[Closed] Do Police still have 'quiet words' ? - un tutored driver issue

A quiet word really?

Nope sorry he needs the car taken off him so I'd be contacting the police.

no idea but unfortunately you need to act.
He is young so let life teach him a lesson without anyone else being harmed

Grass him up to his parents.

Let his tyres down.

2 options here
Speak to coppers quiet word he stops doing it due to scaring him a bit
or
Speak to coppers non quiet word he gets bollocked and fines and he stops driving it.

The important bit is he stops driving it, sometimes you have to learn. If he is old enough not to listen or care he will get caught and have to deal with the consequences.

You say he's a nice enough lad - speak to him.

Kill him! Its for his own good!

I'd tell the Police, given he could easily kill someone, I don't think he should be stopped asap.

EDIT: or just kill him as Binners suggested.....

Sorry, as a victim of an uninsured driver myself, I have zero sympathy here.
Difficult family background... blah, blah, blah... these idiots always have some excuse. He's an adult, he's made his choices.

Ask yourself this question - if he goes out and kills someone this afternoon, how will you feel about yourself? Then pick up the phone and do the right thing.

Ask yourself this question - if he goes out and kills someone this afternoon, how will you feel about yourself? Then pick up the phone and do the right thing.

I am trying to do something about this.
I want to do it in a discreet way, hence asking the police or authorities position on this.

There are reasons I cannot disclose on here why I do not want to stress his troubled family further with heavy wading in - they have enough difficulties in life already, none of which are their fault - sometimes people lives are hard enough.

Pop a wheel clamp on it overnight? I bet that you could pick one up used for very little money....

Talk to him and offer to give him driving lessons on the proviso that he stops driving on his own? He'll need to tax and insure it though, the latter of which ain't cheap!

There are reasons I cannot disclose on here why I do not want to stress his troubled family further with heavy wading in - they have enough difficulties in life already, none of which are their fault - sometimes people lives are hard enough.

Call the local police station. Ask to speak to the community policeman for your area. Ask if they would pay a visit in an official capacity, following a tipoff. It might do the trick.
If they want to make it VERY official, so be it.

There are reasons I cannot disclose on here why I do not want to stress his troubled family further with heavy wading in - they have enough difficulties in life already, none of which are their fault - sometimes people lives are hard enough

So they should know better than to create more problems for themselves.

He is a danger to himself and others and needs to be dealt with accordingly - for his own good and everyone elses

they have enough difficulties in life already, none of which are their fault - sometimes people lives are hard enough.

They are very true but it does not mean people can do what they please, pop along to the police station ask to talk to the local community officer and explain the situation. You may be surprised how understanding they can be but it needs addressed urgently before someone is hurt.

It depends where you live i think, if it was round here ie in the country im sure if i rang 101 thered send someone round to have a word. but if your in a busy town i doubt theyed do anything unless it was reported proper, hes not going to get into to much trouble anyway unless they actualy catch him driving it

There are reasons I cannot disclose on here why I do not want to stress his troubled family further with heavy wading in - they have enough difficulties in life already, none of which are their fault - sometimes people lives are hard enough.

Still no excuse for driving uninsured without license. Its not your life issues to worry about at the end of the day. I'd be more concerned with the risk to everyone else's.

Ask yourself this question - if he goes out and kills someone this afternoon, how will you feel about yourself?

+1
Tell the Police.

If you remove the emotive factors . The answer is easy person A is a member of a society that is bound by and protected by roles . Organisation B enforces.the rules to protect society . Person C is breaking the rules for fun and by doing so endangering himself and other members of society. Should A tell B about C .

He hasn't been in the vicinity of any Critical Mass rides recently has he?

I am trying to do something about this.

Yep, and I think you deserve some recognition for that, there are plenty of people who'd turn a blind eye.

I do hope you can find a way of doing it quickly though.

