Cordons

After yet another day trying to manage having multiple scenes to run and let my staff have refreshment breaks, whilst suggesting to my erstwhile CID colleagues that they might want to leave the nick and actually attend the scene they are insisting I keep on. I thought id share my experiences of cordons with you all. (By the way before the comments start I come from a CID background and have very good relationships with CID I just dislike people who manage scenes from an office twenty miles away.)

For the uninitiated we don't put all the flapping plastic tape up, put cars across roads with the lights going and signs saying 'road closed' and stand about wearing funny hats and hi vis jackets for no reason, we only do it for serious incidents as we know it inconveniences all those who live/work in the area and it ties up vast numbers of valuable resources.

For some reason cordon tape seems to have a lemming type effect on certain MOPs. They will try and squeeze their car through the gap you haven't managed to block past the 'road closed' sign and run over your cones and then look dumbfounded when you tell them to stop. Usually followed by words to the effect of 'I pay my road tax.' I find this is followed with apologies when you point out the blood and brain matters on their tyres.

The lemming disease seems to effect people on foot even more. They will duck under cordon tape or rip it down if it bars their way. Climb over six foot walls or through barbed wire fences and insist this is their normal route to work. Even more amusing someone will be appointed the 'concerned resident' by the street and badgered into approaching the cordon and asking 'whats going on.' Usually wearing an embarrassed look, slippers and a chunky cardy. Depending on the type of incident I usually give them a patented one size fits all reply or tell them to check the BBC news site on the internet as it will get the latest updates before I will.

The press are just as helpful. Ive had them pretend to be ambulance staff at the scene of large crashes, insist they are local residents and need to get through forgetting I can check car number plates. And bore me to death with their stories of how many major enquiries they have been involved with. Luckily one of the most interesting courses Ive been on involved an input from a media manager who had been a reporter in a previous life. He gave me a whole set of tricks to use which I delight in using on the poor reporter until they get bored and try and approach one of my officers elsewhere on the cordon until I pop up again.

Any comments from other officers, press. MOPs or frequent cordon crossers are as always welcome.....