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?

But blaming the individual officers for that would be like blaming the individual nurses and doctors for the failings of the NHS

In part I agree. However, a police officer arresting someone when they have got the law wrong is their fault- they should be sure of the law before they act. Similarly, if a nurse made a careless drug error which caused a patient's death I'm sure you would still hold them responsible.
I DO blame the individual officer for having a go at me after the armed robbery because it wasnt supportive and it made me feel worse. I was in shock and had just been threatened by a man in a balaclava with a gun- berating me for not being able to remember what he looked like wasnt helpful, kind, or supportive in any way.

A claimed serving police officer on MN, who was rather miffed with me, yesterday requested my personal details so they could "help" me. Sure, I'll get right on that.

Bloody hell. wtf?!?

No Alexis, you're absolutely right. That was a failing on the part of that officer I agree. Just like I've been failed by individual health care professionals before. But I can still agree that as a whole, doctors and nurses do a difficult job and they certainly are not all useless. And I can accept that a lot (not all, but a lot) of their failings are down to things outside of an individuals control.

In part I agree. However, a police officer arresting someone when they have got the law wrong is their fault- they should be sure of the law before they act.

If nothing else, the sort of person that becomes a police officer is the sort of person who doesn't like getting sacked ... for which policing is the perfect profession.

I completely agree that they are underfunded. Both police and NHS. Unfortunately, all the things that would help require funding- extra training, more staff etc

But sadly, I cant see that being fixed any time soon

But it isn’t a question of funding, is it? If it was there wouldn’t be the number of officers that have suddenly appeared to police supermarket purchases, sunbathing and walks in remote spots. What were they doing before?

@disgustingly...the type that i explained in the rest of my post 🙄

But it isn’t a question of funding, is it? If it was there wouldn’t be the number of officers that have suddenly appeared to police supermarket purchases, sunbathing and walks in remote spots. What were they doing before?

The majority of other types of crime have decreased since lockdown - shoplifting (most shops closed), youth ASB (lots of kids now at home), alcohol related ASB (pubs and clubs closed).

Oh and the fact that most of us have had our rest days and annual leave cancelled.

But sadly, I cant see that being fixed any time soon

No it won't be unfortunately. And certainly not while people are blaming individuals for a nationwide problem that goes right to the very top (not you and not all, but others on this thread).

I've seen a few people talking about how we now suddenly 'have enough' police to monitor sunbathers as well and that's just incorrect. We do not 'have enough' police. The extra police presence you've seen is likely due to leave being suspended and rest days being cancelled.

Bloody hell. wtf?!?

Quite. I declined to PM for their kind assistance...

Haven't seen Police in our sleepy town very frequently at all - now every walk we go on we see multiple squad cars cruising around the town in an almost menacing manner - sometimes what looks like the riot police. But I can see it's nice work if you can get it - better than dealing with murder, assault, rape, armed theft....driving around (gets you out and about), maybe harassing someone going out for a walk...making sure they've heard the rules (who hasn't), mildly threatening them not to leave the house - even though they are doing nothing wrong. Good job there's no real crime going on!

I mean obnoxious overbearing dickheads

So you think that's the type of person who becomes a police officer? How ridiculous.

I could say I think the type of person who becomes a teacher is someone who likes to boss other people around.

But I'd be wrong. I'd certainly be wrong to say that was the case for every person who becomes a teacher.

The extra police presence you've seen is likely due to leave being suspended and rest days being cancelled.

Seeing as we have a DV epidemic, perhaps leave should be cancelled whilst that's sorted out. Or whilst leave is presently cancelled, get a few of those officers clearing some DV backlog.

There's simply no excuse for the fact that sunbathers warrant a stern word, but wife beaters don't.

I know a number of police officers, they’ll all say there are too many in the force who are glory hunters and crave the authority of the warrant card.
However, this is the same as any profession and like others there are good bad and average cops, who will all have good bad and average days but are also horrifically underfunded and generally vilified.
Quite frankly, those of you that say ACAB or accuse them of being scum, or useless should perhaps do a month in their roles. Get spat at, by people who claim to have CV, stabbed, punched and abused, have to watch videos of small children being horrifically abused as part of your job, threatened, and paid a pittance for risking your life and see how you feel about them after that, see if you can do a better job and if you can’t or just don’t want to, I suggest you just shut up.