Why would the police have a quiet word with someone driving without insurance/tax/MOT/licence (?) etc. ?

The lad's a danger to himself and others and needs to be off the road until he's qualified/safe.

How would you feed towards the police if an uninsured/unqualified driver injured you or your family and it turned out that the police were aware but had chosen not to take any preventative action ?

+1 what stufive said.

Round the shires a few words down the pub to find the right kind of local officer of the constabulary and he'd be lined up for a chat. Or (and this may not apply in the OPs case) more likely someone that the young lad respects more than his family (even if only out of fear) would be asked to 'ave a word.

Jerry, thanks thats the most helpful suggestion so far.

I don't understand why people think I am not taking this situation seriously. If I did not give a damn I would hardly be asking for advise on how to sort it. As I said, there are other very serious issues involved here that I need to pussyfoot round and which I am not able to discuss. These are decent people under a lot of pressure at the moment.

Dress up as a policeman and pay a visit yourself. If you don't want him to recognise you, wear a comedy nose and moustache or some of those Billy bob teeth.

Frighten him first with threats of prison before hinting that for some sugar, he'll get off with a warning.

That should see you right.

(seriously, local policy station on the blower [sic], now)

What would actually happen if you reported this to the police without the "quiet word" request?

I'm guessing someone's say-so wouldn't be enough to arrest and convict, so would they stake out and wait for him to go for a drive, or go round for a word in the first instance anyway?

Why would the police have a quiet word with someone driving without insurance/tax/MOT/licence (?) etc. ?

Why?
Because it's probably more effective and cheaper.
Official route - Need to gather evidence that the vehicle is being used. Non trivial if it's not being driven through an ANPR camera or isn't registered. Would also have to prove the lad is the driver. All a bit complex and messy and time consuming.

Getting a Policeman to have a word in his ear that he's on their radar's going to be a lot quicker to achieve.

Life isn't fair, that is a fact.

I dont think Police do quiet words anymore, if he gets caught they will throw the book at him.

Print out a warning notes saying "drive this again and I'll report you to the police, a friendly warning" and stick it to his screen?

As stufive and stoner say, this depends largely on where you live. Round here, we'd do it no bother, in the big smoke, such a request would probably never get past the call centre/front desk to the actual police.

I would have thought without catching him red handed, or without an official statement, then there's not a whole lot the police could do anyway.

Except have a private word...and then the ball's in his court.

Assuming the car is SORNed and kept legitimately off road.

Chances are with ANPR cameras these days it wouldn't be too long until he's caught anyway, so you'd be doing him a favour.

I know of a teenage lad, nice lad but difficult family life/background poor sod. He has an old car he got from some place.
What he does NOT have are driving lessons, insurance, road tax or MOT but he has taken to going out on half hour or so trips in the car instead of riding his bike. The car trips have been forbidden by his parents but he ignores them and goes out when they are not home.

I feel concerned as if he gets pinched he will be in a load of trouble, his family cant afford fines etc, worse if he has or causes an accident the poor person who is injured/killed will get no compensation as there is no insurance.

He is probably your kid and you have no control over him, take the keys off him, and throw them away, he is a danger to himself and others, and best off the road, i dont want to share the roads with uninsured ,untrained drivers, the ones with a bit a paper are stupid enough.

08001199 crimestoppers, before he kills someone.

You just need to call [url= https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/why-contact-crimestoppers/ ]Crime Stoppers[/url] and all the local bobbies will be given the information.

They will then just so happen to bump into him whilst he's driving.

You won't need to get involved and all the evidence required will be provided by the Police who have witnessed the driving offences take place.

You clearly know him and the family well - is he involved with any other local groups who have an authority figure he'd respect? Would a "stop or we'll grass on you" note under the wiper do anything? If nothing else will work then a visit to the local police station is the only option. Ateotd he's an unqualified untaxed uninsured driver in a non roadwothy vehice, which he may not be the registered keeper of - a liability on the road and exactly the sort of person you'd want dealt with in any other circumstances.

