Police won't bother with burglaries

[JohnD]

The public should not expect to see a police officer after crimes such as burglary, the head of the new National Police Chiefs' Council has said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33676308

There had to be a "conversation with the public" over priorities, she added.

Ms Thornton has said that forces need radical reform if they are to survive budget cuts.


"Crime is changing in this country, she said.

"There are a lot less burglaries than there used to be, a lot less car crime, but the sorts of crimes that are on the increase - sexual offences, concerns about terrorism, cyber crime - that's where we really need to focus.

 

[WalksWithTurkeys]

Oooh goody, I'll take up burglary then, since it has been decriminalised. Actually I have a conscience, like most here, but this is a green light to all the ne'er do wells to get the stripey jersey and mask out of the cupboard.

 

[Belboz]

Where does it say burglary has been de-criminalised? Whilst she is talking through her @RSE, she is suggesting that a police officer won't necessarily attend following a burglary. That doesn't mean the matter is not being recorded and that, where appropriate, a scene examiner will still attend.

Personally, I think burglary is one of the worst property crimes and can have serious (even fatal) consequences for the victim(s) The psychological effect of someone having violated your home can be far more devastating than the loss of goods. Whilst it is true that a police officer attending can often be 'stable door', an experienced officer will often be able to assess possible forensics, give security advice and gain intelligence on the crime (experienced officers can often tell if the burglary is opportunist or a targetted attack) For some victims, it also makes them feel like they are being treated seriously and can offer some comfort.

Therefore, IMHO, an officer ought to attend every proper burglary.

Now the senior officers will say that the police are facing drastic cuts and there are not enough officers to go around. Well that is utter bulls*it. Chiefs have enough officers to provide this service but they choose to deploy them elsewhere. If the police feel that too many officers are being abstracted for terrorist matters and cybercrimes (they aren't btw) then they should hand those responsibilities over to the security services and national units and thus save the abstractions. They won't of course because a large part of the budget will have been ring-fenced for those purposes [even if chiefs actually use those monies for other policing areas]

If coppers won't be attending burglaries then what will they be doing Ma'am??

Perhaps she ought to look up the job description.

 

[WalksWithTurkeys]

I think a lot of police time is taken up by drunken and/or disorderly behaviour outside pubs and other establishments. Overtime costs a lot. They said longer opening hours would work, I was in favour, but it didn't work, we're not French or Italian.

 

[joe-90]

The police waste stupid amounts of time investigating Facebook insults and stuff like that. Well if you can't hack it - get of facebook ffs. They also love to spend stupid amounts of time to keep Stephen Lawrence and Maddie on the front burner. FFS let it, go and move on.

"The Met Police, who have taken charge of a new multi-million probe into Maddie's disappearence, confirmed they had been in touch with Australian officers."

 

[mattylad]

ISTR it mentions if an ipad gets nicked they wont attend - meaning that if single items have been nicked - and a likely telephone conversation shows that nothing will be achieved by visiting then there is little point.
We have the technology to obtain information by phone etc.
If it needs a written statement then that can be arranged but for a lot of petty burglaries there is little point.

 

[JBR]

Oooh goody, I'll take up burglary then, since it has been decriminalised.

I think I'll join you. Can I join your gang?

Of course, before performing any burglaries, we much research the ethnic origins of the proposed victims, as choosing the wrong one could elicit a priority response and the instant attendance of dozens of armed policepersons.

 

[wobs]

"There are a lot less burglaries than there used to be, ".

Surely if there's less burglaries, there's less of an excuse not to come out?

 

[HawkEye244]

I'm interested to know how much this Sara Thornton makes a year to tell the media there's a funding shortfall in the police, start with her.

My mum was burglarised in 2012 and the police were utterly useless, and I mean dreadful to the point we wish we hadn't called them.

They sent a victim of crime person round to see my mum about a month later who was tactless and awful.. a month later. She was suicidal.

We needed a crime reference number from the police for the insurance, wish we got, but besides that I doubt very much they did a single thing to catch the thieves.

Funding isn't the only problem, the main issue is that they don't train police officers to liase with the public, they spend far too much time acting as revenue collectors for the government, and then they have the audacity to wonder why the general public treat them with contempt, it's because the only face of the law they see is a bad one.

