Man on Road Bike Photographing Random Cars

FrPhelimYoung

I was driving westbound over the quincentennial bridge about 6pm today and saw some random guy on a bike taking a couple of random pictures of car number plates while cycling.

I was driving up on Maunsells road later and the same fella again taking photographs of parked cars. This time their tax and insurance.

About 15 minutes later, again I was heading over the bridge (eastbound) and there he was again on his bike heading westbound with his camera at the ready!!!

Who is this fella??? Some kind of new superhero or crusader????

Anyone???

?Cee?view

He's back :-)

Watch out for strategically placed children's buggies in some shots.

westgolf

Wasn't there something similar around Salthill this time last year ? threadneedle road / tailors hill area if I remember correctly.

westgolf

Patrickheg

Wonder if this the guy that a few guard mates of mine take the piss out off? He is aways into them plaguing them with photos of illegally parked cars. Bit of a freak by all accounts

zarquon

Patrickheg wrote: »

Wonder if this the guy that a few guard mates of mine take the piss out off? He is aways into them plaguing them with photos of illegally parked cars. Bit of a freak by all accounts

Careful now, there's a chance (a very good one) that he is a member on here ;-)

jobeenfitz

Newstalk giving out prizes to cars with their stickers on them. Their calling out car numbers on the radio throughout the day. May be unlikely but ya never know?

Mrs OBumble

Patrickheg wrote: »

Wonder if this the guy that a few guard mates of mine take the piss out off? He is aways into them plaguing them with photos of illegally parked cars. Bit of a freak by all accounts

You might suggest that they do their jobs, rather than wasting time taking the puss.

Patrickheg

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

You might suggest that they do their jobs, rather than wasting time taking the puss.

Their station has had severe cut backs(manpower and squad cars), so bad they have to be selective on which wild goose chases they can waste their time on so they can concentrate on real crime cases

Is that okay with you?

Btw I don't condone illegally parked cars just people with unrealistic expectations of our gurads when they clearly have more important things for doing.

jeepers101

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

You might suggest that they do their jobs, rather than wasting time taking the puss.

Yeah because everyone should be 100% serious all the tine

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

To whoever was cycling through the Bodkin junction at about three this afternoon, coming from the bridge going towards Headford, who took a picture of a stopped black VW Golf as you were passing - you cycled through a red traffic light and gave my wife and I a scare while we were crossing.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=90445525&postcount=675
Probably the same guy I saw.

zarquon

Deleted User wrote: »

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=90445525&postcount=675
Probably the same guy I saw.

Sounds about right. Collecting evidence of car misdemeanors as he breaks red lights on his bike! Gotta love a hypocritical road user :rolleyes:

Mrs OBumble

jeepers101 wrote: »

Yeah because everyone should be 100% serious all the tine

Guards (just like doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers, accountants) shouldn't be discussing cases with civilians.

Especially not if they're taking the piss out of citizens.

?Cee?view

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Guards (just like doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers, accountants) shouldn't be discussing cases with civilians.

Especially not if they're taking the piss out of citizens.

They may never have mentioned his name in which case it's hard to see what harm they've done?

ScumLord

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Guards (just like doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers, accountants) shouldn't be discussing cases with civilians.

Especially not if they're taking the piss out of citizens.

I don't see why, I would have no problem with them discussing cases in general, as long as they don't give out any personal details and show discretion. So much of their personal experience comes from their job it would be pretty hard for them to hold a conversation without mentioning aspects of their interaction with the general public.

If people working in every other service industry can take the piss out of customers I don't see why guards should be forced into absolute silence, as long as it's not to someone face and they have the courtesy to do it behind our backs it's fine.

Diabhal Beag

I think having a laugh at somebody who frequently sends in illegally parked car pics is fairly low on the "what Gardaí should be criticised for" scale. Probably lightens up a fairly stressful job tbh.

