To think it's a bit crap that a crime only gets investigated if you pay...

[PumpkinBones]

My car was stolen today. When I was on the phone to the police, the operator mentioned their "recovery policy" in respect of stolen cars - basically, if your stolen car is reported abandoned / in an accident / etc, and the police recover it to their garage, they will carry out "Scenes Of Crimes" proceedures, ie fingerprinting, looking for evidence - however, I would be charged for the costs of recovery (£150). I was asked if I was fully comp, because I could claim this back - no, my car is worth about £350 - ok then, a cheaper option is that the police phone me when my car is found, and I go get it myself - but no evidence gathering will be carried out!

I used to work for the police, and so I know that getting evidence off of a car is very difficult - however, AIBU to be a bit surprised and shocked that basically they only investigate your crime if you pay for it?! I know there are much worse things that can happen, it is only a car, and so on - but still!

Def not BU. You pay taxes which pay for the police and if the criminal isn't caught he will go on to steal further cars and poss use them to perpetrate other crimes. Investigating this properly is clearly in the public interest.

budget cuts!

This is a joke, right?

WTF?!? I pay taxes so I don't have to pay when this shit happens.

So bearing in mind that a lot of cars are stolen every day and a lot are recovered. Do you think the police should pay for the recovery all all stolen motor vehicles? It does however seem very unreasonable that they would not carryout a scene of crime investigation on the vehicle if recovered.

Talk to your mp and send a letter to your local paper about it, sounds like the sort of thing they might like...

The cost of recovery is different to the examination cost, you will not be charged for the examination.

Won't they do scene of crime if you take it to their garage/compound? I would have thought the chances of solving the crime from scenes of crime evidence without other evidence seems slim, so I can see why they don't think it's worthwhile if they have to send officers to the scene/your home/etc. But if you'll do the recovery job for them I don't see why they would refuse. Probably more hassle than it's worth for you though.

Sorry your car was stolen. Hope it turns up unharmed and close to home.

Sounds to me like the operator you spoke to on the phone was a civilian (rather than a police officer) who didn't really know what the correct procedure was. The operator shouldn't have gone into details like that at all. You are reporting a crime - the police would take the investigation step by step. However - of course you should pay for the recovery of your vehicle - that's certainly not a bill the taxpayer/police should pick up.

YANBU. You did not get your car stolen on purpose, so why should you pay to deal with it?

Having said that, I have always taken out fully comp insurance on all my cars. It's a handy safety net.

I do appreciate they use a third party recovery company, and so that is a cost that has to be paid - but they won't do scenes of crimes if I get the car myself and take it to their garage, because me or whoever getting in the car, touching things, driving it, etc, would compromise whatever flimsy evidence there is.

I used to work in the centre where crime reports like this are taken, so yes, it would almost certainly have been a civilian, but I guess this is their standard procedure. I suppose if I get my car back and it has a note in it saying, "Hi, I nicked your car, this is my name and address" the police might do something, but other than that, it sounds unlikely

I'm a bit calmer about it all today, it's still a crap situation all round though!