I thought Crime Stoppers was just a helpful service provided by the state for drug dealers to put their competition out of business?

Simply put is there any possibility he can afford £3k to insure it? (in one lump if he's 17 no DD till18!) if the answer is no then he has to be stopped, more he gets away with it the longer the road trips will get.... everyone crashes eventually at that age!

Given how little the police tend to do I'd say report it via 101. If everyone else on the road gets lucky and he gets caught before anyone has a "word" with him then that's his own fault.

On the other hand, if you report it, the police won't have any evidence, so they may well just go and warn him that they've been tipped off, he's on their radar and if he's caught then they'll throw the book at him. I doubt they'd go for a stakeout to try to catch him at it.

I've no idea what they'd do, but I imagine at the very least a quiet word is better than the word they'll have to have when he smashes up some poor bugger's car and that poor bugger realises that there's no insurance to pay for the damage, let alone any other consequences.

Then again, a friendly "quiet word" doesn't work with some people - the kind of people who drive around in untaxed, uninsured unMOT'd cars I guess.

Report it to your local plod and let them decide what to do about it. That's what they're there for.

puncture his tyres in the wee small hours

Obviously you have to let the police know. But then it is up to them how to deal with it, they are more experienced at this. If you tell the police the worst case scenario is what? Car gone, fine and points on a future license. If you don't tell them, the worse case is he kills people.

Can you have a word with the kid himself? Tell him you've seen him driving this car, he hasn't a licence, no insurance etc, and make it clear to him the consequences if he does get caught. You could always say you are appealing to his good nature/common sense, but if you see him doing it again, you will report him to the police or tell his parents.

Think about it - if it was a member of your family or a friend hurt or worse by a kid doing this, would you care particularly about the fact that the family is troubled and he's had a hard life? Methinks you'd be worried about the impact on you and yours more than the impact on the idiot who was driving around without licence, insurance or proper driver training. You would want the book thrown at him.

Do you know a policeman, or know someone that does?

If so ask them to pop around for am 'unofficial' chat when he's in with his folks - to scare the crap out of him.

If you don't then the community cop is a good idea, but explain how you just want it to be unofficial - so don't tell them who/where until you are happy.

There is no point at this time getting him into trouble with the law for the sake of it - obviously if he pays no attention to the warnings, then yes, it's official next time.

And I'm guess the different answers above are an indication of age and/or where the person lives - unofficial use to be the main way when I was a kid, especially as most kids of my ages biggest worry was your Mum finding out, 'cos she'd lather you far harder than your Dad would.

Just report to police. If they go round and hes not actually driving then he'll get a warning. If hes driving then tough shit really isn't it.

Whats his name I'll sure as hell ring it in for you. You're stupid if you don't. Tomorrow he could kill someones child!!!

sometimes people lives are hard enough

Someone elses life could become a lot harder if you dont act.

Can you report the car for being uninsured, untaxed and unMOT'd so it gets taken away, without involving the driving offence side of it?

Sussex has [url= http://www.operationcrackdown.org/ ]Operation Crackdown[/url] which is a softly softly approach I think; i.e. monitor computer databases, send out letters sort of thing, does your local force have something similar?

Failing that +1 here for the PCSO route also .. even your local library/newsagent/DR surgery/Parish info board will probably have their direct line/cell phone number publicly available

Are you not able to drop into conversation with his parents something like: have you ever thought about actually clamping that car or taking the keys off your son? Or are they the unapproachable kind of neighbour?

Usually a quiet word is not the best course of action for someone driving with no licence, insurance, tax or MOT.

He'll know full well that he needs them and he's breaking the law.

There is also a very good chance that the car is not road legal, so he could be committing numerous other offences as well.

Just report online at [url= https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information-online/ ]Crime Stoppers[/url] and be done with it.

