Safe Speed Forums

Facebook user jailed for advertising for volunteers to take his speeding penalty points
By Larisa Brown - PUBLISHED: 18:22, 7 January 2013 | UPDATED: 18:28, 7 January 2013

Scott Woodburn, 32, was caught speeding on A61 Halifax Road in Sheffield
Driver could have been banned from driving as he had accumulated points
To escape ban, Woodburn paid Daniel Baggaley £250 to admit his offence

A driver who advertised on Facebook for a volunteer to take his speeding penalty points has been jailed.
Scott Woodburn, 32, paid Daniel Baggaley, 26, £250 to admit his speeding offence so he could escape being banned from driving, Highway officials said today.
South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership said his five-month sentence given to him last month 'will send a warning to anyone who would consider anything so irresponsible'.
Jailed: Scott Woodburn was caught speeding on the A61 Halifax Road in Sheffield, pictured, but asked a friend to take his points so he wouldn't be banned from driving

Woodburn, from Rotherham, was caught breaking the speed limit on the A61 Halifax Road in Sheffield on November 6, 2011.
As a result of the single offence he was expected to have points added to his licence.
But the points for speeding would have tipped him over the 12 point maximum of allowed penalty points and he could have been disqualified from driving.

So according to the Safer Road Partnership, he posted on Facebook asking someone to take the points in return for payment.
Baggaley, who does not hold a driving licence, took up his offer and admitted the speeding offence and was paid £250 by Woodburn.
A spokesman for the partnership, which represents organisations including police, councils and the Highways Agency, said Woodburn refused to co-operate with the investigation and only pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice when the strength of evidence against him became clear.

Police used forensic evidence to prove it was Woodburn driving, the spokesman said.
On top of the five-month prison sentence, Woodburn was disqualified from driving when he appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on December 19.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z2HL7MhsPJ

Five months in prison for points-dodging driver
Published on Monday 7 January 2013 15:25

A ROTHERHAM man has been jailed for five months for paying someone procured from Facebook to take his speeding points.
Scott Woodburn, 32, of Hill Crest Road, Rotherham was recorded breaking the speed limit on the A61 Halifax Road, Sheffield on November 6, 2011.

Woodburn published a post on Facebook asking someone to take the points in return for payment. A Sheffield man without a driving licence took up his offer but investigation by the South Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership Enquiry Team revealed that Woodburn paid the man £250 to take the points. Both men were arrested.

Woodburn refused to co-operate with police and only pleaded guilty due to the strength of evidence against him. Police used forensics to prove that it had been him driving.
On top of the five month prison sentence, Woodburn was disqualified from driving. The man who admitted the offence was sentenced on June 27, 2012, and given an 11-week custodial sentence suspended for 12 months plus a 12-month supervision order.

A spokesperson for South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership said: “Hopefully this case will send a warning to anyone who would consider anything so irresponsible. It is a crime to admit an offence on behalf of someone else, if someone approaches you to admit an offence on their behalf you should inform the police. Woodburn showed no regard for anyone else. He was prepared to drive at excessive speed, and once caught, rather than changing the manner of his driving he selfishly paid to have someone else take the blame.
“South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership aims to improve road safety on South Yorkshire’s roads by tracing and prosecuting serial offenders who provide false information in an attempt to avoid prosecution. These offenders are a danger to themselves and other road users.”
Woodburn was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on December 19, last year.

Driver Gets Jail For Facebook Speeding Scam
Posted on Monday 7 January 2013

A man has been jailed after advertising on Facebook for a volunteer to take his speeding penalty points.
Sky News © 2013 Sky News, all rights reserved

A man has been jailed after advertising on Facebook for a volunteer to take his speeding penalty points.
Scott Woodburn, 32, from Rotherham, was recorded breaking the speed limit on the A61 Halifax Road in Sheffield in November 2011.
But instead of paying the fine he posted a message on the social networking site asking if anyone would take his points in return for payment.

Daniel Baggaley, 26, took up the offer even though he did not possess a driving licence. In return he received £250 from Woodburn.
But police used forensic evidence to confirm the offence was committed by Woodburn and both men were prosecuted for perverting the course of justice.
A spokesman for South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership said: "Hopefully this case will send a warning to anyone who would consider anything so irresponsible.

"It is a crime to admit an offence on behalf of someone else. If someone approaches you to admit an offence on their behalf you should inform the police.
"Woodburn showed no regard for anyone else. He was prepared to drive at excessive speed.
"Once caught, rather than changing the manner of his driving he selfishly paid to have someone else to take the blame so that he could continue behaving as before.
"These offenders are a danger to themselves and other road users."

Baggaley, from Sheffield, received an 11-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months and a 12-month supervision order after pleading guilty.
Woodburn was given a five-month sentence and was also disqualified from driving.

Facebook user jailed for advertising for volunteers to take his speeding penalty points

Both men were arrested

Woodburn published a post on Facebook asking someone to take the points in return for payment. A Sheffield man without a driving licence took up his offer but investigation by the South Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership Enquiry Team revealed that Woodburn paid the man £250 to take the points. Both men were arrested.

Woodburn refused to co-operate with police and only pleaded guilty due to the strength of evidence against him. Police used forensics to prove that it had been him driving.
On top of the five month prison sentence, Woodburn was disqualified from driving. The man who admitted the offence was sentenced on June 27, 2012, and given an 11-week custodial sentence suspended for 12 months plus a 12-month supervision order.

Following up my question above, if the police (under a false name) put an advert on Facebook or elsewhere asking for someone to take the blame for them, would this in itself be illegal or could the cops charge any responders with anything?

A very silly thing to have done ! Since a technical offence can alter one's livelihood and lifestyle, I can only imagine that he was utterly desperate and foolhardy and forgot what was at stake here, or perhaps failed to realise the seriousness of the consequences?

So, just to be clear, is it illegal to just ask for someone to take the points or do you have to actually put this into effect to be breaking the law? Is the "advertising" incitement to break the law?

So, just to be clear, is it illegal to just ask for someone to take the points or do you have to actually put this into effect to be breaking the law? Is the "advertising" incitement to break the law?

http://www.south-wales.police.uk/news/thief-caught-breaking-into-police-decoy-car/

If the police leave vulnerable cars with interesting contents on view in places to catch car thieves, is this entrapment? What's the difference?

What it boiled down to, and what they were told, was it didn’t matter who was driving at the time so long as one of them admitted to it.