Be nippier on NIPs

AfTeR 32 years as a police officer and eight as a civilian major crime investigator, upholding the law is important to me. But equally so justice. so I would like to point out the service of a notice of Intended Prosecution (nIP) within 14 days is not ‘a loophole’.

It is fundamental to justice, because a person who has a charge laid against them must have the ability to fully defend their innocence by adequate recollection.

Being stopped immediately after the commission of a traffic offence is one thing, but being unaware of prosecution until even two weeks later is quite another matter.

of greater concern to me is that in these days of automated systems, the enforcement authority involved in the case of david Beckham could not send the nIP within the 14 days to the registered owner. dare I venture to suggest this is because they have become complacent?

david Beckham had the good fortune of having an impartial witness at Bentley (from which he had borrowed the car). This is not normally available to an accused driver as if they argued non-receipt of the nIP in 14 days, it would be implied in the politest of terms that they were lying to avoid prosecution.

There are those with an agenda against the motorist. do not let them use this to harass the otherwise lawabiding driver even further.

paul loVeWell. Dereham, norfolk. A Good way to stop any recurrence of the Beckham debacle would be to send fine notices by recorded delivery, which have to be signed for. That way, there could be no argument about when it was received.

As david is fond of going to the opening of an envelope, perhaps this is something he could tackle.