The police are not above the law

Essentially you are right. It is stealing. But you need a complainant in order to persue it! If they don't want to file that complaint then he cannot answer it can he? That is why I say it is open to interperetation (but maybe should have used the word debate instead).

"Spending money that does not belong to you, was never yours in the first instance IS NOT open to interpretation."

Not entirely true but it is fair to say in most instances it is theft. There are circumstances however in which it is not.

Freddie,

Spending money that does not belong to you, was never yours in the first instance IS NOT open to interpretation.

I'm not complaining that he is a police officer at all. He has abused his position of authority, lost all values and standards, respect from subordinates and peers and as a result has lost all self-respect.

Who in the right mind would now show him any form of respect? You take yer chances.

PS - I don't have email facility at work, pen/pencil/paper clip either.

Now, before you go off on one let me repeat.

I think he is totally wrong to do what he did and I think it is entirely right that he has lost his job as a result. This type of behaviour should not happen in any business, public or private sector.
What irks me is the tired cliches always spilled out by those who cannot wait to bash the police at any given opportunity. Taxes, Wages earned, Position of trust etc. are not genuine concerns of the public, they are cheap digs used by people to serve their own end.

Okay Pete, one point at a time then.

"Of course it's a crime, it's theft."

Whether it is a crime or not is open to interpretation but essentially , yes it is. He has been punished, just outside the official system. He's lost his job hasn't he. Have you ever taken a pen/pencil/paper clip from work? That's theft as well isn't it. Would you expect to be prosecuted for it? Of course not. People just apply their own moral standards to things.

"I don't know about you but I don't go to work, pay taxes"

He also pays taxes so I'll never accept that argument. Why do the public always use such lame arguments. He probably pays more tax than you!

"screw some 'bint' from the office"

Plenty of non-police people 'screw some bint' from the office. Nobody complains about that, do they? Further to that, nobody ever apportions any blame to the 'bint'.

"For the length of time sending emails, he hasn't been serving the public, doing his job, as he? "

Do you spend every single moment of your working day working? I thought not! Why should he be any different? And don't give me the public servant/high position/ setting an example bullsh!t either. He's an employee, just like anyone else.

"A well paid job might I add."

How much he is paid has no relevance to this in real terms. You wouldn't be complaining if it was the chairman of British Gas who is on £1m a year plus! You're complaining because he is a police officer and an easy target for you.

"There's more of this going on all the time"

Can't argue with that!

"Never your average 'Joe' at the bottom of the food chain."

Don't kid yourself. Average Joes are every bit as guilty of this type of thing as anybody else. It's just on a smaller financial scale.

Freddie,

Of course it's a crime, it's theft. I don't know about you but I don't go to work, pay taxes so he can screw some 'bint' from the office, wine and dine at my expense.

For the length of time sending emails, he hasn't been serving the public, doing his job, as he? A well paid job might I add.

There's more of this going on all the time and it's always those in high authority, abusing their position. Never your average 'Joe' at the bottom of the food chain.

And had he continued seeing her she would never have complained!!! I know that doesn't make his actions right but it is an internal matter not a crime. The police decided to resolve it by effectively sacking him. You don't think he really chose to retire do you? If this was in any other job, say an MD of an engineering company, then it would not even have made the news. Make no mistake, I am not condoning the actions of this person. I think they were totally wrong to do what they did. My only observation here is that if it wasn't a police officer people would say "He made one mistake in an otherwise long successful career. Let's deal with it but not crucify him for it". Because he is a police officer, the world wants his heart on a plate. To think, the public accuse the police of double standards!!!

Oh yes they are!

BBC News 07 May 08.....

The decision to allow a chief constable to retire before an inquiry into his misconduct has been strongly attacked.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission has upheld claims that Terry Grange misused e-mails and a credit card when head of Dyfed-Powys Police.

She claimed the married father-of-three Mr Grange sent her 102 e-mails, many of which ranged from politically insensitive to sexually explicit, via a force computer.

She also alleged he had bought her meals and drinks on the force's credit card when she accompanied him on business trips to London during their relationship between November 2006 and August 2007.

"This is a senior officer who has behaved very badly indeed, and he's been allowed to walk away absolutely scot-free, and myself and every other ratepayer in Dyfed-Powys will pay for his full pension".

Helen Mary Jones AM

Also, in context to the original post. Their are two sides to every story. Happily, I got yours :D

That's priceless. Officer's having attitude? Considering the amount of bullshit they deal with on a constant basis. Imagine the amount of lies and excuses even from those that truly are guilty.

I think my favorite would have to be people that complain about being stopped when others were also speeding.

"They were speeding too!"

They almost forget the part that they themselves are in violation. That other people doing it must make it right. How childish.

Freddie must be the only Copper in Britain who does not wish to be patronising, because every one I have met is always, just that, Patronising. Their attitude, when they approach people for some minor infringement of the law, seems to be designed to inflame the situation into something more serious so that they can nick some poor sod for some more serious offence ( why do the paperwork for something small when you can do the same amount for someting more sreious? )
The worst of all are the Traffic cops (if you ever see one these days - to busy counting cash from speed cameras to do real police work) They have an almost Gestapo type attitude if they stop you, and are the most patronising and condescending of the lot, speaking to normally intelligent people like they are two year old children.
I therefore refer to an earlier message of mine that the Police as a force need to do more work on their image if they want more respect from the public.

Bazooka Moe..... you obviously don't like the police do you. In my experience there are two types of people that do not like the police. There are those who have something to hide and those who feel let down by them. I'll assume that you are in the second group.
Read your post again. When you've done so ask yourself what would have happened had the guy not been peeing up the wall. Like you said 15 or more clubs/bars, so why the need to pee against a wall? I'm sure his girlfriend said something to the police like "Excuse ofiicer would you mind awfully if I asked you a question. I understand you must be very busy at the moment and I'm dreadfully sorry" or was it more like "F**king leave him alone"? The public have a very strange way of seeing things when they are drunk/been drinking. It plays with your mind and distorts actual events. Your example is, in all honesty,and I really don't mean to be patronising here, a perfect example of a tired cliche. If I had a pound for every time I have listened to this type of thing I could retire tomorrow.

Freddie, 6 of 1 was commenting on my previous comment of me being arrested for harassment. I'm assuming your a copper? Either that or you look at them through rose tinted glasses. There are quite a few occasions when simply because the coppers get a whiff of alcohol on your breath they automatically assume your drunk! I'll give you a very very good example, I was out at night with a few friends in an area containing around 10 or 15 pubs clubs and bars, and it obviously attracts alot of mindless idiots who need a curry and a fight to have a good night. I couldn't drink because of medication I was on. However all my friends were. The police's capacity for violence escalation is incredible. We were outside watching this guy peeing up a wall, so a cop nicked him. The guys girlfriend complained so they nicked her quite roughly too. So other people some friends were coming out of the pub to see what was going on, they all got CS sprayed and then it really kicked off. Nothing to do with public order or protection of anyone or anything. They are not interested in a service to us or in having our respect, they are only interested in our obedience, and when anyone questions anything they do, no matter how politely and calmly, they feel threatened and aggressively assert control.
So your bottom line is irrelavent, which is why I am assuming your a copper, trying to force everyone to abide by the Dickensian archaic laws. You don't have to be drunk and you don't have to be an a hole, if they are bored or feel threatened by you in some way they will nick you. The classic Police attitude, blend of arrogance, smug superiority, and know-it-all would be criticised as being damagingly out of place and over authoritarian if it were how a parent treated their child.