Can police do more than they say they can about suspicious car in early hours?

[Davespecifico]

We were burgled at the end of last month. Since then, we have seen a car, possibly the same one each time, driving slowly up our street then back again and stopping outside the house for up to a minute. Between 4 and 5.30 in the morning. We managed to photograph the registration and police said they would try to get police in the area to look out for it.

We actually spent 3 nights in a hotel because it was so awful lying in bed listening for the car. We now have cameras all around the exterior of the house. Last night they captured the same scene as we’d been seeing, tho as we weren’t awake, we didn’t photograph the reg.

Police don’t appear to have sent anyone to the area to look out for the car. But aside from this, to my mind, having a car reg means they have the ability to find the owner and check them out. I presume I’m wrong in thinking that as nothing is being done. We’re going to have to set the alarm every night and wait for the car, ring 999 and I don’t know what.

Can I expect more of the police, or is this just life?

@Davespecifico

No raspberryhartleys, not that I’m anxious, just observing a pattern. They drive up and down the road once only and park literally on our/our neighbour’s drive every night for up to a minute between 4 and 5. Once they got out and walked on to the. Neighbour’s drive.

It sounds like your neighbour has more to worry about than you, in that case.

It must be very frightening, OP. I'm wondering if perhaps your neighbours are caught up in dodgy dealings of some kind and the car is watching their house?

I haven’t read the full thread but 101 wouldn’t necessarily know if police have attended yet.

We patrol local hotspots (despite all the claims people never see police) often in the early hours when nothing much is going on. But the call handlers don’t get updated with every movement we make.

It’s likely the registration plate has been noted and the area will be flagged up especially if there have been a series of burglaries but it still requires the police to be in the right place at the right time to see the vehicle in order to stop check it.

If you saw it and rang 999 whilst the car is there, you may get an immediate response if it’s quiet.