Garda over stepping the mark

Finnbar01

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

If they do that they must give you the name of the legislation under which you are being searched. If they do not have a warrant and search you wrongfully anything they find cannot be used in court. In the case of People v. O'Brien, DPP v. Kenny this happened, although it should be noted that this was a search of property and not of a person.

Yes, they will tell you the legislation that they are searching under. They do not have to tell you there and then what their reasonable cause is to search you in the first place. It would be impossible for you to prove they searched you unlawfully.

Procrastastudy

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

If they do that they must give you the name of the legislation under which you are being searched. If they do not have a warrant and search you wrongfully anything they find cannot be used in court. In the case of People v. O'Brien, DPP v. Kenny this happened, although it should be noted that this was a search of property and not of a person.

You're comparing apples and monkeys.

fasttalkerchat

Finnbar01 wrote: »

Yes, they will tell you the legislation that they are searching under. They do not have to tell you there and then what their reasonable cause is to search you in the first place. It would be impossible for you to prove they searched you unlawfully.

If you take it to court or make a complaint they would have to outline their "reasonable suspicion" or so I assume.

Procrastastudy

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

If you take it to court or make a complaint they would have to outline their "reasonable suspicion" or so I assume.

Under what legal theory would you take this to court?

fasttalkerchat

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

You're comparing apples and monkeys.

A search not carried in accordance with the law resulted in what was found being thrown out of court. I think its fairly relevant, albeit not airtight.

Procrastastudy

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

A search not carried in accordance with the law resulted in what was found being thrown out of court. I think its fairly relevant, albeit not airtight.

You're confusing something (I'm not sure what) and Article 40.5 of The Constitution. Even applying the broadest principles there is nothing unconstitutional about being searched on the street or in your car.

BrianBoru00

Absolutely staggering the amount of people criticising the garda here.

Theres several threads already on gardai taking 20 minutes to come to the scene of a burglary or accident when the station is only 2 minutes away - This kind of ****e is one of the reasons.
If your in a strange place out for a drive at midnight, then your obviously not in that big a hurry yet you want to Flag down a garda rol patcar to ask for directions??????

You ve been stopped 5 times recently ...Is it the same garda that stopped you all 5 times? If yes, maybe you have a case, If not maybe the way you drive or your car are suspicious.
How suspicious? maybe your car has darkened windows, a loud exhaust. Maybe its a stereotypical "boy racer" car......

fasttalkerchat

BrianBoru00 wrote: »

You ve been stopped 5 times recently ...Is it the same garda that stopped you all 5 times? If yes, maybe you have a case, If not maybe the way you drive or your car are suspicious.
How suspicious? maybe your car has darkened windows, a loud exhaust. Maybe its a stereotypical "boy racer" car......

He drives a van. Hardly a joyriding boy racer!

Procrastastudy

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

He drives a van. Hardly a joyriding boy racer!

Outside a closed petrol station late at night. If it had been a boy racer he probably wouldn't have had an issue. Instead he was in a the type of thing you might load swag into.

fasttalkerchat

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

Outside a closed petrol station late at night. If it had been a boy racer he probably wouldn't have had an issue. Instead he was in a the type of thing you might load swag into.

Oh come on! Driving a van at night outside a petrol station is not reasonable suspicion of having committed a crime.

Procrastastudy

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

Oh come on! Driving a van at night outside a petrol station is not reasonable suspicion of having committed a crime.

This is where we differ.

Fenian Army

So driving a van at night doing a U-Turn at a petrol station and waving down the law to ask for directions looks criminal?

Glad I don't live in your police state.

underachieved

Again with respect no one has said the op committed any crime. What i am sayining is that the guard was right to check him out because he and his pal were travelling in a rural area late at night in a van, entered a closed petrol station forcourt which as far as i know is owned by someone ie private property when the garage is closed and no one around.

the guard checked the ops documents obviously saw they werent locals and asked them what they were up to????

OUT IN MY VAN WITH MY MATE ON A MIDNIGHT DRIVE is to anyone with common sense an odd answer???? he searches it finds a 100 scratch cards and asks the driver about them. when the driver has the recipt the guard let them go.

Failing to repatriate the insurance cert is the problem. easily solved via the telephone difficult to solve on an internet forum.

as for flagging hm down. i am sure the guard was telepathic and instanty knew the op was a good guy and wasnt trying to bluff him etc either that or he did his job and asked questions.

fasttalkerchat

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

Oh come on! Driving a van at night outside a petrol station is not reasonable suspicion of having committed a crime.

