43 replies to this topic

[cunning_plan]

Ok, on talking to a distant friend at school i discovered 2 weeks before he had been stopped by the police. in his bag he had a peice of tubing (not metal) and around 300g of sulphur. the police proceded to arrest him and keep him in the sells for 24hrs. he is 15. to me this sounded absoloutly stupid, i was amazed he hadnt called it harsment, they claimed he was intending to make a pipe b**b...with sulphur and a short leangth of drainpipe. he was not charged with anything in the end, what i was wondering is...are the police allowed to put you in the sells for having some fertiliser and some drainpipe in your bag?(needless to say i have made sure he never does make a pipe b**b i still dont kow what he had them with him for but...)

[adamw]

In the current climate, unfortunately they saw it as the best thing to do. I can see some reason behind it.

[cunning_plan]

i also see the logic, i just think...i dont know, feels a bit heavy thats all, hes under 15 and was pu in cells overnight for walkig aroud town with some sulphur and drainpipe. is sulphur even a listed chemical?

[cunning_plan]

had another talk with him. it wasnt drainpipe it was part of an air rifle. the police downloaded and checked his hard drive on his comp aswel. is this not a bit excesive for some sulphur?

[pritch]

I had something similar happen to me years ago. I was seen with an air pistol in the park and riot vans got called out and they blocked the entrances. I was only about 14 I think. Anyway they took me home and when they came inside I just happened to be having a rambo day where I had all my weaponry(catapults and guns) on full show. All they did though was take away the pistol I stupidly had in the park and gave me a warning to not do anything stupid again. Oh while repeatedly trying to scare me by saying if i had pointed the gun at them they would have blown my knee caps off. Even though I don't recall any of them having a gun so I could have probably taken them Overkill

Edited by pritch, 24 February 2005 - 11:08 PM.

[RegimentalPyro]

When it comes to national security you can kiss goodbye to all the usual rights that are enjoyed, such as due process, presumption of innocence, no detention without charge etc etc.

Even being under the usual age of criminal culpability does not help you. I don't like it, and I don't see it as necessary. Bottom line is that I think your friend was treated v.shabbily.

However....

I also think it's naive to assume one still has the rights one enjoyed back in the 70's / 80's / 90's. Unless you campaign successfully to regain those rights, then expect more of the same. - "caveat citizen" as the Romans would say....At least he wasn't tortured which seems to be the norm for those supected of terrorist activities these days.

[Creepin_pyro]

Just wondering why they stopped him and looked in the bag in the first place?

[Andrew]

Just wondering why they stopped him and looked in the bag in the first place?

good question,

Also as he had part of a firearm in his bag he was breaking the law. What was he actually arrested for?

[Andrew]

I had something similar happen to me years ago. I was seen with an air pistol in the park and riot vans got called out and they blocked the entrances. I was only about 14 I think. Anyway they took me home and when they came inside I just happened to be having a rambo day where I had all my weaponry(catapults and guns) on full show. All they did though was take away the pistol I stupidly had in the park and gave me a warning to not do anything stupid again. Oh while repeatedly trying to scare me by saying if i had pointed the gun at them they would have blown my knee caps off. Even though I don't recall any of them having a gun so I could have probably taken them Overkill

that was a pretty stupid thing to do, come on. having a weapon in a public place has got a few people shot in recent years. I see kids with air pistols from time to time, and think to my self just how easy it is for SO-19 to shoot dead in that situation. They may not be real, but they certainly look real.

[BigG]

he is 15. to me this sounded absoloutly stupid, i was amazed he hadnt called it harsment

Well done to the police. Really. It is quite fair and proper for them to stop whoever they think might pose a risk. If someone was walking around with a steel pipe and sulfur - then I'll have my doubts as well.

As long as they don't delay, get the questions in and let the person go the moment they are convinced he is okay - then I can't see how this can be called harsment.

[pritch]

"that was a pretty stupid thing to do, come on. having a weapon in a public place has got a few people shot in recent years. I see kids with air pistols from time to time, and think to my self just how easy it is for SO-19 to shoot dead in that situation. They may not be real, but they certainly look real. "

I was young and dumb. The fact that I was a kid should have made them think that it was 99% an air pistol or toy gun which this was close to since it shot plastic pellets. Anyway I was wrong but no point in telling me off for something I did like 6 year years ago while going through puberty

[cunning_plan]

hmmm, hed just bought the new barrel for air rifle and the sulphur.it was obviously a barrel to an air weapon. i cant see that whatever way you look at it he was doing anything wrong. He was questioned then left in a cell for the rest of the 24hrs while they cheked his copmuter and searched his house. do you not think this is a we bit extreme, especialy when though suspiciouse he was not breaking the law in any way.

[Creepin_pyro]

hmmm, hed just bought the new barrel for air rifle and the sulphur.it was obviously a barrel to an air weapon. i cant see that whatever way you look at it he was doing anything wrong. He was questioned then left in a cell for the rest of the 24hrs while they cheked his copmuter and searched his house. do you not think this is a we bit extreme, especialy when though suspiciouse he was not breaking the law in any way.

Yes, but what was he doing in the first place to arouse suspicion? Why did the police conduct a stop and search? There has to be good reason for the police to do this!

Was he waving the barrel around?

[cunning_plan]

as far as i know he was simply stopped and searched - this is legal of under 16s even without "reasonable suspicion" due to the anti social behavior laws.

[Andrew]

hmmm, hed just bought the new barrel for air rifle and the sulphur.it was obviously a barrel to an air weapon. i cant see that whatever way you look at it he was doing anything wrong. He was questioned then left in a cell for the rest of the 24hrs while they cheked his copmuter and searched his house. do you not think this is a we bit extreme, especialy when though suspiciouse he was not breaking the law in any way.

As a minor or an adult you are not suppose to carry a complete or any part of a firearm without correct documentation. The new air rifle barrel should only be in public if your friend had a receipt and was walking the fastest way possible back to his house. As for the 24-hour thing that was very extreme, and if it did happen this way the officers responsible for it were contravening common law. As your friend was at the time a minor, the police's first action once he said his name, age and place of residence, should have been to contact his parents or guardian. The matter should have been resolved very rapidly. The searching and looking at the hard disk in his computer is very out of place. The police officers would have had to obtain a warrant, which in my opinion would have been very hard to find with such short notice, given the circumstances. As it concerned a minor the parents or guardian should have been present while all this happened. Police also do not tend to search a hard disk in situ, the entire computer is removed. Sulphur and an air riffle barrel would not have warranted those actions if nothing else were untoward. Your mate was probably an arse when the police questioned him, in which case he deserved what he got.