To think policing is pretty poor in this country?

[EasyPleasey]

I'm sure there are lots of excellent and well meaning individual police officers. However, my dealings with them in the past decade have been:

1. Reported a sexual assault. CCTV available, public area. Case closed not investigated.

2. Reported a burglary. Very likely suspect told to them, they didnt investigate, they didnt have time, case closed.

3. Spent ages writing to them about suspected fraud on a now deceased person. Never followed up by police.

4. Reported a fraudulent car sale/theft complete with names and addresses, nothing done.

5. Reported regular criminal damage to private property, some teenagers smashing outdoor lights and garden furniture in my road, £1000s of damage. Police said it's worse in other areas and did nothing.

But now I see police loitering round Tesco enforcing that one puts 'non essential' socks in their trolley, harassing people for using their front garden, I think where did they find all this time? Maybe a lot actually enjoy having the power to order people around, but solving crimes isnt a passion for many of them?

Honestly, until the experience with my friend, I'd have told the OP she was being very unreasonable. (sorry OP!)

Like I said in the other police bashing thread, @TomHardysCBBC, there are idiots in every walk of life. Again, how many officers do you personally know? They’re not infallible, nobody said they were, but I don’t think you understand how the process of reporting a crime, having it investigated and followed up by the CPS works.

"I totally get that,Pics, but I'm not sure the police's political masters and the CPS do
Only too easy to imagine some of them saying "what's the point in spending the money if these silly women aren't going to follow through?"

That's not their job. Their job is to investigate the crime. Without judgement. Without seeing any victim as more worthy than another.

'The silly women' attitude is akin to the drug dealer that's been murdered 'well, live by the sword, die by the sword' and the murdered sex workers 'well what do they expect when they take these risks?'.

That's not the role of the Police to pass judgement on someones lifestyle or choices if a crime has been committed, their job is to investigate the crime.

Cherrysoup and the investigation, or not, is something the police choose to do.

Police chose to waste time investigating Harry Miller.

Police chose not to investigate the crimes being committed in Rotherham, worse they dismissed the victims as they held them in contempt.

Police are choosing to investigate purported crimes of not abiding by the lockdown but choosing not to investigate crimes of drug dealing during the lockdown.

The Police will quite rightly be judged by the public on what they choose to investigate and what they choose to ignore and questions will be asked as to the reasons why they made those choices. You police by consent and are accountable to the public who confer that consent.

I don't understand why police need funding to have empathy for DV victims and not blame them and take the perpetrators side? Can someone explain? This is not just on issue this is a cultural problem within the police.

@Cherrysoup No, I do, I work WITH the Police in the criminal justice system. Have done for 20 years. I have friends who are Police Officers. I know full well what the processes are. Both from being a victim and being involved with victims AND perpertrators through my work.

It doesn't mean that I haven't seen some shitty and abusive behaviour and archaic attitudes and it doesn't mean that we can't question the Police Force as a whole which isn't the same as saying all Police Officers are shit.

What it's saying is that the Police Force have enormous powers and the public should be able to trust them as an institution.

And often, they can't. And that should be discussed without people yelling 'not all the Police are like that' (we know, that's not what we're saying) or 'they have a hard job' (we know).

Or 'blame the government' when we're often talking about shitty responses from shitty individuals shielded by the Police force as a whole which has nothing to do with lack of resources.

Like I said in the other police bashing thread, @TomHardysCBBC, there are idiots in every walk of life. Again, how many officers do you personally know? They’re not infallible, nobody said they were, but I don’t think you understand how the process of reporting a crime, having it investigated and followed up by the CPS works.

It's a bit disingenuous to try and compare policing to "any other job" when it comes to standards of behaviour. Or rather, when "any other job" carries the same powers the police have (powers of arrest, detention and to use force in the pursuit of those actions) then the comparison is valid.

Until then, I think it's fair to say that with extraordinary powers comes extraordinary responsibility. No one press-ganged anyone into being a police officer. They chose that career, and it must be assumed they chose the reponsibility and accountability that must go with it too.

Unfortunately my experience of Police in recent times has not ben good, in fact quite similar to OP's experiences. I, at first, thought OP might be someone involved with the same things as me.
I have been lied to by Police. This was not what I expected. I also think they take the line of (what they think is) least resistance.
I could see a lawlessness erupting from what is going on especially if they treat everyone the same way as they treated me.
They have brought these views about by their own actions or lack of actions.

The police seems to be one of the few environment where you can judge the entire workforce on one member of staff

If you have a bad experience with one police officer, it's ok to put everybody else in the same basket. It's weird

Well you see this on here all the time re. social housing tenants.

i don't understand why police need funding to have empathy for DV victims and not blame them and take the perpetrators side

I think you are ten years or more out of date give some examples.

I agree, they don't seem to be bothered with crime anymore. I can sympathise, I don't think it's a pleasant job, we are lucky most people don't want to hurt others, because the police aren't there if you need them.

Police chose to waste time investigating Harry Miller
Only if someone reported a crime - they don't randomly pick names from the phone book. Someone must have reported him for something which they are obliged to investigate. They can't pick and choose who they investigate.

The Police will quite rightly be judged by the public on what they choose to investigate and what they choose to ignore and questions will be asked as to the reasons why they made those choices

And that's absolutely fair enough providing we're judging and questioning the right people, who are unlikely to be the ones sent out (or not) in response to a report

As with DV, so with the Rotherham atrocities ... does anyone seriously doubt that the average copper would have loved to get their hands on the perps, had they been confident of their leaders' backing?

