Entertainment For Lively Minds
Little criminals
OK, so today I went up to Waltham Cross to attend my weekly "clinic" for the chronically unemployed at a firm called "Seetec" very caring etc. Upon leaving said place I was chewing some gum which had gone stale, and not wishing to throw it on the pavement, I deposited it in the nearest bin. Then I lit a cigarette which I smoked then stamped out on the pavement. All of a sudden there's 3 coppers around me wearing bullet proof jackets (and poppies) asking me what the fuck I'm doing, and declaring I'd committed an offence. Seems I'd breached a zero tolerance law by Broxbourne Council of dropping litter, i.e. fag. I offered to pick the fag up and put it in the bin, but was told, "It's too late for that" Then I was asked for my name and address. It crossed my mind briefly to give a false address but I'm glad I was honest, for the officers cross checked my postcode via phone to their network database. Then I was asked, "WHY did it not cross your mind to put the fag in the bin?" to which I could only reply, "I wasn't thinking ossifer'. By this time a small crowd was gathering, obviously by the look on their faces I was guilty of something or other. Result? Fined 75 notes, 50 if I pay within 10 days. There's no real point to this entry: just thought I'd tell you. It annoyed the hell out of me at the time. Now I'm laughing (albeit grimly)
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Yikes
That's a bit harsh.
I was last in Waltham Cross about 15 years ago. At that time, a fag butt on the ground would have enhanced the area's natural beauty. I guess times must have changed.
It does make me wonder what the protocol is re fags and public bins. The bins often have plastic liners which makes throwing a fag in there ill-advised. Even if you really, really stub out a fag - it still might be hot.
So I find a drain and chuck it down there. The water stops the risk of fire and (presumably) nature biodegrades it all. That's my logic anyway.
They're not biodegradable.
http://www.cigarettelitter.org/index.asp?PageName=Facts
on the other hand
surely cigarette butts are indeed litter.
I know there are issues in disposal but that's the smokers problem.
My ex was recently in Japan and finding a receptacle was quite a challenge.
Having said all this you'd think a first time warning might have been fitting.
The Mountie gets his man
October 29th 2011.11pm.Quiet street Nanaimo,nary a lost zombie soul in sight.
There I was,smokin'a cigar ( cos it's against the law to smoke in an establishment),sippin' a beer from a plastic cup,huddled in a doorway when out of nowhwere I was collared for drinking in public! $230 fine! Good cop bad cop routine.When's the revoloution? Sign me up.
Result!
This has been bothering me & praying on mind ever since.I noticed on the 'violation' ticket that the offending officer was supposed to issue the ticket by the 24 hour clock.He did not.he issued my ticket for 11:04 when in fact it should have read 23:04. I contacted a lawyer who instructed me to dispute.He further said that they would try to change the time to reflect but to object claiming prejudice.He then said the judge will throw it out.I can't fuckin' wait!
Smokers eh?
They think the whole world's their bloody ashtray.
(before I get roundly abused, I should point out that's one of a series of homespun aphorisms from an Alf Garnett-style bloke I used to work with and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of this poster).
You got off lightly !
I got a £75 quid fine through the post because I dropped one out of the car window. Can't complain - shouldn't have done it - although I did think that I should have asked them for proof.
I can't help thinking
that the police have got better things to do. But I also can't help thinking the world would be a nicer place without litter.
It's your own fault
for having the temerity to not be a celebrity M.P. banker.
I've always...
... wondered why smokers think it's OK to just throw their fag-ends on the floor - maybe they're frightened of starting a fire in a litter bin.
I smoke...
...only occasionally and socially these days - a bit like I drink. It's a rare recreational pleasure. But I always find a bin - or if there really isn't one, a drain - for my fag ends. It's not hard, and littering makes me cross.
Only littering?
;)
Admit it, you're one of the Mr Men.
My Mum
Happened to my Mum too, outside a shop in Enfield. The other part of this is they have a well oiled legal process so if you contest it you are pretty much guaranteed to lose, so with costs it adds up to nearly 300 quid. They've raised hundreds of thousands of quid with this, and the council website is quite happy about it. Their view is if people who deposit litter prefer to go somewhere else that is fine too. It does seem harsh though.
Was it Police?
Usually it's Environmental Wardens.
Our lot in Edinburgh were featured in Life Of Grime and scored a major PR scoop when they ticketed a traffic warden
An up
for putting your gum in a litter bin. Unfortunately I'm going to have to take it off you though for dropping the filter tip. They might not stick like glue to the pavement like the gum but filter tips hang around for years being composed of cellulose acetate fibre.
It might seem tough but I've had hot ash flicked in my face by a passing motorist so my thoughts on the matter aren't repeatable in full here.
I don't like littering
But surely an instruction to pick it up and bin it, plus a bit of a telling off, would ensure it'd not happen again. Why the stormtrooper routine? Why the massive fine?
Perhaps it was because...
...'a bit of a telling off' wouldn't have had Chabsy telling everybody he knows what happens if you drop litter in Waltham Cross.
"It's too late for that"
I dislike litter but if you offered to pick it up you have negated the offence. Seems like the fine is just going towards the cost of having three officers dealing with this one incident. You rarely see a bobby on his own these days. Nice that they have some company on the beat but surely it doubles the cost of policing.
