Always on duty?

Originally Posted by Messie

Yes this is what was told to me to justify the same for teac(h)ers! For me, turning a blind eye thing works fine if I see a 17 year old a bit squiffy on lemonade (or indeed sweetie enhanced vodka) but what if I see one of my Year 10's (14 years old) drinking in a pub? VT - is this written into your contracts?

Thankfully I can't see the cry of 'is there a teacher in the house' ever happening over 'is there a doctor on board' but still ...

yes you are seen in the eyes of the law as in a 'position of trust' in the same way as us, you can be held responsible for actions of minors in your presence if serious situations can be avoided and you failed to take action (within reason).

[Red Herring]

As VT says a copper is always a copper, however there is an accepted code of conduct about what you do and don't get involved in whilst "off duty". I'm not in the habit of writing down registration numbers of every driver i see without a seatbelt, however if i come across the scene of an accident, or if I were to see a "crime" (assault/theft etc) in progress then I'd have no hesitation stepping in. Shelly's problem isn't should she do something, it's about justifying the potential impact to her private life if she does step in and things turn out badly. If you want to look at it in terms of economics it would make more sense for her local force to send someone else round to deal with the moped lad, than to come round and take numerous reports of damage to her home and potentially have to re-house her!

Back to other professions my Mrs is a doctor. She always in a bit of a dilemma when we come across something in the street because of litigation issues. If she deals with something "in the street" so to speak and subsequently things turn out badly then she might not be covered by her professional insurance. The problem is medicine is not an exact science and using any kind of medical expertise above that of basic first aid can open the door to all kinds of debate later.

[Messie]

That's what I was told. However I can't see this as happening in real life. Myself I'm not too bothered being older and rarely in such a situation but I'm certain younger teachers get into this situation. For example, we are told quite clearly, not to have students, or past students because they have siblings in school, as friends on Facebook. I asked the question about what should we do if we find out through FB that someone under 16 has had sex? Do we turn grass or run the risk of abusing our position of trust if we do nothing?

i met two dr's who didnt seem to go off duty. unfortunately i had just lobbed my CBR down the road and they were the first on scene

[gruntygiggles]

Hmmmm, a dificult one this. With Shelly's issue, I think she has every right to rely on her colleagues as any other citizen would in order to help with the problems in her street. The lads might be fine and she could have a word and her property would be untouched. Then again, they might be awful and her having a word could see her victimised for it. I don't think being a police officer means youshould have to put your personal life in possible jeopardy.

As for the matter on a whole.....I don't think you can ever be off duty no matter what your profession. If you have recieved training that enables you to help others, you should use that training when others need it regardless of whether you are on duty or off. The question is, to what extent. If I was a police officer and someone needed detaining, I would no doubt catch that person and hold them, disclose my rank and call for on duty officers to come and take over. Likewise, if I was a doctor, I would give basic care until on duty backup arrived. Of course, if someone was going to die and I was capable of saving the life, I think I'd save the life and risk the repercussions.

[Messie]

Yes I can agree with the care part - although I'd like to think I'd go to help anyone who needs care and I can do something. But ...
do I have a duty to do something about rule breaking? For example if I know a kids is skiving when s/he should be in school,do I report it?

[gruntygiggles]

Originally Posted by Messie

Yes I can agree with the care part - although I'd like to think I'd go to help anyone who needs care and I can do something. But ...
do I have a duty to do something about rule breaking? For example if I know a kids is skiving when s/he should be in school,do I report it?

I probably would actually. Do it annonymously and leave it at that. Kids that scive are not setting themselves up well for a good future.....you could be helping them in the long term.....and their parents. If parents can now be punished for their childrens absence.....I think they need the protection of you reporting it too. Just my opinion. I don't think I would ever have any ex students on FB or anything like that. Purely because of the compromising position it can put you in.

I'm a tekka and would never accept students as friends on facebook as thats how you get sacked.

I will always grass them to a landlord if they are underage in a pub i'm drinking in as I don't want anything to do with them when i'm trying to chill out, also if anything happens to them when i'm there i'd get a bollocking at work for not doing it. I would not intervene directly with them outside of school anymore than joe public normally would though apart from this.

Also we are off duty a lot of the time. 13 weeks of the year normally . Me mate is a copper and if he's awake he's at work pretty much.

[Messie]

Would a mechanic stop someone driving away a car that he knew had a blown head gasket?

Would an electrician re-wire a strangers plug if they knew they'd got the wrong fuse in it?

Jackie Black - what's a tekka? And your last comment doen't make sense - are we or arn't we off duty for 13 weeks of the year?

But I don't want this to be specific to teachers

[gruntygiggles]

I think that a mechanic absolutely should prevent anyone that he/she knows to be driving an unsafe vehicle. I would actuallu think that if it could be proven that someone had that kind of trained knowledge, ignored it and an accident resulted, that person could carry a portion of the responsibility.

With the electrician....maybe not actually do teh rewiring, but again I think there is a duty as a member of society to use your knowledge to prevent people doing things that may end in injury. So........a sparky sees me about to turn on a light switch that he knows is faulty. If he doesn't stop me or try to stop me and I get badly shocked.....he/she is not a very good person at the very least...but if I were on their property or in their workplace...they'd also be liable.