Police radar

BOOKED FOR SPEEDING. I was booked by police radar for speeding – less than 15k over the limit, but I am one hundred per cent sure I was not going faster that the speed limit for the area where I was driving. There were two police officers manning the radar, how on earth can I prove that I was not exceeding the speed limit?

 

I’d say the cheapest way is to pay the fine even if you are right. However, if you are determined to take on the police what you have to do is this: get written confirmation by the experts that your speedometer is recording correctly. Ask your lawyer to pursue the matter, which means he will have to find out the make and model of the radar the police were using at the time. Your lawyer would have to study the technical tests of the radar for accuracy and to see if there is marginal error allowed. He’d also have to find the age of the radar equipment used and see if over time the radar deteriorates in accuracy.  Your lawyer would have to prove only on the balance of probabilities – more likely than not – that there is a basis to doubt the accuracy of the radar. Without any guarantees of winning the case, it will cost at least a couple of thousand dollars to pursue the matter.

Police search without warrant

POLICE: My boyfriend was driving home one Friday night and the police stopped him. They asked him to get out of the auto and the police searched the auto for drugs. Can the police do that without a warrant?

 

Yes, the police can do that. The police can do whatever is necessary if it is reasonable for them to suspect a crime is being committed or to prevent a crime from being committed – even entering a home without a warrant. My advice is always to co-operate with the police. Remember, the police are also there to help and protect people generally.

Assault

POLICE:  I was charged by the police for assault after an argument with a waiter outside a pub recently. How can I be charged with assault when I did not even touch the waiter?

You do not have to make physical contact with a person you are dealing with for the police to charge you with assault. You only have to raise your voice in a threatening way and, especially if you use your hands in threatening gestures, that would be enough for the police to charge you with assault. Remember, that the police have to prove beyond reasonable doubt to convict you in a court of law. This means they would need to have witnesses to support the prosecution. If there was physical contact, the police could have or would have charged you with ‘assault and battery’ –also a criminal offence which is more serious than just assault and in some cases could also mean a prison sentence, especially if someone was injured.