Sacked London Police Officers

[Gromit]

From The Daily Mail:

// An entire south London neighbourhood policing team has been axed after officers were found playing playing poker, watching television and cleaning golf clubs while on duty, it emerged today.
Seven officers in total resigned or were dismissed from the Safer Neighbourhood Team in the Mottingham and Chislehurst North ward in Bromley, south east London.
The disciplinary action followed an undercover operation by the Metropolitan Police Service's (MPS) Directorate of Professional Standards in 2010.

One sergeant and a police officer were sacked after the Met's disciplinary panel found them guilty of gross misconduct.

Another officer and three of the team's community support officers resigned, while a fourth was dismissed.

Three of the officers were also charged with criminal offences as well as police misconduct. //

http://www.dailymail....watching-TV-duty.html

I wonder what their combined salaries were when they were defrauding the public by not working? You can bet any fines they receive will be miniscule in comparison.

Is this any different that benefit fraud?

[Gromit]

Is this any different than benefit fraud?

[woofgang]

DIFFERENT FROM!!!!!
and yes I am yelling ITS DIFFERENT FROM!!!!!!

[woofgang]

apologies Gromit. Don't know what got into me there. Seriously. Sorry for yelling.

[jno]

in theory, I have no problem with anyone polishing golf clubs if it's during genuine down-time when nothing else is happening. I spent a lot of time on AB under such circumstance in my working life.

However, if they weren't on patrol, weren't investigating crimes, weren't doing things that did need doing, then they were robbing thir employer, who is me.

It doesn't say what the criminal charges are, but presumably they will prove to be a lot worse than just playing poker.

[Gromit]

No problem wolfgang.

BTW, Should that not be - // It's different from //?

[FredPuli43]

Surprised anyone noticed. Not much happening in those places. Perhaps one of them refused a gimme and the offended player grassed on him.

[New Judge]

Not much happening in those places?

In September there were 332 crimes reported including 28 burglaries and 51 violent crimes:

http://www.police.uk/crime/?q=Mottingham, London, UK#crimetypes/2012-09

Come on fred, that’s more than enough to keep a few of Blunkett’s Bobbies and their sergeant busy.

[owdhamer]

Who will find them a job now other than a wheel clamper.

[FredPuli43]

Yes, NJ but it's all comparative ! LOL. I bet the rest of Bromley is more active. Anyway, it's a fair bet that something called the Safer Neighbourhood Team attracts all the long term officers who want an easy life, as close as possible to doing nothing at all, so nobody should be surprised. What are they supposed to do, under that heading? Running after, or catching, criminals won't be in the job description. Visiting homes and advising on burglary prevention sounds more like it.

[Brancaster]

And the MP's found to have been doing a lot worse with their money-grubbing corrupt expense claiming have paid back a bit of money and still sit in positions able to leech more money from us - one rule for them and another for the less fortunate servants of the public.

[Gromit]

Brancaster,

Many MPs had to payback money and several went to prison.

[ChillDoubt]

Without making excuses for them, the emergency services and various departments within them often have a lot of 'down time', most often on night shifts.
When I do nights and all the work is out of the way I invariably spend hours on my laptop cataloguing my music etc or watching DVD's, along with my colleagues.
I've even cleaned and oiled my golf trolley once!
Others knit, crochet or read books. Not really any different to the activities of the officer's in the OP.

[wardlaw]

Not to be recommended as we pay their salaries, but who can put his/her hand on heart and claim they have never scrimshanked. BTW I hate to be a pedant but it is 'minuscule'.

[FredPuli43]

Not Chill, like the fire station in Robb Wilton's sketch, we trust. The station was so quiet, with men playing games to pass the time, that when a woman rang to say her house was on fire, there was chaos,culminating in the flustered fire chief, Robb Wilton, saying laconically to the woman "Look,can you keep it going until we get there?

[ChillDoubt]

No Fred, when duty calls we are there post haste.