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

This is where we differ.

This is not a personal attack but what I will say is if you aim to enter the legal profession in a few years I would advise you to seriously consider what you have said here. Consider its wider implications and consider your opinions on social norms, freedoms and law enforcement responsibilities.

Procrastastudy

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

This is not a personal attack but what I will say is if you aim to enter the legal profession in a few years I would advise you to seriously consider what you have said here. Consider its wider implications and consider your opinions on social norms, freedoms and law enforcement responsibilities.

No thats fair enough thats not a personal attack thats an attack of an opinion - sorry it all got a bit heated these threads aways do!

You have to bear in mind that while you may believe I have a skewed view, you have to accept the possibility that it's your view, for what ever reason, that is skewed. It's also possible we are both wrong.

Some people believe that the law is an ass because most of the time it tows a line that suits no one completely. It's why I firmly believe in the adversarial system of government and of the courts. Although lets not give either of our opinions much credit on the objectivity front.

As for not entering the legal profession due to one's own personal views - I wouldn't worry about that too much. Its politics you want to be worried about! I'm not sure what leads you to believe that the majority of the legal profession are what you might refer to as liberal though!

comeback_kid

underachieved wrote: »

Again with respect no one has said the op committed any crime. What i am sayining is that the guard was right to check him out because he and his pal were travelling in a rural area late at night in a van, entered a closed petrol station forcourt which as far as i know is owned by someone ie private property when the garage is closed and no one around.

the guard checked the ops documents obviously saw they werent locals and asked them what they were up to????

OUT IN MY VAN WITH MY MATE ON A MIDNIGHT DRIVE is to anyone with common sense an odd answer???? he searches it finds a 100 scratch cards and asks the driver about them. when the driver has the recipt the guard let them go.

Failing to repatriate the insurance cert is the problem. easily solved via the telephone difficult to solve on an internet forum.

as for flagging hm down. i am sure the guard was telepathic and instanty knew the op was a good guy and wasnt trying to bluff him etc either that or he did his job and asked questions.

what kind of criminal waves down a cop car looking for directions ?

we wont need 007 to bring them to justice , thats for sure

Finnbar01

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

If you take it to court or make a complaint they would have to outline their "reasonable suspicion" or so I assume.

They'll just say you appeared nervous.

walnut grove

no, report it to the sergeant, and that will get your disc back as well.

underachieved

comeback_kid wrote: »

what kind of criminal waves down a cop car looking for directions ?

we wont need 007 to bring them to justice , thats for sure

perhaps a con man???? or someone similar or someone looking to explain away suspicious behaviour??? the point is i dont pay my taxes for the guards to guess that the fella in the van on someone elses property waving at him is a good guy. i pay my taxes so the guard will do what hes supposed to and find out for sure. its his job. until they get trained in telepathy i reckon asking questions is the best we have

Departed

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

Forget it and move on imho but then I you'll find I normally side with the Gardai. If I had a bad day at work it might because a customer had been rude to me and I might be a bit off hand with a co-worker.

If a Gardai has had a bad day it's probably because he's dealt with someone smacking there partner around, a rape or worse. Therefore I tend to cut them a bit of slack. My attitude with stop and searches is - if you have nothing to hide and it's not down to the reason of belonging to an ethnic minority - whats the harm?

Incidently I might very well take the hump a little to be flaged down and used as a map. Bobby on the beat is one thing Garda Patrol car is quite another. Come across the same guy on a different day may very well be the nicest guy you've ever met. Well maybe not he is a garda :P Perhaps a trip down to the Station to recover the Disc and a quiet word with the duty Sgt.?

BTW OP these threads never get a "right answer" because the views are so polarised.

That is bull with a capital s

nowayjosie

Departed wrote: »

That is bull with a capital s

I think you should have respect for the posters opinion, even if you disagree - you could at least give a reason why you disagree rather than say what you did. The poster gave an answer which was in his/her opinion and its not Bull **** to do that - do you even have an opinion on this?? if so could you articulate yourself? maybe give a little advice perhaps - but don't floor posters for their opinion.

