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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Absolutely no police response, what now?

110 replies

Sockypuppet · 11/10/2019 09:03

For the past few months my office has had a problem with kids hanging around making trouble.

It's a mix of school-aged lads and some older kids, with problems ranging from cheeky comments and being too loud, to more serious issues caused by the older people who sometimes show up.

The more serious issues have been throwing eggs at our window, sexual harassment as we go out to our cars, and drug dealing. We have made police reports and offered to have police look at our CCTV, but they've not responded.

Earlier this week I was leaving work and as I pulled out of the car park the group of lads surrounded my car, smashed my wing mirror, and picked up rocks to throw. They left after a neighbour came out and shouted at them. This is all on CCTV.

I've made a report on 101 and online, saying specifically that this is an ongoing issue and saying this was my third offer to have them come view our CCTV.

Concurrently I made a complaint about lack of response and said I've never once seen a police officer in our neighbourhood.

I've had a couple of ineffectual attempts at communication since, including:

Two separate calls asking for the make and reg of my car. It's visible on the CCTV!

A call asking whether the assailants could be identified from the CCTV. Maybe come have a fucking look?

An update to my complaint with someone with no surname assuring me that some other unnamed person would probably be coming to look at the cctv.

An email from the police asking for my number so they could ring me.

I've told them that I am very busy at work and that I don't wish to be contacted again unless it's to arrange their viewing of the cctv or otherwise actual assistance from them.

OP posts:
familycourtq · 12/10/2019 12:58

@Lucylou321

Any interest in actually getting this stuff stopped or are we expected to just deal with it ourselves these days?
I bet you'd be quick enough to intervene if she'd lamped one of the kids who broke her mirror.

Sockypuppet · 12/10/2019 13:11

It is a question of cuts but also there is also the attitude of some officers like Lucylou that uppity women need not to bother the important police with reports of low-level crime.

OP posts:
Sockypuppet · 12/10/2019 13:13

But thanks for those offering suggestions, especially the asbo trigger thing!

OP posts:
itsgettingweird · 12/10/2019 13:24

Sorry to hear things escalated.

It seems the only thing that EFA response nowadays is actual harm or death.
So response when someone is a victim of knife crime (for example) but not the months and months before when the situation is escalating to this.

Tbf to the officers it's not their fault. But I don't think it helps when officers such as Lucy come here and take their own frustrations of the job out on victims.

Buster72 · 12/10/2019 14:20

Sadly your story is repeated across the country, and police numbers have fallen, leaving no-one to deal with your, relatively, minor incident.

Crimes like yours (a broken wing mirror) will be screened out so resources can focus on serious crime. Describing call handlers as bored bureaucrats and demanding action in your terms means your report will receive less not more attention.

If you want it changed lobby your mp for more cops or join as a special. Go on I dare you.

howrudeforme · 12/10/2019 14:24

@sockypuppet - are you the business owner or do you work there?

If you work there I’d be asking management to sort this out.

Nicknacky · 12/10/2019 14:52

Op, download the footage so you have it secured.

And no, the officer who attended a different incident would not be aware of ones that he hasn’t been involved in or made aware of (through Ebriefings etc)that’s not unusual given the number of incidents police deal with.

Sockypuppet · 14/10/2019 13:42

So another officer attended this morning, asked for me, and said she was here to pick up the CCTV about "the incident" which I've prepared.

Which incident? Prepared how?

She'd been told that I'd have a CCTV download ready to collect. I said I'd be happy to prepare something for her, but which incident? All of them? I hadn't realised anyone was coming.

It was only after I looked at her notes and saw the date of the assault against me that I said "You mean the assault of the 8th?" She said, "Yeah I guess."

I said, "No I haven't got anything prepared. If only I knew you were coming today. But how about I put it all on a USB?"

She said great.

I said I could bring it to her by the end of the day.

She then made painstakingly clear that it was NOT HER who would be following up on the case so I should NOT give her the USB. Someone else would attend another time and collect my USB. NOT HER. Someone else. She even waved her hands like semiphore: no.

I did manage to wheedle a name and contact details from her so when there's no follow-up at least I have someone I can send the USB to.

I hope at least one of the kids caught sight of her.

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 14/10/2019 16:38

This woman made it very clear that cuts to police numbers have no effect, and it is wrong to complain about them

BertieDrapper · 14/10/2019 16:51

Personally if the police are of no use... and we had similar issues with drug deals in front of our flat...

We spoke to the school. Call the school whose uniform they are in. Say you have footage of anti social behaviour / intimidation and criminal damage. Make sure you mention they are clearly in the school uniform.

Hopefully they will want to see the footage to ID them and deal with them and inform the parents.
Most schools hate the thought of kids in their uniform being antisocial

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