How f#cked up is the law ???

[Fatboy]

You guys are not going to believe this...

I cannot reveal "exact" details due to obvious issues, but here is the story so far...

Two cops are out and about cruising the streets when they "happen" to cruise past a house that belongs to a "known offender".
The gates at the side of the house are constantly closed, however on this occasion they are open and the officers see approx 6 to 7 vehicles in the backyard, all of them Commodores, including several SS's and HSV's. Most of them have been partially stripped, and stock wheels on them.

When one of the guys inside see the cops they race over and slam shut the gates, the cops then go back to the station and report to their supervisor what they had seen. They decide to get a search warrant and face a Chamber Magistrate. The Chamber Magistrate denies their application on the basis that the coppers had no right to be checking out the premises in the first place !!!
WHAT THE F#CK ARE THEY HERE FOR THEN ?????????

When the mess is sorted not surprisingly all cars have mysteriously disappeared within 48hrs and they scream "racism" and "harrassment" (you guess which nationality).

What sort of legal system do we have ??
Because of the screw up several people have lost their cars forever and the bad guys get off scot free again...

[BALISTC]

THATS BULLSHIT

Its blatantly obvious that those guys were stripping stolen cars, and they even went to the extent of closing the gates when the cops got there, and once they go to court, the Chamber Magistrate throws them out on a technicality..

THEN they go and make themselves look like martyrs and heroes by claiming HARRASSMENT!!

Like I've always said, if criminals keep getting off so easily, people are going to start their own vigilante groups and take the law into their own hands....

[mazdamad]

shoot first ask questions later :D

[jampac]

If they saw the backyard when seating in there vehicle on the street how could they be illegally checking out the premises. That doesn't make any sense???

[rhspecr]

Technical sides of the law, what a crock of shit. To have to go and get a warrant to look into the matter is touch and go (and of coarse necessary), but to have the claim rejected on the basis that they should not be in the area is disgrace. Some of the magistrates and judges in this country are criminals in themselves.

[sssgtr]

An address please? I'm sure several vigilante groups would like a word with these upstanding citizens....

[Fatboy]

jampac: You try arguing with a Chamber Magistrate

They did stop the car, but only after seeing the cars on the premises. When they reversed back the pricks closed the gates... The coppers never even got out of the car...

[sssgtr]

Well if a chamber magistrate refuses a search warrant because of this, them i guess legally if i catch someone breaking into my car/house the police may not do a thing while i am beating them to a millimeter of their life.

[mazdamad]

sssgtr just make sure its close to the edge of your property s u can put the trash on the footpath afterwards and let the council clean it up :D

[BALISTC]

Make sure he is obstructing the foot path too, so he will get a fine :p

[Sprinter]

I would have thought that if the cops had "reasonable suspicion", they could search the premises without a warrant...

[Buck Nasty]

This is why the Police and law abiding citizens like ourselves will always loose to crims, we have to play by rules.

[dr_evil]

dont forget people, the cops have to use all there resources to handle p platers, ALL there cars are unroadworthy and dangerous! its a very important job you know!

[hemi770]

Only vehicles, Sprinter, not properties. There's a lot of good reasons for that too.

However, going on what Fatboy posted, if the chamber magistrate didn't see fit to issue a warrant on the basis of these cops' observations of a known felon, I think that's disgusting. Especially while drug dogs search the general public without warrants! This is the thing, you'd think that absolutely trivial misdemenours are being ruled with iron fist, while organised crime gets a free run?

Do car thieves have more legal right of way than people defending their property, or overtaking?

Originally posted by Sprinter
I would have thought that if the cops had "reasonable suspicion", they could search the premises without a warrant...

[dhs]

I know it seems like a pain that police can't search without a warrent or the owners consent but it's definately a good thing. Ask anyone who's been harassed by a police officer, it's to stop police abusing the power they have over citizens like you and me. Although, these days the police just lie about what happened anyway.