Procrastastudy

iamthest1g

i quickly produced a reciept for the scratch cards but the search continued anyway,i got the feeling that the guard was looking for trouble, by the confrontational nature of his tone and the fact that he went looking for other issues beyond his original justification, such as inspecting my tyres calling in backround checks and the likes, he almost seemed dissapointed at the end of the search, and my friend can vouch for this.On a few days reflection, his justification for the search being given after the search wasnt right, no matter how bad a day hes had, its common courtisy to treat a "Suspect" with dignity and respect.I have the greatest of respect for the guards as they do a difficult job at the best of times and near intollerable one at the worst.

Syllabus

iamthest1g wrote: »

he took it, the doe cert and my licence off to the car for checks and didnt return the insurance cert, it'll be the last time i ask for directions again, he more or less said i broke into the garage and stole a bunch of scratch cards, which is odd because he seen me turn into the garage and i make contact with him 10 seconds later.i'd love to meet the man who can scratch and sort 100 all cash in 10 seconds:D

how much did you win????

iamthest1g

Syllabus wrote: »

how much did you win????

it started with a fivers on all cash and blossumed with a 50 euro win in the 4th round! we were reckoning that we wer closing the odds on getting the 5 grand!:D

underachieved

iamthest1g wrote: »

i quickly produced a reciept for the scratch cards but the search continued anyway,i got the feeling that the guard was looking for trouble, by the confrontational nature of his tone and the fact that he went looking for other issues beyond his original justification, such as inspecting my tyres calling in backround checks and the likes, he almost seemed dissapointed at the end of the search, and my friend can vouch for this.On a few days reflection, his justification for the search being given after the search wasnt right, no matter how bad a day hes had, its common courtisy to treat a "Suspect" with dignity and respect.I have the greatest of respect for the guards as they do a difficult job at the best of times and near intollerable one at the worst.

ok so the guard having seen two people he didnt know, on a "midnight drive" in a van not from the area u turning on the forcourt of a closed garage (someones private property) in a rural area does his job, checks the car out completely as i wish more of them would do, then checks out the occupents to make sure they're not bogeys and searches the van to make sure there is nothing bogey in it. when he is satisfied that they are not criminals he lets them go on their way.

he is not only entitled to do these things but supposed to in my opinion. its his job. If it was my property this is exactly the service i would demand. There are good guards and bad ones but no telepathic ones, investigating suspicious things is what they do.

As for him being mean to you, i wouldnt let it bother you too much, the world is a tough place, not everyone is polite. I would rather pay my taxes for an impolite police force that does its job than a polite one that doesnt.

you should just try to contact him about the cert and try not to get too hung up on it. seems to me you are making mountains out of mohills. him checking your tires is doing you and the rest of us a favour making sure that your van is safe to be on the road.

dahamsta

A few people in this thread could benefit from reading this ICCL publication...

http://www.iccl.ie/know-your-rights---criminal-justice.html

...or just shutting up and minding your own business to avoid looking like an asshat.

Procrastastudy

dahamsta wrote: »

A few people in this thread could benefit from reading this ICCL publication...

http://www.iccl.ie/know-your-rights---criminal-justice.html

Interesting read thank you. But I think the OP was more concerned about how rude the guy was and the conversation broke out over what the best way to make a compliant was or whether he should. To be fair to the OP has only questioned the validity of the search based on the fact that he believes he was searched because the guy was in a bad mood. I think anyone with any common sense realises the Garda was within his rights to search the van given the scenario.

dahamsta wrote: »

...or just shutting up and minding your own business

I'm not sure that makes for a very interesting discussion forum

dahamsta wrote: »

to avoid looking like an asshat.

See internet argument pyramid

MagicSean

dahamsta wrote: »

A few people in this thread could benefit from reading this ICCL publication...

http://www.iccl.ie/know-your-rights---criminal-justice.html

...or just shutting up and minding your own business to avoid looking like an asshat.

Some people would benefit from taking their own advice. If you read that document you would know how vague it is. This is because Gardaíhave such wide range of legislated powers and discretion that it cannot be covered in such a document. That's why we have solicitors.

dahamsta

The vagueness was my point. Several people in here have proffered authoritative answers. The ridiculous open-ended abilities of the Gardai render them equally ridiculous.

Well done to the other poster for missing the point too, it was a joke referring to the pyramid!

krd

underachieved wrote: »

ok so the guard having seen two people he didnt know, on a "midnight drive" in a van not from the area u turning on the forcourt of a closed garage (someones private property) in a rural area does his job,

Wait a second. You may be in bed at 9 O'Clock just after saying the rosary. But in rural areas there is traffic at all hours. People work late shifts. People are up to start early shifts. Farmers are up at all hours. There's always is lots of traffic, even late at night.

checks the car out completely as i wish more of them would do, then checks out the occupents to make sure they're not bogeys and searches the van to make sure there is nothing bogey in it. when he is satisfied that they are not criminals he lets them go on their way.

