I would think, then, that the person who gave the ridiculous advice to leave the dogs running on the main road, SHOULD be reported, so that re-training can be given to that member of civilian staff.
It is in the police force's interest, because staff such as that woman are the first point of contact for many people, and if callers are given a poor impression of the police force then she should be taught how to do her job properly.
A couple of years ago I reported yobs throwing fireworks in the street, at about 5.30 pm, in the little town where I live. I was pretty clued-up on the law regarding the discharge of fireworks in a public place, because every year I join in with petitions to ban the sale of fireworks to the general public.
Anyway, I reported the above to the local police number ... I knew a crime was being committed, but the girl who answered the phone did not realise it was a criminal offence ... initially she suggested that I phone my local council the next day. I read out to her, all the information (police-generated, I had to say!!) regarding the law, and she put me thru to someone else.
The long and the short of it was, a police van did come out to collar these idiots who were still chucking fireworks around, but my point is this - had I not known how the law stood, I would just have gone away and left it. It's something I feel strongly about because I don't want fireworks thrown at my dogs, one of them definitely could not cope with it (and neither could I).
I don't expect every civilian police worker to know every law inside and out, but surely basic relevant training could be given, so that a) they give better support to the police, b) they give better help to the public, and c) they don't give a poor impression to the public. So, in the approach to Bonfire Night (or Firework months, as it now seems to be
) civilian support staff on the front line should be reminded/made aware of the law regarding fireworks. etc etc.However, telling someone to leave 3 dogs running loose on a busy main road, just seems to be inviting carnage.
We were at a motorway service station one Sunday afternoon about 4 years ago, in the Barnsley area, and a dog had jumped out of a car - the teenage lad trying to catch her looked absolutely stricken. There was no way this dog (called Megan, I remember it very clearly) was going to allow herself to be caught, and she ended up running on to the motorway, where she crossed 6 lanes of traffic to the far side of the motorway. I called the police (999) and I'm sure many others must have phoned them too .. and they came out straight away, let's face it, it doesn't take much imagination to think of the accidents a dog running loose on the busy road could cause, people swerving to avoid it etc etc.
Sadly I don't think the dog was ever caught, and I have often wondered what happened in the end.
Gill