_Whimsical_

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

I think having a laugh at somebody who frequently sends in illegally parked car pics is fairly low on the "what Gardaí should be criticised for" scale. Probably lightens up a fairly stressful job tbh.

Until they decide your issue or your mentally ill relation is a laughing stock and amuse themselves and their friends with what should be the private details of your dealings with them.
In fairness the very least we should be able to expect of them is professional discretion. They're paid enough and respected enough to give that as standard to every person they meet.

Greenmachine

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

Until they decide your issue or your mentally ill relation is a laughing stock and amuse themselves and their friends with what should be the private details of your dealings with them.
In fairness the very least we should be able to expect of them is professional discretion. They're paid enough and respected enough to give that as standard to every person they meet.

Since when is taking photos in public a private matter.

Iwannahurl

Patrickheg wrote: »

Their station has had severe cut backs(manpower and squad cars), so bad they have to be selective on which wild goose chases they can waste their time on so they can concentrate on real crime cases

Is that okay with you?

Btw I don't condone illegally parked cars just people with unrealistic expectations of our gurads when they clearly have more important things for doing.

ScumLord wrote: »

... service industry ... customers ...

I guess "customers" expecting members of An Garda Siochana to do their job ("Working with Communities to Protect and Serve") fairly and consistently is still unrealistic, in some people's eyes anyway.

Some people's view of AGS, it would appear, is formed mainly from casual chit-chat with their pals. It's as if they never heard of (or perhaps don't comprehend) the Morris Tribunal, the Smithwick Tribunal, GSOC, the Guerin Report, the Heavy Gang, Dean Lyons, the Kerry Babies case, the Ian Bailey case, Martin Callinan, John Wilson, Sgt Maurice McCabe or Dr Richard O'Flaherty to mention a special few.

WallyGUFC

Iwannahurl wrote: »

I guess "customers" expecting members of An Garda Siochana to do their job ("Working with Communities to Protect and Serve") fairly and consistently is still unrealistic, in some people's eyes anyway.

Some people's view of AGS, it would appear, is formed mainly from casual chit-chat with their pals. It's as if they never heard of (or perhaps don't comprehend) the Morris Tribunal, the Smithwick Tribunal, GSOC, the Guerin Report, the Heavy Gang, Dean Lyons, the Kerry Babies case, the Ian Bailey case, Martin Callinan, John Wilson, Sgt Maurice McCabe or Dr Richard O'Flaherty to mention a special few.

I would be of the opinion that dealing with the growing heroin problem in the city and the spate of burglaries etc. is of far more importance than dealing with the odd person parking on double-yellow lines or something. Resources are extremely limited (http://connachttribune.ie/galway-gardai-have-to-borrow-paddy-wagon-from-mayo/), as are the number of Gardaí.

Also, you declined to acknowledge the fact that the cyclist was previously witnessed running a red light while embarking on his photography career. This is something I've witnessed as both a driver and pedestrian but I appreciate that the lack of resources means that cyclists usually get away with this indiscretion. I can imagine being laughed at if I brought video footage of a cyclist breaking a red light to the Gardaí. Still, tis handy having the dashcam for my own personal viewing and enjoyment.

_Whimsical_

Greenmachine wrote: »

Since when is taking photos in public a private matter.

That's hardly the point. Someone making a report to the guards,regardless of the nature of the complaint, should not become a hilarious work story for the guard in question to amuse his/her buddies with.
That should be a professional expectation. We can't rely on every guards sense of humour or decency to decide what they'll divulge for a laugh in the pub.

Mrs OBumble

WallyGUFC wrote: »

I would be of the opinion that dealing with the growing heroin problem in the city and the spate of burglaries etc. is of far more importance than dealing with the odd person parking on double-yellow lines or something. Resources are extremely limited (http://connachttribune.ie/galway-gardai-have-to-borrow-paddy-wagon-from-mayo/), as are the number of Gardaí.