Bogeys?....What do you mean by that?......People who don't like the GAA, and don't wear shirts and ties under their jumpers?

he is not only entitled to do these things but supposed to in my opinion. its his job. If it was my property this is exactly the service i would demand. There are good guards and bad ones but no telepathic ones, investigating suspicious things is what they do.

You've obviously never been stopped, had the gaurds swear and sneer at you. Then pull everything from your glove compartment on to the floor. Open letters, toss stuff about.

As for him being mean to you, i wouldnt let it bother you too much, the world is a tough place, not everyone is polite. I would rather pay my taxes for an impolite police force that does its job than a polite one that doesnt.

Yeah, definitely it's never happened to you. Why don't you say what you really mean - you're happy to pay your taxes so the garda can go around abusing the knackers. Showing them who's boss.

They're not going to stop a "respectable" person like you - only the knacker people.

you should just try to contact him about the cert and try not to get too hung up on it. seems to me you are making mountains out of mohills. him checking your tires is doing you and the rest of us a favour making sure that your van is safe to be on the road.

Ah right. Doing them a "favour" checking their tires. He was looking for something to do them on. If he would've found bald tires he'd probably have tried to prosecute them.

The guards are there to stop crime. Not to be professional arseholes.

MagicSean

krd wrote: »

If he would've found bald tires he'd probably have tried to prosecute them.

Is this not his job also?

krd

MagicSean wrote: »

Is this not his job also?

And what would you do, in that instance?....Try to charge them, or tell them kindly, they need new tires?

Discretion is part of the job - fishing around for something to do someone on, is not. When all else has failed, checking the tires in the dark is definitely fishing.

MagicSean

krd wrote: »

And what would you do, in that instance?....Try to charge them, or tell them kindly, they need new tires?

Discretion is part of the job - fishing around for something to do someone on, is not. When all else has failed, checking the tires in the dark is definitely fishing.

You don't need light to check thread depth but i presume he could use his torch anyway.

And it is doing them a favour. They might not appreciate it but it could be the difference between a near miss and a bad collision in the future. Unfortunately, people don't often take heed to kind suggestions.

Zambia

krd wrote: »

fishing.

The whole idea is to go "Fishing" for offences.

krd

Zambia wrote: »

The whole idea is to go "Fishing" for offences.

Listen......

I was in Swords one day, standing beside a bean garda. And a farmer comes along in his **** splatered Range Rover. He broke the lights at the junction and proceeded at least fifty yards down the wrong side of the road, then drove up on the foot path as there was nowhere else for him to park his vehicle. The Garda was nonplussed. I gave her a look like "you're not seriously going to let that pass". She shrugs and huffs, and then walks over to the guy, gets him to roll down the window, has a quick word - like "you're really not supposed to do that - try not to do it again". And then she walks off.

I bet, had I tried the same stunt, I would have been fined and disqualified from driving. Possibly imprisoned.

Zambia what do you mean by "The whole idea is to go "Fishing" for offences"....Do you mean if the person is a knacker they should go fishing, but if the driver is good solid Sunday Indo reading ****** wearing a shirt and tie beneath his jumper, he should be shown discretion.

MagicSean

krd wrote: »

Listen......

I was in Swords one day, standing beside a bean garda. And a farmer comes along in his **** splatered Range Rover. He broke the lights at the junction and proceeded at least fifty yards down the wrong side of the road, then drove up on the foot path as there was nowhere else for him to park his vehicle. The Garda was nonplussed. I gave her a look like "you're not seriously going to let that pass". She shrugs and huffs, and then walks over to the guy, gets him to roll down the window, has a quick word - like "you're really not supposed to do that - try not to do it again". And then she walks off.

I bet, had I tried the same stunt, I would have been fined and disqualified from driving. Possibly imprisoned.

Zambia what do you mean by "The whole idea is to go "Fishing" for offences"....Do you mean if the person is a knacker they should go fishing, but if the driver is good solid Sunday Indo reading ****** wearing a shirt and tie beneath his jumper, he should be shown discretion.

He means that people aren't going to line up outside garda stations to turn themselves in for traffic offences. The Gardaí have to look for them. I'm not exactly sure why you think you would be targeted by all Gardaí? Maybe that's more your own issue?

krd

MagicSean wrote: »

He means that people aren't going to line up outside garda stations to turn themselves in for traffic offences.