I also wouldn't be too worried about him getting into trouble, as he obviously isn't worried about the rest of the population out and about minding their own business.

+1 for the local PCSO

Do Police still have 'quiet words"?

No, not sure they really ever did, other than in some nostalgic "Dixon of dock green" view of a past that never really existed. Unless of course someone was a member of the same lodge, then by a simple handshake and nipple rub, all could be covered up.

they have enough difficulties in life already, none of which are their fault

I'd report it to your local traffic police, its upto them then what they do about it (if they do). Too many variables and if he hasn't had any training/insurance etc its only a matter of time before kinetics come into play.

The fact that this lad isn't listening to his parents and you don't think you can approach him speaks volumes about the lad. Hes into tough love territory.

-1 for the pcso , my understanding would be the pcso is less likely to be in a position do to a quiet word and will have to record and account for all information with his or her supervision. your local beat officer / community constable may have more freedom of action. Either course could result in a quiet word but speaking to a police officer is abetter bet. You can have no control over how they chose to act once you tell them. Many forces take significant action in response to uninsured drivers on the basis that they are likely to be up to other things .

*worries what Hora's idea of 'tough love' is*

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Shop him, not about to go into it on here but i've lived wi the consequences of such a driver causing a serious accident for the past 22 years, it affects my life every minute of everyday so all that crap about hard life etc..etc - i say **** him.

We've had the officer who looks after our village and surrounding area go into the local school and make an example of some kids that were racing around at lunch time and shouting lots of obscenities out car windows at each other. I felt like a grump doing it but it was getting worse and worse and it was only a matter of time until there was an accident and I had already seen a few near misses.

Police at the 'local' (ie 15 miles away) station were not very helpful and wanted us to go down and make a full complaint etc but the local officer saw the call log after the weekend and got in touch and dealt with it exactly how we thought was appropriate. ie she went in made an example of them, had a word with them and their parents. Stupid driving now stopped, kids have learnt a valuable lesson and wont feel resentment as they don't have points or even higher insurance etc. Granted that may not work in some places with some kids but we are more than happy at the way the Police woman dealt with it, the way the school dealt with it and the way the kids responded.

find out who works your area and speak to them properly. If they need to come down hard (which I suspect they do in this case) then they will have to.

I dont think Police do quiet words anymore, if he gets caught they will throw the book at him.

You may be surprised.

Its not as if a car has 20 keys - why the hell don't the parents just lock away the 1/2 keys and take some responsibility themselves?

Ask your local neighbourhood watch for the local constable's details

If the parents don't realise kiddo is out joy riding, then they probably think their ban from the car is being obeyed, and thus have no reason to hide the keys.

Perhaps this kid does not realise the enormity of the consequences should he be caught, or hit someone? If parents have a lot of issues (OP suggests this might be the case, family with problems etc) then perhaps they have never taken the time to impress upon their son what could happen to him if he was caught behind the wheel by the police. Kid might just think "oh what the hell it's a fine and a telling off".

If you contact the police and he gets caught his future is royaly screwed. Job prospects rapidly diminish with a ban before you even have a licence , or as a new driver.

Can you not put a strongly worded warning letter either under the windscreen wiper , or to him and/or his parents?

Unless he knows it can only be you , then you may as well call Crimestoppers now.

Thing is you have to do something now, how would you feel if he gets killed or kills someone in a rtc and you did nothing.

If you like him and you like his family you'll inform the police.

It will be tough on him and he may be banned from driving and it may affect his future job prospects.

You might be lucky, he might never have an accident. Or he could kill someone, then he'll go to jail and someone will be dead...and you'll know you could have prevented it.

He's obviously a gambler...are you?

Could you not just create a letterhead that looks like its from the local constabulary. And word the letter in an official sounding way so it says 'we're on to you sonny, now pack it in, or you're ****ing nicked.'?

If it looks convincing enough, he'll brick it, and problem solved!