Except that people who break one law are likely to be breaking others.

And as regards professionalism, I'd expect that if this started with the small stuff (like respect for citizens and not discussing matters outside of work), then we would see better results with the medium stuff (eg wiping penalty points) and big stuff (see the papers).

gordongekko

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Except that people who break one law are likely to be breaking others.

Rubbish

antoobrien

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

You might suggest that they do their jobs, rather than wasting time taking the puss.

I'd make that suggestion to the parking wardens in city council, as the gardai have bigger fish to fry than hopping to the attention of some jumped up crusader.

Iwannahurl

antoobrien wrote: »

I'd make that suggestion to the parking wardens in city council, as the gardai have bigger fish to fry than hopping to the attention of some jumped up crusader.

The City Council and its wardens are equally useless in this regard, and equally selective and self-serving in their trotting out of various excuses.

As for bigger fish to fry, an example of where that excuse demonstrably falls down is in the Garda Siochana's well-established capacity to do nothing at all even when detailed for "protect and serve" duties at public events.

I was at one such public event last year, and counted five Gardai present, in close proximity to each other, highly visible in their hi-vis. They were also very close to open displays of illegal and anti-social behaviour, including road traffic offences, under-age alcohol consumption and littering. Teenagers were carrying large slabs of beer to the venue, while Gardai stood around, chatting with each other, texting, and watching the the event itself.

Nothing new about that. Go to a big match in Pearse Stadium and you will see numerous Gardai inside watching the game, while outside the mobile "Command & Control" unit will be empty, Garda motorbikes will be unattended and idle, and the single Garda on duty in the station will be claiming that no resources are available.

AGS culture, attitudes and behaviour towards the control of alcohol and alcohol-related harm would make a good case study in this regard. In the Connacht Sentinel on 28th January this year, the Chief Superintendent of the Galway Division was quoted as saying "I do not think the business people of the city want a zero tolerance approach" to the control of street drinking during festivals.

In another article in the same paper on the same date, the Chief Superintendent was lamenting that "drink-driving pleas are falling on deaf ears in Galway City". Note the word "plea", by the way.

Are people just not listening, or are they in fact getting mixed messages from the Garda Síochána?

On the same day that the Chief Superintendent's comments were reported, the Rape Crisis Network Ireland published research indicating that Ireland's culture of binge drinking could potentially allow sex crimes to go unreported.

The Garda Pulse system (when not being abused by members for purposes such as listing children as suspected offenders, snooping on celebrities and vetting their daughter's boyfriends) shows that alcohol is a contributory factor in 97% of public order offences. Research by Alcohol Action Ireland has found that one in 11, or approximately 318,000 of the full adult population, report that they or a family member were assaulted by someone under the influence of alcohol in the past year. In the AAI survey 45% of people said they had gone out of their way to avoid drunk people or places where drinkers are known to hang out, 21% said they had been kept awake at night or disturbed, 18% said they had experienced trouble or noise because of drinkers at a licensed venue, and 18% said they felt unsafe while waiting for or using public transport. Overall, 58% of respondents in the AAI survey said they were negatively affected in some way by someone else’s drinking.

A key finding of the survey was that the recorded level of alcohol-related crime and public disorder is an underestimate because much alcohol-related crime and anti-social behaviour is not reported to the Gardaí. For example, 80% of survey respondents said they did not report that they had been threatened. Another study by the Central Statistics Office in 2010 found that 45% of assaults were not reported to the Gardaí.

Maybe they thought there was no point: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/attack-victim-happy-with-guerin-report-after-seven-years-of-unanswered-questions-30260364.html

Redhairedguy

This thread has gone horrifically off topic; it's gone from being about a guy taking pictures of cars to having a bash at the Gardaí. If you wish to continue this topic of conversation, then I suggest you air your grievances and questions on the likes of the Emergency Services forum.

The original topic in question was a little sketchy anyway, so we'll leave it there.