 

[misterhelpful]

Maybe this is the way forward?

 

[Belboz]

Sorry to hear your mother got a bad service but there are good and bad in every job.
AFAIK, The police don't send anyone from Victim Support. They tell Victim Support of the crime and it is then down to them to follow it up. Police have no control over if or when they attend. Not sure what you mean about the police spending all their time as revenue collectors. Perhaps you could elaborate?

As for the phrase 'petty burglaries', I don't feel that any burglary is petty. Whether they stole an ipad or a whole room of electrical goods, it's not merely the loss of goods which impacts the victim - it is the effect of having had a stranger in your house.

There is no substitute for having an officer attend a burglary. There are lots of areas which can be explored which a member of the public may not think of or even realise. Those areas just cannot be dealt with by a telephone call. Whilst there will always (sadly) be instances of poor service (such as that put forward by Hawkeye244) a professional officer can do a lot more than just provide a crime number.

As I said, there are massive cuts to police spending happening (and to most other government departments) but chiefs need to look at how and where they deploy officers first before starting to cut any frontline services.

All IMHO of course.

 

[HawkEye244]

Sorry to hear your mother got a bad service but there are good and bad in every job.
The police don't send anyone from Victim Support. They tell Victim Support of the crime and it is then down to them to follow it up. Police have no control over if or when they attend. Not sure what you mean about the police spending all their time as revenue collectors. Perhaps you could elaborate?

As for the phrase 'petty burglaries', I don't feel that any burglary is petty. Whether they stole an ipad or a whole room of elctrical goods, it's not merely the loss of goods which impacts the victim - it is the effect of having had a stranger in your house.

There is no substitute for having an officer attend a burglary. There are lots of areas which can be explored which a member of the public may not think of or even realise. Those areas just cannot be dealt with by a telephone call. Whilst there will always (sadly) be instances of poor service (such as that put forward by Hawkeye244) a professional officer can do a lot more than just provide a crime number.

As I said, there are massive cuts to police spending happening (and to most other government departments) but chiefs need to look at how and where they deploy officers first before starting to cut any frontline services.

All IMHO of course.

Sorry to hear your mother got a bad service but there are good and bad in every job.

What service? I don't think they did anything to investigate the crime, 4 other flats were burgled the same day on the estate, nobody ever heard a word. The estate is surrounded by CCTV on the roads and highways, it's impossible not to know who is coming and going and could have been looked at, but that would require actual police work.

The police don't send anyone from Victim Support. They tell Victim Support of the crime and it is then down to them to follow it up.

Seems like training they should have themselves, surely we want empathetic and understanding police. I don't think that's a role that should be 'subbied out'.

Police have no control over if or when they attend.

Then they should. What is the point of sending someone out months after the trauma to have the victim sit there and re-live the incident ?

Not sure what you mean about the police spending all their time as revenue collectors. Perhaps you could elaborate?

Enforcing punitive fines on people for petty law breaking

Whilst there will always (sadly) be instances of poor service (such as that put forward by Hawkeye244) a professional officer can do a lot more than just provide a crime number.

The reality is they don't care, most police don't give a **** about the job

As I said, there are massive cuts to police spending happening (and to most other government departments) but chiefs need to look at how and where they deploy officers first before starting to cut any frontline services.

I think the police chiefs are the problem, what do they actually do for their money by the way? Besides talk...

 

[JohnD]

It is much easier and more profitable to catch 20 motorists, who are likely to meekly pay their fines and mostly won't try to knife you, than run the risk of meeting a burglar who might violently resist your interference.

 

[handyjack]

Most of todays officers join the police straight from the dole. University educated, can't get a job so join the police.

They have no experience of living and working as adults in the real world. Everything they do is target driven...

 

[JBR]

I can appreciate, to some extent, the problems that the police face.
If they do go to a great deal of time and trouble to catch burglars, the lenient courts invariably fail to punish them which, in my opinion, is tantamount to actively encouraging them.
I should imagine that the police would become even more disillusioned than I am.

So if the police (and the courts) are of little use, perhaps we should investigate alternatives.
Does the Mafia still do 'protection'?
I suspect that a window poster along the lines of 'Under Mafia Protection' would put off most burglars.
I wonder how much they charge.