I could knock one up for you in about 2 minutes. Purely hypothetically of course (hypothetical email in profile)

could hypothetical letter be regarded, hypothetically, as impersonating a police officer? Oh would be amusing to report binners 🙂

Who knows. Its all hypothetical!

I could tell you (hypothetically) amusing stories of when we were students, forging letterheads from Technics, saying that the CD players that 2 people on our course had just bought were emitting dangerously high levels of radiation, and they should unplug them immediately, wrap them in silver foil and place them in the freezer, then wait for decontamination crews to turn up.

As they both received the same official looking letter on the same morning, they compared notes, shat themselves, did as they were told, then contacted one of their dads, who was a lawyer, to try and sue Technics. 😆

This is what is known as passing the monkey.
You are worried that he will kill or injure someone while driving his car
You don't want to have a word with him yourself, so you ask yourself who can I pass this on to
The police, they will sort it, when I have told them, if he does kill someone , I've passed my monkey on, so its not on ,y conscience
Imagine going to a police officer,
Hello officer, I am worried that a lad I know is driving without insurance or driving licence, I am worried he might kill someone, can you have a quiet word, without taking any further action
PC, yes sir, I will go and have a quiet word, tell him not to drive the car, but won't take any formal action, I won't record that I have spoken to him.if he then carries on driving, and does kill or injure someone, can I rely on your never to tell anyone that I've had a word?
I need to be sure because if he does kill someone and anyone finds out I've spoken to him, and let him carry on driving illegally, I will get sacked, probably go to prison,
Also sir, I will have the constant worry that I have let this dangerous uninsured driver out on the roads, and wil be wondering if he will in fact crash the vehicle, maybe into a innocent pedestrian.
Actually sir, I think I will just visit this lad, ask to see his driving documents, and when he hasn't got any, I will arrange to seize his vehicle and have it crushed.

All above tongue in cheek, but true.
The bst you could hope for is that a local p.c will attend the premises, and if the vehicle is on the road, he will speak to the lad, ask for docs, when he has not got any , have the car crushed, and that would be an end to it.
I f he gets caught driving he will get reported for the driving offences

I'm assuming the car isn't off road possibly judging by family situation - surely it could be done for having no MOT without the requirement to catch the lad driving it? Kinda win-win then.

Driving is a privilege, not a right.

How are you going to feel if he kills someone?

What would you do if you saw him waving a gun round in the street?

Having said which, this time round I'd report the car, not him, and get it off the road and crushed. Unless it is SORNED, in which case someone needs to dob him in, or tell him they are going to.

Sorry

It literally could be a child's face next time.

Hes into tough love territory.

Bring out the gimp.

Is "un tutored" a new way of saying completely illegal?

in my experience quite words don't work i got a few when i was 16 from riding motorbikes on the road with not insurance/license etc.. it was only after i was sat in the cop shop that i finally got the picture it wasn't a good idea 😯 still suffering the consequences now

So, midnighthour, what have done about the situation??????

Oh come on, tell us what you decided to do.............

This used to be called joyriding iirc. Huge potential negative consequences.

He might be a nice lad but he's also clearly a bit of a ****.

Have to go with 'report him.'

Tell the police! Where are you? If the car is on a public road it would be seized. If he is caught driving it, it will be seized, he will be reported on summons to court and will probably get a fine and points on a licence he doesn't yet have. Trust me, in this day and age, we have to do everything by the book, certainly with something like this. Discretion still exists but only in a few circumstances now!

This used to be called joyriding iirc

You recall wrong. joyriding was stealing cars and then racing round in them, often taunting the police into a chase.

You should get GI Joe to have a word. Or Alvin Stardust.

Just report online at Crime Stoppers and be done with it.

^This. Give the index number of the car and then it will have a flag put against it. If he drives past an ANPR camera - instant pull.

[i]Or Alvin Stardust.[/i]

😆

Edit: "step-" never mind.