BossHogg Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 Are these possibly the most incompatible headlines to come out of the local paper this week? Thin Blue line is far too stretched says Chief Constable http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/thin-blue-line-is-too-stretched-1-8166735 Police looking for the owner of a Terry's chocolate orange http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/police-hunt-for-chocolate-owner-1-8175357 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheldon Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 It's not Terry's, it's mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManxTaxPayer Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 Police looking for the owner of a Terry's chocolate orange http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/police-hunt-for-chocolate-owner-1-8175357 Bugger, I hope our old Gran hasn't opened her birthday present yet.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llap Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 Maybe if they'd stop targeting people for the victimless crime of having a harmless PLANT, they'd have more time to spend solving serious crimes with real victims like this chocolate orange case. Aren't they really just mouthing off in the run up to new budgets? Another thing I've always found odd is they're repeatedly getting rid of dibble, then moaning there aren't enough, then hiring more, then getting rid of more. What exactly is going on with the IOM Constabulary? It's a real mystery to me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BossHogg Posted October 11, 2016 Author Share Posted October 11, 2016 Police looking for the owner of a Terry's chocolate orangehttp://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/police-hunt-for-chocolate-owner-1-8175357 Bugger, I hope our old Gran hasn't opened her birthday present yet.... Well they either are so massively short staffed that they can't stop drugs flowing into the IOM as claimed, or they have all the time in the world to waste investigating and tracking errant door step chocolate egg leavers. They most certainly can't be both. Their public image seems to be very far detached from the cash strapped headlines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sausages Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 Maybe if they'd stop targeting people for the victimless crime of having a harmless planet Such megalomania is rarely victimless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ta laue y jouyl ayn Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 Hardly an investigation, house holder reports to Police that they found a chocolate orange and a key on their door step and the Police put out a press release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Mexico Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 Maybe if they'd stop targeting people for the victimless crime of having a harmless planet Surely, according to Douglas Adams, it's only mostly harmless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombay Bad Boy Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 'Chocolate Orange' is street talk for crystal meth/crack/LSD cocktail taken rectally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asitis Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Maybe if they'd stop targeting people for the victimless crime of having a harmless PLANT, they'd have more time to spend solving serious crimes with real victims like this chocolate orange case. Aren't they really just mouthing off in the run up to new budgets? Another thing I've always found odd is they're repeatedly getting rid of dibble, then moaning there aren't enough, then hiring more, then getting rid of more. What exactly is going on with the IOM Constabulary? It's a real mystery to me? As soon as the law decides its a harmless plant, then no doubt they will stop harassing people for having it ! As for officer dibble, as you refer to them, no doubt if you get in a pickle the people you will be ringing are the same officer dibbles you obviously despise ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarne Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 LLAP, the police are just doing their job on the cannabis thing - they don't get to pick and choose which laws they follow. If you'd like it changed, please contact your politicians. On the original topic though, no, the police aren't really underfunded, and in general do a good job. I imagine at times they are stretched beyond the limit as I believe we have less police officers than normal per capita than the UK, but based on the equipment and waste (that lord Street police station) they are not underfunded. I estimate increased funding would give extra police officers on the beat, probably fifteen to twenty extra for an extra million plus equipment and training but crime levels would stay roughly the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llap Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Maybe if they'd stop targeting people for the victimless crime of having a harmless PLANT, they'd have more time to spend solving serious crimes with real victims like this chocolate orange case. Aren't they really just mouthing off in the run up to new budgets? Another thing I've always found odd is they're repeatedly getting rid of dibble, then moaning there aren't enough, then hiring more, then getting rid of more. What exactly is going on with the IOM Constabulary? It's a real mystery to me? As soon as the law decides its a harmless plant, then no doubt they will stop harassing people for having it ! As for officer dibble, as you refer to them, no doubt if you get in a pickle the people you will be ringing are the same officer dibbles you obviously despise ! "Dibble" is not a negative term, it's just a slang term as per from Top Cat. I have nothing but respect for the local officer dibbles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisenchuk Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 LLAP, the police are just doing their job on the cannabis thing - they don't get to pick and choose which laws they follow. If you'd like it changed, please contact your politicians. On the original topic though, no, the police aren't really underfunded, and in general do a good job. I imagine at times they are stretched beyond the limit as I believe we have less police officers than normal per capita than the UK, but based on the equipment and waste (that lord Street police station) they are not underfunded. I estimate increased funding would give extra police officers on the beat, probably fifteen to twenty extra for an extra million plus equipment and training but crime levels would stay roughly the same. I would have thought that to be the case,yet in the UK some area Chief Constables are on record as saying they won't be wasting resources pursuing people for small personal use quantities. That seems to say that that Chief has quite a bit of discretion over how the law is applied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisenchuk Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Hardly an investigation, house holder reports to Police that they found a chocolate orange and a key on their door step and the Police put out a press release. If they'd pursued the matter further it may have revealed a stoner with the munchies who's mislaid their chocolate orange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
censorship Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 While I appreciate there is a debate to be had about cannabis, it is a shame that every thread about policing seems to come back to that same point when there are other issues of great importance. Personally, I think Isle of Man Constabulary is in dire and urgent need of external, independent review, much the same as Noble's Hospital is undergoing. A distinct lack of leadership in recent years has created organisation-wide issues which are worsened by a lack of talent, skill, commitment and sensible resource use (more drones anyone?). It often appears there are longer-serving officers who are counting down the days to retirement, or preparing for their post-police career, rather than ensuring they keep training current, demonstrate a commitment to their work which reflects the level of pay and pass on their experience to more junior officers. It also appears the organisation struggles to attract good enough candidates to join its ranks and this, coupled with the lack of leadership and support from senior officers, results in some frankly awful frontline policing and decision making. The chocolate orange is case in point. A member of the public reported the discovery of some confectionary to the police. No problem there. But does it not reflect a lack of common sense and judgment that someone decided this warranted the time and effort of issuing a media release? just hold onto the property until the owner comes looking. This is hardly an isolated incident and it is not only worrying that so little common sense is apparent across the Constabulary given the importance of the job being done, but also of concern that junior officers appear to have no guidance from senior officers on matters such as media relations and there is no process in place to offer oversight of decision making. This incident is only a small thing but is symptomatic of failings across the organisation which have extremely serious consequences. How many times are we going to see charges withdrawn at the 11th hour in court, or charges changed during the process, or people sent to prison wrongly, due to clear failings? If you think this isn't happening, and going to happen more and more, just pick up the newspaper and read some court reports. I'm sure many of you can link to reports reflecting this. Leadership, oversight, training, recruitment, motivation of long-serving officers and, most importantly, simply getting the basics of this vital job right, all need to be the subject of a thorough, independent and urgent external review before Isle of Man Constabulary does any more damage to our nation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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