Fing is
I was incensed when my Mum got got. By two black uniformed wardens, not police. But looking into it, it's clear the council have no desire to be reasonable. Their view is anyone dropping litter will be fined and the fines go to provide facilities for the community, and if you don't like it, either don't drop litter or shop somewhere else. Zero tolerance. My Mum chose the latter - hasn't been to Enfield since. Not that they will lose a nanosecond of sleep over it, unlike her who didn't have £75 quid for the fine.
Costs vs investment
Seems the cost of having 3 bobbies might be outweighed by the garnering of quids from a minor yet easily spottable offence committed regularly by a still large proportion of people.
Everyone's looking to make money wherever the hell they can. Nothing to do with smoking but I fully expect a visit to my tiny business by HMRC who will no doubt find some miniscule tax error they can fine me £3000 quid for. Seems ridiculous to send 2 tax officers out to do this but they'll have got their sums right. Same goes for the police, councils, etc.
Zero tolerance my arse
This zero tolerance stuff gets on my pip, and not just because it is licence for jobsworths to joylessly deploy their most officious posturing, but because it is so selective. A while ago a house alarm went off on my street in the early hours. I phoned 999, talked to the police, who asked if I could see anything. From the answer of my house I could not. They said then that "due to the new policy" it was unlikely that anyone would visit. Sure enough, in the next hour at least, no police were to be seen.
So there we are : Zero Tolerance on fag butts and bubble gum, "a new policy" of Immense Tolerance for burglary. Concentrate on the easy stuff, and not on anything too difficult, dangerous or, increasingly, expensive. The police and their overseers will appear on the telly spouting on about Setting Priorities, but these can seem very puzzling indeed.
I recently read a book called 'Wasting Police Time' by
an anonymous serving police officer with the pseudonym of PC David Copperfield. It provides an eye-opening insight into what the rank and file Police officers have to put up with, and the sheer volume of paperwork and 'initiatives' imposed from above.
As an aside, it's also very funny. I view my local coppers in a very different light after reading it.
Council
It's an initiative by the council, not the police. They passed a local by law to support it. Nothing to do with burglary or any other priority.
http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/index/environment/wipeitout/litter.htm
Do you mean...
...black-uniformed wardens?
"comin over ere...
...wearin our uniforms..."
Arf
Good one!
Portable Ashtray
My Mrs recently gave up smoking, but previously she always carried one of these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/My-Ashtray-Christmas-Special-Five-Assorted-Por...
(I don't think it was this brand, but you get the idea.)
Contrary to popular belief, cigarettes aren't actually biodegradable and due to the massive amount of them they're a real problem. To a non-smoker they're litter as bad as any other, but they're actually worse when you think about the chemicals involved (they're toxic and via drains can get into the water supply). I posted a link above explaining this.
I will add though, in cases like yours I'd much prefer to see the law "having a quiet word" than issuing a fine. There is far too much of that at the moment, it's much better to help people understand the issue.
A non-smoker speaks
I was with a few mates in a pub one lunchtime and one of them finished his cigarette (this was a few years ago) and promptly chucked it on to the carpet, before stamping it out and leaving it there. The pub was empty and the nearest ashtray was a whole three feet away. I was quite horrified and made a note not to invite him round if we ever threw a party.
Smokers seem to feel the same way about dropping cigarette ends as drivers do about parking and speeding offences, i.e. the real villains of the piece are the petty people that uphold the law. As one who spends time on the beach with our two young children, it's almost impossible for them to fill a bucket of sand without it containing 3 or 4 cigarette ends in some places. Horrible.
I'm a driver...
As a driver I think that the villains of the piece are the drivers that break the law... and the police for too often turning a blind eye to it. If everyone tried to do every journey without deliberately breaking the law then I think most of us would arrive at our destination calmer and happier.. just like I would if I walked from one end of a high street to the other without seeing any litter.
Disposing of cigarettes
Roll fag-end between finger and thumb to dislodge remaining tobacco, which can burn out on the floor. Throw filter in the bin or put in pocket.
Up until six weeks ago when I quit...
that's what I used to do, albeit with "straights".
It's litter -
it's not a smoking issue. I cannot stand littering and I'm sure you'll never do it again so it served its purpose.
However, if it was me I would like to see some evidence of the zero tolerance being applied fairly and squarely in all other areas and that the police aren't just targeting the easy piece of litter dropping.
I'd like to see your three civic heroes
ply their trade on Gloucester Road, or Stapleton Road or Park Street in Bristol on a busy Saturday morning. They'd either have been stabbed or have started a major incident well before lunchtime. It seems as if the littering laws, like so many other laws, can be enforced, but only where it won't cost very much and it won't cause too much of a fuss.
if the police had been
as potent in their response to this summer's riots that might have been, you know, nice.
£50 prompt payment? Be glad you weren't cycling in Weymouth
http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/9345068.Cyclists__anger_at_first_Weymou...
And, please, we're talking about a wide esplanade here, not carving up a pavement.
Result
Just witnessed a mobility scooter rider about to drop a fag-end on the pavement (Darwinism in action?) Gave him a dirty look, he held on to the cigarette instead of dropping it. If he had dropped it, it would have ended up in his lap, lit or not.