Mumsnet Talk

two policeman knocked on my door today to see if i had seen anyone acting suspiciously around a neighbours car, because he'd had two indicator lights stolen of a 1990 nissan micra.

I think that this is a terrible waste of police time, but everyone is saying that this is a legitimate use of the police time...

do you really think so?

Hmm. I think I'd just buy new ones but it could be an escalation of an ongoing situation so you cannot judge.

Proper policemen or PCSOs?

proper policemen

How easy is it to take off an indicator light anyway? surely its more likely that the old dear has just taken them off and put them down somewhere and cant find them

Theft is a crime, and one of the fundamental roles of the police is to investigate crimes so how can it be a waste of police time?

Or do think that you have the right to determine which crimes are important and deserving of investigation and which aren't?

If a thief stole a purse from an old lady's bag, without touching her in any way - and it contained £60 - would you say the police should do nothing, and not attend to the old lady? After all it would cost more than £60 to replace the indicators - and neither victim was aware they were being stolen from at the time of the offence....

Bit of a slippery slope to judge what crimes are more "worthy" - if they are there it's because they have a reason to be, and the time to do so. Be glad that they are able to attend to small crimes in your area rather than having a whinge because one day you might be the victim.

Speaking as an old dear, I think you may be right. I recently relocated my left windcreen wiper in the BizzyLizzy plant three weeks after alerting CID to its mysterious disappearance.

Then I remembered popping it in there to offer the windscreen some well-deserved respite after a particularly hazardous journey the wrong way up the M11.

Hesterton - that just made me laugh out loud and DH is now looking at me strangely

Would it have been ok if it was a brand new BMW? Theft is theft. If it's reported it should be.investigated.

Hesterton, you just made my day!

Very funny

Theft is theft.
YABU to think this theft is not worthy of police time.
Aside from that, this may be an escalation and other things may have occured.

well, i thought my friends were winding me up saying that it was a real crime, but you all seem to agree with them.

I really am shocked to be wrong!

I would be furious if someone did that to me, but i wouldnt call the police! I called him an old dear, because he is an old dear who is politely called 'an eccentric local character' but really isnt!

About 6 months ago my daughters scooter was left on the front lawn and was taken. should i have called the police? really?

A 1990 Nissan Micra is probably worth 10 - 20 times it value to the owner than it's book price. It probably gets through it's MOT/Service ever year with no problems and never breaks down. The cost of new lights (as a percentage of it's value) are probably huge - the cost of replacing the two indicator lights are probably more than it is officially worth. How much would you have to spend these days to buy a super reliable car? If your neighbour had a vintage Rolls Royce would you be asking this question? Besides this in order for your neighbour to be able to claim on their insurance they will have to have a police incident number - to get this they have to involve the police.

About 6 months ago my daughters scooter was left on the front lawn and was taken. should i have called the police? really?

for that i wouldn't, but if my lights got stolen i would because i would need a refrence number to claim on insurance

A 1990 Nissan micra still in a roadworthy condition is something of a rarity so therefore I think YABU to think this was a waste of police time.

I think you've already been asked though: what if it was a new BMW ??

he has two cars parked out front, one is for spares and the other is the one he runs, so i see your point about the expense, but i looke it up on ebay and they were going for £14

How do you know there hasn't been a spate of similar thefts in the local area and this was the one you were asked about because it was the only one you may have seen? Someone had something stolen, the police saw fit to investigate (and trust me if they don't want to they won't) so how can you honestly think there isn't a crime?

If the police thought it worth looking at who are you to argue really? Maybe it was a slow day and they were hoping for a cuppa and a biscuit from the grateful victim of crime? Maybe there is a real problem in the area. Either way theft is theft.

getrealandgetalife are you sure that £14 was not for just the bulbs? I checked ebay and that was all they were selling for a 1990 Nissan Micra Indicator light. I suspect that it would cost £100's to replace two full units, Japanese car parts are expensive and there won't be many lights left in scrap yards as they are the most likely item to get damaged in minor incidents.

A PCSO was strolling down our road a few days after we had our car scratched on the drive (it's not a drive that goes up to a house, it's more a parking space, so the car is level with the pavement), so I asked her if there was any point in reporting a crime like that, where clearly there was no evidence of who had done it and not much could be done. Her reply was that it was really helpful if people reported everything, and then they could see where there was a pattern and increase patrols in that area maybe, or set up some cameras. I did then phone in, and was given the same message by the officer I spoke to on the phone too. I've been told the same when I've had to report other "minor" vandalism or theft.

Not sure why you think Micra owners aren't entitled to the same service as the owners of more expensive cars.

I would not be complaining about 2 (potentially attractive & single) policemen knocking on my door to ask about a theft... but then i do like men in uniform - so that would definitely brighten up my day

(As long as they weren't accusing ME of any crime that is!!)

Was it neighbourhood police? If so I would be pleased that they were visibly doing something about petty crime.

If you speak to an honest Police Officer they will tell you to report every crime, however big or small.

They will admit there's fuck all they can do about a lot of things but every reported crime is a statistic. The less crimes reported the less frontline officers are needed.

It's a self-perpetuating problem unfortunately. Resources are cut so far that people don't even bother reporting minor crimes because they know nothing will get done. This results in a drop in crime figures. Therefore more cuts can be legitimately made.

It's definitely not a waste of police time, and it doesn't matter if the indicator bulbs are only £14, it is theft and it's wrong. Why should your neighbour have to just put up with it? It's good that the police were investigating it, i really could give lots of examples of how police time is genuinely wasted, this isnt one of them.

dogshit and Ariel24 - well said, both of you.

YABU.

What was a waste of police time was when my neighbour called the police out because my plant pot had been moved onto the pavement. Copper and I were very

When my Nanna was alive she reported a crime.

The crime was someone had nicked her snow white and the seven dwarves garden gnomes she had!

Someone actually nicked some gnomes.

My Nanna wasn't amused. They had left sleepy behind though.