David Sparkes Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 We have been asked 'If we can help' via our Contacts, Blogs, etc. An incident took place in the Peak District around 23.45 on Tuesday 15th June. A car drove past white motorcycles, the riders wearing yellow reflective vests, parked at the side of the road. Both immediately pulled into the road and began to follow. A short time later both motorcycles illuminated blue flashing lights/beacons. The driver believed the motorcyclists to be police officers and stopped his vehicle. One rider wearing full leathers approached and requested his driving licence and insurance. The second rider stayed at the rear of the vehicle shining a torch through his rear window. On handing over his licence, the rider stated that he would be back in a couple of minutes and returned to his bike. However both motorcyclists then got onto their bikes and sped off, still in possession of the drivers driving licence. Enquiries have been made revealing no Derbyshire police officers were involved in this stop check, and the driver is the victim from police officer impersonation. Description taken of the main offender as follows: White/male, 6 ft tall, medium build, early 30s, bald head, wearing full bike leathers possible ‘Alpine’ and yellow reflective vest. He had a scar above the left eye and a tattoo on his left hand possibly the tail of a snake between the thumb and the index finger. He had a noticeable Sheffield/S Yorks accent. The second male is not described although smaller than his accomplice - possibly 5’4”. Does this relate to anything you have seen in the past couple of weeks? You can imagine why the Police are concerned, they don't want people saying 'I didn't stop because ....'. Even if you haven't seen anything dodgy like this, you are forewarned should you get pulled over. I think the advice has to be you should always stop if requested, but once you get to see an officer up close you should look for details that reassure you they are a pukka Police Officer. As a matter of interest I don't carry my Licence with me anyway. If you do have information you can post it here, or PM me, or use the totally confidential crime stoppers on 0800 555 111. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krissvdh Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 We had something similar over this way a while ago although it was a car with blue strobes etc. My old flatmate was a traffic policeman in the response car and always told me never to hand over my licence. It's better to get a producer and show your docs at the police station. I never understood why, i guess this is the answer to that question. Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwyll Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 I was always taught that if you had any doubts you should ask for their number and ask them to wait while you call the local police station to verify their credentials. If they are genuine they should have no issue with that. If not, they normally scarper. But I guess the above only works if you are confident that you are on the correct side of the law to begin with. If you have just robbed a bank, this approach probably isn't going to help. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbarton Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 OK if you know the local police station's number, no good asking them for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbocharger Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 David - whereabouts was it? It's a big county, I'm guessing top-right-ish if they had Sheff accents? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest noggy Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 Yikes! Thanks for the heads up! When you say peak district.... that is a really rather large area. But still i drive from sheffield corner down to Ashbourne and all around quite frequently. And mostly late at night, so actually im quite the candidate to get pulled over! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Sparkes Posted June 26, 2010 Author Share Posted June 26, 2010 The car was on the Main Road at Grindleford, Hope Valley travelling from the Fox House direction. The motorcyclists left the scene heading in the direction of Fox House. I was non-specific because in my mind they would be unlikely to pull the same trick in the same place, but they could try again anywhere in the Peak District. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinny Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 why not make a triple 9 call to the police the police operator can contact police officers to confirm thay are genuine explain the situation to the controller and your concern if there genuine thay will have radio contact with them,chris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_P Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 why not make a triple 9 call to the police the police operator can contact police officers to confirm thay are genuine explain the situation to the controller and your concern if there genuine thay will have radio contact with them,chris. Because that's for urgent emergency calls? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwyll Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 Because that's for urgent emergency calls? If my ailing memory serves me right, there is a number you can call for non emergency stuff. Not sure what it is or about its efficacy, but that would be the one to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbarton Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 Personally I think 999 would be wholly appropiate as you're not likely to know any other numbers, especially if you're new to the area. These guys could easily claim you're uninsured, "recover" your vehicle and leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbarton Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 If my ailing memory serves me right, there is a number you can call for non emergency stuff. Not sure what it is or about its efficacy, but that would be the one to use. We have 101 in Sheffield, but I don't know if it works from a mobile. The 101 system was tried in various parts of the UK as an experiment, but only a few places have retained it. My own ailing memory recalls the slogan "See anything suspicious? Dial 999" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Sparkes Posted June 26, 2010 Author Share Posted June 26, 2010 There isn't a coordinated national scheme about Police Non-Emergency Numbers, but the number in Derbyshire, which does work, is 0345 123 3333. I have used it a couple of times. I have a list, which I got off a Narrow boating site, but I don't appear to have a record of which site it was. If you are doing a Google search it appears to help if your search terms start 'UK' or similar, otherwise you get returns for locations in other countries. AhHa. Just needed a bit of mental prompting. http://website.lineone.net/~familykeens/policeno.htm I converted this into an Excel spreadsheet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 As an ex 999 controller for two different Police Forces, I would suggest 999 is definitely the best number to call. This is potentially a serious crime in progress - this time it was a drivers licence, next time (as pointed out about) it could be your car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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