@Dddddddeborahh there have been plenty of examples on this thread, not to mention plenty in the news including the force who arrested a woman for wasting police time for reporting her ex harassing for, for her to be murdered by him. And in the enquiry that followed the police officer STILL thinks he did the right thing in arresting her!

I have examples earlier but as it's a fast moving thread I'll repeat one - my vile exBIL, during an argument, kicked his girlfriend in the stomach on front of their daughter, then fled with the daughter. She called the police as he said he wasn't bringing her back - at that point he returned (not because he's a good guy, because he had weed stashed in the house). The police officers asked his GF what she did to provoke him, can she prove what he did, and said he has every right to abduct his daughter. This was all in front of him.

Now luckily she had a fantastic support network (me included, which infuriated my in laws) and was able to leave the next day and has done well ever since. Hasn't stopped him lauding the "the police took my side and if you cross me I can abduct our daughter whenever I like" over her ever since. No imagine if she had no support network, and stayed. She could be dead right now - and this is how women do die. The police know, and they don't care.

Police chose to waste time investigating Harry Miller [] Only if someone reported a crime - they don't randomly pick names from the phone book. Someone must have reported him for something which they are obliged to investigate. They can't pick and choose who they investigate.

By the time the police turned up (at Millers workplace for extra effect) it had long been realised there was no criminal act to investigate. Miller himself was told this. He hadn't committed any crime, but the police "needed" to check his thinking.

The whole Harry Miller fiasco isn't about a lone copper who might have rushed things and made a bad call. It's about a police force that decided Harry Miller - who had committed no crime, which they admitted to him - needed to be checked out "just in case".

When the fantastic chain of events started leaking out, they doubled down all the way to the High Court. And even now refuse to accept they might have done something wrong.

don't understand why police need funding to have empathy for DV victims and not blame them and take the perpetrators side

Neither do the victims.
There are some fabulous officers out there who go above and beyond. I have seen first hand how two Male officers responded to a friends DV call out, and they were amazing when taken details. Friend wanted charges pressed.

It was an officer calling for a proper witness statement that stopped the charges. The voicemails left were horrendous. Friend went into the station thinking it was a mate of the exes. How could someone then proceed after that?

Others have been consistent to crimes across the board. Yes of course we thank these good ones.

Just like we talk about the bad ones. It’s all we can do.

If you don’t like the bad publicity about your profession what are YOU doing about it, trying to pretend it’s not happening.

And thanks to the helpful ones. You are the ones that deserve the true thanks and respect. It’s just the force as a whole drags everyone down and always has. It’s hard, many people have unfortunately have gone through the same. And whistle blowing, well.. that’s a whole different area of fucked up

God bless the police dealing with the public every day

She just needs to answer and blooming obviously he can take his DD on a jaunt - show me the rules that says a dad can't take his DF for a run.

Some type of court order?

I’m not a legal person so

@Dddddddeborahh Lots of us are dealing with the public every day but have a bit of sense, compassion, understanding and don't behave like utter dicks to the people we're employed to help.

You're a gross example confirming what people are saying on this thread if you're a Police Officer. Shameful.

I guess those saying the police are hopeless/useless whatnot aren't ever going to call them for help if they ever needed it. I mean, they obviously won't do anything so what's the point

I didn't realise there were so many police experts on MN who know exactly what it's like to be an officer, to deal with everything they do and can still proclaim how rubbish they are?

I give up trying to explain things. The police don't know your friend or her DH from Adam but somehow they should guess/ imagine/ make up whether she provoked him or not

Oh no, Deborah, please do explain to us all how a woman "provoking" a man is in any way relevant to, or mitigation of, him kicking her in the stomach.

We're waiting.

I guess those saying the police are hopeless/useless whatnot aren't ever going to call them for help if they ever needed it. I mean, they obviously won't do anything so what's the point

That sounds like an excellent put down for the less critically minded. However it's disingenuous (and I get to use that word twice in a day ) as it ignores the fact that the British subject has been effectively neutralised by law in the social contract that covers policing. A social contract where the public agree to relinquish weapons and the right to settle our own problems in exchange for the police and state to undertake the job for us.

The reason we need to call the police, is because we can't just pick up our rifle and take out the bad guys bothering us.

Now I, for one, am insanely happy that (for now) we live in one of the least armed countries in the world. But that can only continue if the state - in the form of the police - hold up their end of the bargain.

It's very much the current state of affairs that a householder calling the police - terrified out of their wits by a someone prowling around their garden - is more likely to get lecture on the baseball bat by the door than an indication the police are looking for the suspect.

As with DV, so with the Rotherham atrocities ... does anyone seriously doubt that the average copper would have loved to get their hands on the perps, had they been confident of their leaders' backing?

Puzzledandpissedoff If you read the reports into Rotherham you will find that many an 'average' copper turned a blind eye to what was going on and dismissed the victims and their families reporting the abuse out of hand, terms like the girls being slags were regularly bandied about in relation to the victims.

I cannot believe someone on this thread is supporting the the line of what did she do to provoke him and we wonder why DV is endemic and two women a week are murdered by their partners or ex partners.

Someone must have reported him for something which they are obliged to investigate. They can't pick and choose who they investigate.

They can and they do, there is ample evidence of that on this thread alone.