Police at clontarf ramp sat arvo

[Seahorse]

Got aback about 5 pm from picking up pots and was welcomed by police.
Checking safety gear.
But it was a normal copper in a normal cop car.

Can they do that. He said they were water police. His mate was on pontoon checking another.

I thought water police were in different uniform.

Dont get me wrong, i thought it was good and he was good bloke.

[MTAQ/BTAQ]

I think it may be related to a recent "incident" at Scarborough where a crab pot stealer was caught at the boat ramp, there was a bit of yelling and boat ramming and the police were called - I was not a witness to this but talked to a pro crabber and he verifies it.

[Cruiser100s]

police are the police and have exactly the same powers irrespective of type of duty. General Duties, CIB, Stock Squad etc. they can all write the same tickets. Water police regularly work out of cars doing exactly what these guy were doing along with RBT's etc.

[deckie]

I'm with cruiser^^. I really dont care which uniform it is, which dept etc, as long as there is a presence every now and then as a reminder. As long as they have their i.d. they can be air terminal cops for all i care. Get nothing but respect from me.
I once got caught in a road block just out of Tennant Creek on the Darwin side of the highway, and as i got to the front of the vehicle queue there was a guy in plain clothes, board shorts and a t shirt, brandishing a remington pump action. Not the sort of thing u want to see everyday at your vehicle window..but he was a local cop on a quick call out looking for a suspect/opening car boots etc at road blocks out of town. They're normal everyday guys doing a tough job and whichever uniform they have (or dont have) is ok by me.

[wirlybird]

the old remington pump action ha ha

[TopBhoy]

I'm with cruiser^^. I really dont care which uniform it is, which dept etc, as long as there is a presence every now and then as a reminder. As long as they have their i.d. they can be air terminal cops for all i care. Get nothing but respect from me.
I once got caught in a road block just out of Tennant Creek on the Darwin side of the highway, and as i got to the front of the vehicle queue there was a guy in plain clothes, board shorts and a t shirt, brandishing a remington pump action. Not the sort of thing u want to see everyday at your vehicle window..but he was a local cop on a quick call out looking for a suspect/opening car boots etc at road blocks out of town. They're normal everyday guys doing a tough job and whichever uniform they have (or dont have) is ok by me.
My opinion varies considerably from this. In spite of being the victim, police I've had the unfortunate act of encountering have been useless lazy bu@#$rs; your cop was sunning himself on duty at the beach when he was forced into actually shifting his arse to do something!!!

[Feral]

Bit useless checking safety gear at the ramp, they have no idea where you have been / are going, and what gear there needs to be.

[finga]

Bit useless checking safety gear at the ramp, they have no idea where you have been / are going, and what gear there needs to be.
And it's a bit late when everyone is coming home.
Checking in the morning when people are launching would have been better in my opinion.

It's a bit late to close the gate after the horse has bolted.

[propdinger]

better than no presence at all though so if its on the way home or the way out you still will cop a fine for not having the correct gear.

[Zippidy]

A month or so ago there was one at the ramp at Brisbane Port/Fishermans Island or whatever it's called.

We had just got there and he went through our safety gear; no worries.

He then wrote us out a warning for the faded stickers on the side of the boat. No worries, we'll get it sorted ASAP.

I thought that we would have had to have been in the water for us to get in trouble for faded stickers...

[Fed]

He was being nice Zippidy, he could have waited until you launched then given you a fine.

[fat-buoy]

I started to write a post (but deleted it) to stand up for the coppers as I am an ex cop and have worked with a heap of good blokes doing a tough job..... but I have also had dealings with the ones that you wouldn't piss on if they were on fire!

So it is all a bit hit and miss.. still it is better that they are out there checking rather than letting every man and their dog go hell for leather with no controls (of course it ends up being the cops fishing the bodies out of the water)

I say if you want to go cop bashing (verbally of course) go for it..... just block your phone from dialling them when you need them so that the ledger is fair on both sides of the coin.