What......these people are fugitives from justice and should be hunted down?

Checkpoints are very effective. Especially if they're set up in the right place. Fishing expeditions are a fishing expeditions.

The Gardaí have to look for them. I'm not exactly sure why you think you would be targeted by all Gardaí? Maybe that's more your own issue?

When I lived in the country, no hassle. Dublin, loads of hassle. And it's nothing to do with road traffic offences, there's been piss taking and f*** acting.

MagicSean

krd wrote: »

What......these people are fugitives from justice and should be hunted down?

Checkpoints are very effective. Especially if they're set up in the right place. Fishing expeditions are a fishing expeditions.

The roads can't be policed with just static checkpoints, especially given the amount of flashing headlights you see on irish roads.

krd wrote: »

When I lived in the country, no hassle. Dublin, loads of hassle. And it's nothing to do with road traffic offences, there's been piss taking and f*** acting.

Again, I don't see why you think you are being targeted. What makes you stand out?

underachieved

Can i ask krd Why do you think the op is not a respectable person or a "knacker" as you put it??? he seems like quite a decent sort to me. also you don't know anything about me except i stick to stated facts.

i don't get the point of anything you said in reply to my post you seem ignorant of the role of the police in society, the law, the facts of the case and on top of that want to whine at me about your life.

If you get the chance krd you should look up the nra and Irish safety councils views on bald tires, then get the road fatality figures for the last ten years. might inform your opinion a bit

krd

MagicSean wrote: »

The roads can't be policed with just static checkpoints, especially given the amount of flashing headlights you see on irish roads.

Well, a lot of this stuff was never enforced. We have some of the worst drivers in the world. And like that story I told about Swords. Yer man was left off because he was a farmer - he should have had his chops busted.

The checkpoints work - because even if people can get around them...They know they will be caught eventually, or there's a strong chance they will - so they get their papers.

Again, I don't see why you think you are being targeted. What makes you stand out?

What makes me stand out?........So it's my fault now...for driving an old car.. for not wearing a shirt and tie under my jumper.

Am I not allowed "stand out"?..........Since when did "standing out" become a crime?...............You know it's this precise thinking, that got everyone into so much trouble....buying the car they couldn't afford...buying the house they couldn't afford...turning a blind eye to things....All trying to "fit in"....Because you'd have Nazis who'd punish you if you didn't.

Sorry my friend....while police resources were being wasted on giving people like me a hard time - because we didn't look "successful" enough - just people working in low paid jobs........The real villains, in nice suits, shirts and ties, were raping the country.

Get off my back Jack....And catch us a real criminal.........The bankers aren't about to present themselves at station and make a full, honest and truthful confession. Minor traffic offences, and persecuting peaceable dope fiends. Really keepin' us safe....weren't yah. "Hey, Garda. I've just realised there's been some terrible identity theft...some bastrads ran up a massive debt partying, and now I'm being expect to pay up....a hundred and something grand....I've got their names and everything....you go around and arrest them, and tell the credit card company it wasn't me...then everything is going to be fine, isn't it".......

Tax and insurance.......What a fiersome bunch of crime fighters.

Serpico.

MagicSean

What the hell have the Nazis got to do with anything? Why do you keep going on about a shirt and tie?

Procrastastudy

krd wrote: »

Tax and insurance.......What a fiersome bunch of crime fighters.

Serpico.

Any idea how much pain, suffering and misery it causes being hit by an uninsured driver? Any idea how much MIBI drives up the insurance premium of honest people that pay their insurance?

underachieved

krd wrote: »

MagicSean wrote: »

The roads can't be policed with just static checkpoints, especially given the amount of flashing headlights you see on irish roads.

Well, a lot of this stuff was never enforced. We have some of the worst drivers in the world. And like that story I told about Swords. Yer man was left off because he was a farmer - he should have had his chops busted.

The checkpoints work - because even if people can get around them...They know they will be caught eventually, or there's a strong chance they will - so they get their papers.

Again, I don't see why you think you are being targeted. What makes you stand out?

What makes me stand out?........So it's my fault now...for driving an old car.. for not wearing a shirt and tie under my jumper.

Am I not allowed "stand out"?..........Since when did "standing out" become a crime?...............You know it's this precise thinking, that got everyone into so much trouble....buying the car they couldn't afford...buying the house they couldn't afford...turning a blind eye to things....All trying to "fit in"....Because you'd have Nazis who'd punish you if you didn't.

