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

  • BC again eyes Massey Tunnel replacement
    December 21, 2020
    The aging 61-year-old Canadian tunnel is about 30km north of the US state of Washington.
  • Drink drive law enforcement yields results in Europe
    August 19, 2015
    Many drivers in Europe will be wishing they had been more careful following the results of a Pan-European police crackdown on drink driving. The European TISPOL police body carried out an enforcement campaign in June 2015 that resulted in 17,006 drink-drive offences being detected from 1,124,163 roadside breath tests. Motorists in 28 European countries were also checked for drugs, and 2,764 offences were detected. The results equate to approximately one offence in every 65 driver breathalysed and give cause
  • Drink drive law enforcement yields results in Europe
    August 19, 2015
    Many drivers in Europe will be wishing they had been more careful following the results of a Pan-European police crackdown on drink driving. The European TISPOL police body carried out an enforcement campaign in June 2015 that resulted in 17,006 drink-drive offences being detected from 1,124,163 roadside breath tests. Motorists in 28 European countries were also checked for drugs, and 2,764 offences were detected. The results equate to approximately one offence in every 65 driver breathalysed and give cause
  • Via Nordica turns international
    July 31, 2012
    Via Nordica, the road technology conference of the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) has changed from the traditional Nordic event to become more international The conference, held every four years, rotates between the five countries, and the 2008 event, held in Helsinki, the Finnish capital, was a clear demonstration of the international trend. An accompanying exhibition attracted more than 70 companies and organisations from 14 countries. Pär-Håkan Appel, the secretary g