[Zippidy]

He was being nice Zippidy, he could have waited until you launched then given you a fine.

He was a nice bloke. We spoke about his new boat for a good 20 minutes before I got fishing and whilst he was writing out the warning. I get he could have given me a fine and I was grateful that he didn't. I was more so asking the question just out of curiosity :-)

[WalrusLike]

Yeah even the A hole ones that give the rest a bad name will come racing around the corner to assist you if you are being robbed.

It's pretty hard to keep a pleasant outer shell when you spend all day dealing with the a holes in the general public.

I hate all these rules and regs but no system is perfect and I wouldn't want a Wild West society for my two daughters and wife to deal with.

So all in all I smile and be friendly to the various law enforcers since no one gains by me kicking up about random checks.

If we ever head too far down the police state road then maybe I will rethink my attitude then. :)

[Giveitacrack]

I dont believe everyday uniforms are trained in legislation regarding boating safety etc.The water police is a specialist unit who will still work out of cars for enforcement etc.

[Charlie]

Last Cup day down in NSW the same cops that pulled me up for a roadside RBT caught up with me on the lake next morning for a boat license check, they clearly had a tough night dealing with the drunks the night before and were fully tackled up with all their toys but were great guys once we started talking. cops are cops,they might not have all the specialized training but how hard is a simple safety check.

[ericcs]

it seems that nsw might be going down the track of qld, and tighten up the public service. a reliable source tells me that water police, fisheries and maritime might end up up in the one bed. will be interesting to see how one officer alone will know all the rules

[Dave_H]

My opinion varies considerably from this. In spite of being the victim, police I've had the unfortunate act of encountering have been useless lazy bu@#$rs; your cop was sunning himself on duty at the beach when he was forced into actually shifting his arse to do something!!!

You are aware that the closest beach from there is in the vicinity of over 1000km away? Poor didums, you're an idiot. What sort of world do you think we would live in without the work these people do? It is a thankless, long-houred, underpaid front line job that these folk go to work not knowing if they'll even come home from work, or knowing if they'll get first hand knowledge of the demise of a friend or loved one. So what happened to make you feel so hard done by as a "victim"....?

Spare a thought for the emotional toll that job takes upon the people who do it and maybe then you'll understand why you don't always see the person at their best.

[Fed]

Don't hold back Dave tell him what you really think.

[liltuffy]

You are aware that the closest beach from there is in the vicinity of over 1000km away? Poor didums, you're an idiot. What sort of world do you think we would live in without the work these people do? It is a thankless, long-houred, underpaid front line job that these folk go to work not knowing if they'll even come home from work, or knowing if they'll get first hand knowledge of the demise of a friend or loved one. So what happened to make you feel so hard done by as a "victim"....?

Spare a thought for the emotional toll that job takes upon the people who do it and maybe then you'll understand why you don't always see the person at their best.

First off no I am not a copper and never have been or wish to, used to work for a fair few a few years ago though and also done a lot of work inside correctional centres.

TopBhoy, do you remember a bloke by the name of Damian Leeding - a cop who went to work protecting people just like you and through no fault of his own never went home to his family. Yep whatever experiences you've had may be unfortunate and generally the cop bashers seem to attract all the trouble in the world - strange that eh !!

A couple of bad experiences on your part doesn't tar all those in blue. Always tell the truth and do the right thing and you don't need to have a good memory - karma will somehow keep trouble and strife far from you.

Cheers

[charleville]

And it's a bit late when everyone is coming home.
Checking in the morning when people are launching would have been better in my opinion.

It's a bit late to close the gate after the horse has bolted.


I am going to make an uninformed guess that Campbell Newman's forced belt tightening on State Government operations possibly may mean that the Water Police may have "manage to" budgets imposed on them that may discourage their use of marine fuel since it costs a lot more to motor around the bay doing inspections one boat at a time than it does doing the same thing at the ramp, arriving by car.