Sorry my friend....while police resources were being wasted on giving people like me a hard time - because we didn't look "successful" enough - just people working in low paid jobs........The real villains, in nice suits, shirts and ties, were raping the country.

Get off my back Jack....And catch us a real criminal.........The bankers aren't about to present themselves at station and make a full, honest and truthful confession. Minor traffic offences, and persecuting peaceable dope fiends. Really keepin' us safe....weren't yah. "Hey, Garda. I've just realised there's been some terrible identity theft...some bastrads ran up a massive debt partying, and now I'm being expect to pay up....a hundred and something grand....I've got their names and everything....you go around and arrest them, and tell the credit card company it wasn't me...then everything is going to be fine, isn't it".......

Tax and insurance.......What a fiersome bunch of crime fighters.

Serpico.

You sir are trolling

BornToKill

krd wrote: »

So it's my fault now...for driving an old car.. for not wearing a shirt and tie under my jumper.

I can't recommend the shirt-and-tie-under-a-jumper thing highly enough. Even if only while you're out driving. You don't get stopped even at checkpoints and you can disregard any and all of the rules of the road with impunity. Dressing like this - and I still can't work out why - even means no speeding tickets from the Gatso machines. Its pure magic. Its like having a cloak of immunity. Don't knock it krd until you try it!

krd

MagicSean wrote: »

What the hell have the Nazis got to do with anything?

You can't have a proper thread, unless you drag them in at some point.

Why do you keep going on about a shirt and tie?

No, it's shirt, tie, with a jumper over the top. ... best way to transport large amounts of drugs across Dublin........so. I've been told. The guards are after "scumbags"....not people who look like they're on their way to the K Club, or to Aviva stadium to see the lads play rugger for Ireland.

You've seen Star Wars?.....The Jedi mind trick....."these are not the drug dealers you are looking for"

krd

underachieved wrote: »

You sir are trolling

Are you now, or have you ever been, a supporter of the Fianna Fail party?

Departed

krd wrote: »

You can't have a proper thread, unless you drag them in at some point.




No, it's shirt, tie, with a jumper over the top. ... best way to transport large amounts of drugs across Dublin........so. I've been told. The guards are after "scumbags"....not people who look like they're on their way to the K Club, or to Aviva stadium to see the lads play rugger for Ireland.

You've seen Star Wars?.....The Jedi mind trick....."these are not the drug dealers you are looking for"

there is no spoon

couch_dweller

krd wrote: »

Listen......

I was in Swords one day, standing beside a bean garda. And a farmer comes along in his **** splatered Range Rover. He broke the lights at the junction and proceeded at least fifty yards down the wrong side of the road, then drove up on the foot path as there was nowhere else for him to park his vehicle. The Garda was nonplussed. I gave her a look like "you're not seriously going to let that pass". She shrugs and huffs, and then walks over to the guy, gets him to roll down the window, has a quick word - like "you're really not supposed to do that - try not to do it again". And then she walks off.

I bet, had I tried the same stunt, I would have been fined and disqualified from driving. Possibly imprisoned.

Zambia what do you mean by "The whole idea is to go "Fishing" for offences"....Do you mean if the person is a knacker they should go fishing, but if the driver is good solid Sunday Indo reading ****** wearing a shirt and tie beneath his jumper, he should be shown discretion.

you are mistaken in assuming AGS love farmers unconditionally , my brother is a farmer and the cops hate his guts :pac:

Departed

I was in Swords one day, standing beside a bean garda. And a farmer comes along in his **** splatered Range Rover. He broke the lights at the junction and proceeded at least fifty yards down the wrong side of the road, then drove up on the foot path as there was nowhere else for him to park his vehicle. The Garda was nonplussed. I gave her a look like "you're not seriously going to let that pass". She shrugs and huffs, and then walks over to the guy, gets him to roll down the window, has a quick word - like "you're really not supposed to do that - try not to do it again". And then she walks off.

you should have
1 reported her to her super
2 said to her stay there a minute, got your car and broke a red light and see what she would say to you. If her approach to you was different you could ask why

Perhaps she was using her discretion and thinking some **** splattered gombeen farmer from thecountry did not understand lights.

I was driving in dublin one day at a place where, when you got a filter , you had to pedal to the metal or be left behind. My passenger urged me on with " if they say anything stick your head out the window and tell em your from the country"