that theer's no hint of corruption or trade off.

[Grunty]

As Ethel says, there are many reasons for the police to pick on a vehicle. In an extreme case, if you looked 17 and were driving a new and very expensive car. Or if you were driving an older car that looked as if something might be wrong with it. Or if crimes have been committed recently by people driving that make of car. Be polite to the police, and when they are satisfied, say "Do you mind me asking what attracted you to my car?" You'll be surprised how forthcoming they can be. Of course if they are picking on you for your age or appearance etc., complain in writing to the Chief Constable.