OK @HopefullyAnonymous, I’ll buy that but it doesn’t explain why some crimes have been effectively decriminalised in normal times, like the example I gave of my car being hit while parked and no way of even reporting it. I also thought that shoplifting is being ignored if the value is less than £200, although I may be mistaken.

making sure they've heard the rules (who hasn't)

Yes because there's not still loads of people ignoring them is there

And again, that police officer won't have turned up for work and decided 'you know what, fuck that burglary call, I'm going to go and stand outside Tesco instead for a laugh'. They will have been told to be there.

@Alsohuman of course it is. The reason so many crimes aren't followed up on is because of the lack of manpower and resources. Have you been in a cave for the last decade and missed austerity?

Many of the police you are seeing out and about have been redeployed. Also, banning going out and closing pubs has significantly reduced anti social behaviour.

I've also known plenty of single women who've been victims of crime and the Policeman has, called back 'to check on her' a few times, when actually they've been trying to convince her to have sex with them.

There was a street sex worker who lived by me, who could do what she liked because quite a few senior officers were punters.

I also knew of a case were colleagues of a female police Sargent tried to intimidate the wife of the man she was having an affair with to STFU. She had a relative of hers hide in another room, who was in the force in another area to witness this.

They close rank and apply the law, when it suits them. I've never forgot the case of a child in Scotland being shot dead by an armed officer while looking for his Father. The father had already been arrested and the officer said that he thought it was a pile of blankets that he was shooting into. The child was the same age as my DD and it always stayed with me. Nothing came of it. The sentences are ridiculously light when they get convicted of crimes.

So in answer to what I was doing before...running around like a headless chicken between jobs that have been unresourced for too long due to a lack of officers. Being a social worker, mental health worker, parent, friend, shoulder to cry on. Being assaulted by vile men. Attending domestics where the victim ends up turning on you too (more common than you’d think) trying to find beds for the night for those on the streets, trying to keep on top of a ridiculous amount of paperwork, requirements for intelligence submissions and soooo much red tape.

I’m sorry to report that the answer isn’t that we were all sat in the mess room before ignoring calls for service, and have now jumped on an opportunity to punish you all.

There are shit people in literally every line of work. Most of us just want to do the best job we can with the very limited resources available to us.

I reported vandalism to my car, explicitly saying for info only as there was a spate of anti social behaviour in my area, I did this via the non urgent number, the police spoke with me a couple of weeks later (this was what I expected, no complaint there). However a couple of months later, I was contacted for an audit of the non emergency line and guess what there was no evidence of my complaint being followed through or logged and the anti social behaviour carried on until a police presence became visible later. Many police appear to forget that armed robbers and murderers don't tend to start their crime career as murderers and armed robbers.
Another time the police delivered my ex husband to my door (with multi convictions for domestic abuse) at 4 am (I did make a complaint and an inspector and sergeant came out to see me)

I suggest you just shut up.

Many of the women on here haven't seen that violence - they've experienced it.

And the reason there are more officers in uniform is due to leave being cancelled but also plain clothed officers, detectives and rank are now being redeployed to support uniform response.

I’ve only had very positive experiences with police officers but I’ve never been the victim of a crime so perhaps it’s different when you are asking them to do something as opposed to coming into contact with them when they are already doing something.

I gave of my car being hit while parked and no way of even reporting it. I also thought that shoplifting is being ignored if the value is less than £200, although I may be mistaken

There will be problems like this. And unfortunately it's because for a massively overstretched, under funded and under resourced public service, they just aren't that high up in terms of priority.

The reason so many crimes aren't followed up on is because of the lack of manpower and resources. Have you been in a cave for the last decade and missed austerity?

No, I haven’t been in a cave, there’s absolutely no need to be so rude. Do you not see the complete lack of logic in pleading lack of manpower and resources and then flooding the streets with officers hassling people for sitting on a bench or even taping them off? It just doesn’t compute.