Skip to main content

Cause for offence

A British woman called the police to report that her scarecrow had been stolen, only to discover that the scarecrow had in fact been taken into custody by the police. The offending scarecrow had been placed outside a village dressed in a high visibility jacket and a police uniform, to highlight a scarecrow festival in the village.
March 1, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A British woman called the police to report that her scarecrow had been stolen, only to discover that the scarecrow had in fact been taken into custody by the police. The offending scarecrow had been placed outside a village dressed in a high visibility jacket and a police uniform, to highlight a scarecrow festival in the village. The local police had been informed that this would take place and had given their approval. However when police drove past they spotted that the scarecrow also sported a fake radar detector made of cardboard. Realising that the fake cardboard radar gun posed a safety potential hazard and could have caused passing drivers to become alarmed, the police rushed the offending scarecrow into a police vehicle and took it to the local police station. A spokesperson explained that impersonating a police officer is an offence and added that the scarecrow sent an inappropriate message to motorists. The scarecrow maker commented that the fake radar gun was actually intended to encourage motorists to slow down.

Related Content

  • Mobile handbag
    February 22, 2012
    Police in a German town were initially disbelieving when they received a call that an alligator had been seen roaming through the town at night and was close to a local motorcycle shop. However by the time they received several calls they realised that the callers were not mistaken and a quick search soon found the stray alligator, wandering the streets and causing a disturbance to traffic. The police were able to trap the 1m long alligator using equipment usually used for tackling dogs. The alligator was t
  • IAM and Brake comment on increased UK road crashes
    September 24, 2015
    Both the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and road safety charity Brake have expressed serious concern over official figures showing increased road deaths in the UK. The Department of Transport’s Reported Road Casualties Great Britain: 2014 Annual Report says there were 1,775 reported road deaths in 2014, an increase of 4% compared with 2013. The IAM has called for a raft of measures to reverse the disappointing increase in numbers of people killed and injured on UK roads. It added the number of people
  • Cannabis causes car crashes
    March 15, 2012
    Cannabis use poses a serious threat to road safety. A new report published by the British Medical Journal says that drivers who smoke cannabis within a three hour time frame before getting behind the wheel will double their risk of a serious crash.
  • Workzones benefit from new mobile speed enforcement technology
    April 10, 2012
    A variety of new technology for temporary speed zones during major highway projects across the globe is about to hit the market, while other proven systems remain in demand. Guy Woodford reports. The D-Cam P is one of four new mobile speed reading products for temporary speed zones being launched this month by Truvelo. Deployable solely as a speed camera or at a red light intersection to monitor red light offences, the D-Cam P can also act as a speed camera on the green and amber light phases. The machine d