Secondly, if they have had "manage to" budgets imposed on them, they will also be suffering overtime bans and penalty rates restrictions. That would mean that they may not have the budgetary position to allow them to inspect boats at the ramp at early hours like 5.30am so that if they have to work "bankers hours" because of budgetary restraints, then they will of necessity get boaties on their return rather than on their departure.


I am only guessing but such is the sort of thing that happens when "manage to" budgets are imposed to reduce the operating costs below what had been budgeted for the year or quarter.

.

[seatime]

I dont believe everyday uniforms are trained in legislation regarding boating safety etc.The water police is a specialist unit who will still work out of cars for enforcement etc.

Agreed. I believe 'Shipping Inspector' is the training/title that allows police & fisheries officers to enforce maritime regs.

[Haji-Baba]

Good one Charleville, I totally agree, a little too much waste racing around the bay.

In some places I have been inspected by Fisheries on Quad Bikes with two inspectors going in different directions from their Vehicle. And inspecting boats coming in to the beach.

Someone mentioned specialist training, 99% of us fisherpersons only know what is written in the regs. we carry or read. How specialist are we? Do we need extra specialist training?

So what more specialist training does an ordinary person in blue need.

150 mm. minimum in any direction for a crabnpot float means just that.

Rego. stickers are the same, trailers are the same, lights, what super cop do we need to determine these possible problems.

Let the boys or girls in blue do their job, if you have a guilty concience or can't comply stay at home.

Have Fun Haji-Baba

[brock13]

Thanks for the heads up Greg.
I recently ordered some ausfish and rego sticker. Only to realise when it arrived I'd only ordered 1 rego sticker. Better get it sorted before I head out again.

[WalrusLike]

I still can't decide whether my 5.75 m half cabin boat with a big orange safety bag in plain sight needs a life jacket sticker.

I know by law the answer is probably a stupid mindless Yes but I cant bring myself to comply with something that moronic.

It's the only thing I should ever get pinged for I think. Anyone know the fine?

[Seahorse]

I thought it was a $200 fine for not having the sticker. We all know its moronic, but at the end of the day, that is the law. Break it and get fined i guess. I think i would put a little sticker on to save paying $200. Could get expensive.
We cant complain after the fact.
Brock
Ausfish stickers are good. Nice to see at boat ramp. Met a few that way. Hope to see u there .

Cheers
Greg

[Haji-Baba]

Hey TopBhoy,

Way out of line, that policeman in the board shorts was probably having a bit of home time with his family around the pool and was called out with little or no notice.

If I was required to undertake that duty I would not be opening boots, searching cars, without the appropriate back up. He may have also been on his own.

We don't know the full circumstances and to make derogatory comments like you have done with out knowing the facts is totally wrong.

Haji-Baba >:(>:(>:(>:(>:(

[cqfreshie]

I think TopBhoy might have the message .. he has not responded. You usually find those who are critical of Police Officers are those who have been pinged and new full well they deserved it.

[TopBhoy]

I think TopBhoy might have the message .. he has not responded. You usually find those who are critical of Police Officers are those who have been pinged and new full well they deserved it.

Why do I need to respond? What can I say which will satisfy you? Ill informed comments such as yours (and a couple of others) are made out of ignorance of my experiences. Experiences form opinions.....you do not know the experiences which formed my opinions and I have no wish to share them on an internet forum.
I won't respond in this thread again.

[Fed]

150 mm. minimum in any direction for a crabnpot float means just that.
Can someone tell me what that means, I don't do crabs.

[WalrusLike]

Uneducated guess:

The float can't be less than 150 mm in any dimension. So a plastic jerry can couldn't be used because its skinnier than 150 side on.

That's my guess.... am I right?

[edit: ] yeah just checked regs... above is correct.

[Fed]

Thanks Wal.