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Original poster

How long for police to deal with something?

31 replies

purpleme12 · 20/08/2021 20:05

If you've made a statement to the police and they said they'd do their enquiries and update us once done... How long is normal for a public order offence??
Because it's been almost 4 weeks and I'm starting to wonder why I did it. They don't care. When I try to get an update they just say it's awaiting an officer to be allocated

OP posts:
Whenitsjustyourclockreading505 · 20/08/2021 20:20

It’s not that they don’t care.
There are huge backlogs at the moment. We had the police contact us end of June/beginning of July about an incident that happened at the end of April.
They said with isolating & colleagues off sick there was too much work & too few officers.
Even then we were told that they were now going off on holiday for a couple of weeks & colleagues were having holidays as well so for us not to expect them to be back in touch again too soon.

Champagneforeveryone · 20/08/2021 20:27

It's a bit of a leap to suggest they don't care just because it's been 4 weeks Hmm

Coronavirus affects the police as much as any other sector, they are not magically exempt from illness or the requirement to isolate. They will also be dealing with a vast increase in their workloads as lockdown lifts and people start getting pissed socialising and holidaying in the UK. A lot of these jobs need to be dealt with in the here and now which means a backlog of slow time work builds up.

It's far from ideal, but I can assure you it's not a barrel of laughs from the other side either.

Original poster
purpleme12 · 20/08/2021 20:57

@Whenitsjustyourclockreading505

It’s not that they don’t care. There are huge backlogs at the moment. We had the police contact us end of June/beginning of July about an incident that happened at the end of April. They said with isolating & colleagues off sick there was too much work & too few officers. Even then we were told that they were now going off on holiday for a couple of weeks & colleagues were having holidays as well so for us not to expect them to be back in touch again too soon.
Ok. It's hard to think like this
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Original poster
purpleme12 · 20/08/2021 20:57

@Champagneforeveryone

It's a bit of a leap to suggest they don't care just because it's been 4 weeks Hmm

Coronavirus affects the police as much as any other sector, they are not magically exempt from illness or the requirement to isolate. They will also be dealing with a vast increase in their workloads as lockdown lifts and people start getting pissed socialising and holidaying in the UK. A lot of these jobs need to be dealt with in the here and now which means a backlog of slow time work builds up.

It's far from ideal, but I can assure you it's not a barrel of laughs from the other side either.

I am just saying how it feels It is very hard having to deal with this
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BrilloPaddy · 20/08/2021 21:03

I was involved in an incident in April..... had to push push push to even talk to someone over it, and eventually after repeated emails, we had a PC come to take a statement in August. Thankfully the CPS then gave approval to prosecute, and it went to court in the following February. So 10 months from event to dealing with it.

I can't even begin to describe my stress levels, but in fairness, the PC we were assigned was absolutely amazing and such a support.

Original poster
purpleme12 · 21/08/2021 22:27

Gosh that's so long ☹️

OP posts:
WaitinginVain · 21/08/2021 22:46

Four weeks is not long but in my experience you really have to keep after them. Getting hold of them is something else.

Original poster
purpleme12 · 21/08/2021 22:51

Oh right I didn't expect it to be like this ☹️
When I gave my statement he said they'd do door to door enquiries in the next couple of days and then update me so it sounded to be like I'd hear after a week or something ☹️

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BrilloPaddy · 21/08/2021 23:11

It gets a lot easier once you've had an officer allocated if that's any consolation. It's just that process happening that can take a while. Once we were assigned a PC, we were then given their mobile number and email address so it was a million times easier to keep in touch.

I also found that while we reported to 101 and this initially went through to the county station control room, it was passed onto a local station to deal with. I don't know if you've got a similiar set up? It was much easier to talk to the duty officer at the local station and they were able to assure us that we were on the list for having our case assigned to someone.

Original poster
purpleme12 · 22/08/2021 19:01

Is it worth mentioning that this person spits in our garden when we talk to them?
Or is that not something they're bothered about?

OP posts:
Redglitter · 22/08/2021 19:05

Unfortunately at the moment I know in our area the shift numbers are incredibly low for various reason. Officers constantly ask for enquiry time but so often because of the volume & nature of ongoing incidents needing dealt with its not always possible. I know some of my shift have huge queues of enquiries but just can't get them done

It's really not that they don't care

Original poster
purpleme12 · 22/08/2021 20:43

Thank you for replying
It's really hard dealing with something like this on your own.
Do you know if him sitting in my garden (obviously on top of what's happened as well) is something that's worth mentioning to the police or is that something that they wouldn't be interested in?

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Original poster
purpleme12 · 22/08/2021 20:44

It's really upsetting that he spits in our garden

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Original poster
purpleme12 · 28/08/2021 21:08

Well I'm sorry to all those sticking up for them but I feel incredibly let down
My child is still scared in her own garden and doesn't feel safe or comfortable in her own home
I rang them in good faith thinking they would support us but I've never felt so powerless to look after my child

OP posts:
Womblesgash · 28/08/2021 21:43

Yes I would tell them this person is in your garden in case it escalates and they are trying to intimidate you into withdrawing your statement.

It can be a frustrating wait yes but like others have said it’s not that the police don’t care. I would call Victim Support to help you through this.

BrilloPaddy · 28/08/2021 21:45

Are you keeping a log of all incidents?

And what about something like a ring doorbell so you've got evidence?

Original poster
purpleme12 · 28/08/2021 21:51

He's not in my garden. But he can spit in my (front) garden cos there's no fence. Unfortunately I have no doubt that if there was a fence and he wanted to spit then he would spit over the fence.
I also wouldn't put it past him to be in my garden when I'm not there because he said he used to before we lived there. And I can't trust him

Yes I am keeping a log. But I have a feeling the police will be bothered about the spitting

Ring doorbell is something I've been wondering about. It's just money....

But yes I think I will have to call victim support. More for my child than me. Again I don't know what they can do.

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KingdomScrolls · 28/08/2021 21:53

Have you told them not to contact you or enter your property and they persist? If so there are a number of civil orders such as an anti harassment injunction you can apply for. A breach of these civil orders is a police matter. What kind of public order matter was it? What's the nature of the ongoing risk?

Boredmotherofone · 28/08/2021 21:53

Trespass is a civil offence, it's not a Police matter unfortunately

KingdomScrolls · 28/08/2021 21:54

You need to log everything, but ideally record too. Who is the man? A neighbour, ex partner, family member?

user1471453601 · 28/08/2021 22:08

It seems to me like, it just depends . DD was a witness (interventionist) in an incident at the beginning of august. Within a day, she'd given a statement and done a photofit. Within days, was asked to try to identify the person in question at a line up.

Because there was also DNA evidence already on file, a person was arrested within the week and remanded in custody. A hearing where they will plead is within ten days.

So very quick. But this was a very serious incident, and the police were fortunate to already have the person's DNA in file.

I'm sorry you think the police don't care, it must be dreadful for you

Original poster
purpleme12 · 28/08/2021 22:14

I think maybe to them it can't be serious
Because of course there are a lot more serious crimes going on and have gone on. So they think ours is a small one
But it has affected our lives and it is more about my child than me. My child who doesn't feel comfortable or safe in her own home and is so scared whenever she hears his voice. Because I now can't make her feel safe!

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Original poster
purpleme12 · 28/08/2021 22:16

When your home is supposed to be your one safe place

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Stormyequine · 28/08/2021 22:38

Have you called the police and asked for an update? That's what I'd be doing after 4 weeks.

Original poster
purpleme12 · 28/08/2021 22:44

Yes I have. it does says that in the OP
I will of course have to try again but losing faith already

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