What is the point of lockdown rules and fines

[LadyofTheManners]

If the Police do nothing

We have a guy on our street. To put it bluntly, he's a wanker. He cares not a jot for being a polite, nice neighbour and shows no respect to anyone.
If anyone was going to continuously and proudly show off flouting lockdown, it was always going to be him.

Anyway, on Friday, at 8.30am, we had a knock on our door. It was two Police officers. To be honest, I was worried why they were knocking as we have been meticulous following rules despite the extreme levels of boredom I'm sure the rest of you are experiencing.

Anyway, seems lots of people in our street have had a gut full of him as they said they had had "multiple reports from people" along with the neighborhood watch team about his behaviour. They asked had we seen anything.

I expected DH to say no as he usually doesn't want to get involved, but he surprised me by saying he had indeed seen him having multiple people round for weeks.

They asked us, as they had lots of others, to call 101 if he was actually in the process of having people over so they could catch him, his wife and his mates at it.

Tonight, when DH came back from getting milk and bits, he could barely park as there were so many cars in the road. Yep, he's having another gathering. At least 25 cars worth.

So I rang. Two hours ago.

They said on the phone they had been hoping someone rang when he had a house full due to the reports. Someone will be over soon.

Yeah right. Two hours later and he's out in his car to get extra barbecue lighter and another two cars worth have turned up as well.

I've lost faith in our local police frankly, no wonder we're on the list for one of the ridiculous "picnics against lockdown" this weekend as the Police here have seemingly lost all control.

They could have had an opportunity to close him down once and for all, they know he has been flouting regularly, also they could have fined the rest of his moronic associates and hopefully, that would spread the word they aren't allowing it.

We will never get over this virus whilst this is allowed to carry on.

Sorry for the rant but I'm close to contacting to make an official complaint.

We will never get over this virus whilst this is allowed to carry on.

What do you think 'getting over this virus' would require?

@Haffiana well following the very easy to follow declaration that you should not have people in your home unless they live there would be a start

It's going to spread the virus obviously. Considering some can have it without having obvious symptoms, and some of those going in today have been elderly, who are seriously at risk. How do we know what they do when there not flouting rules?
If they are in public facing roles, they are putting people at risk

The R number is imperative isn't it? People like these are risking catching it, spreading to many others and then they spread it further.

And what was the point of the Police disturbing us early in the morning, and asking us quite clearly to ring when they could catch him, and then I do exactly that for them to lie and say someone will be here shortly. Yet we are now 3 hours plus since my call and nowhere to be seen.

To update and prove just how useless the Police are

I called at 5.45pm
No police and then at 9.30pm got a call from a private number.

It was a guy from the Police

Addressed me by my first name which I find very rude as to my mind he should address me formally.

Asked is there still people in the address. Yes, I told him more had turned up since, you could actually hear a substantial party going on as his front door was wide open.
"Oh right then"

So I said, can I ask what the point was of your officer insisting we call when he next had a house full, as you had so many reports, when you've done precisely nothing when he's currently sitting there with at least around 25 others breaking rules?
"Oh right well, we will try and send someone"

Try? Try? What is the point of that?

And they clearly didn't try as no police turned up and as a result, party went on until 4am.
I even called back at 12am to be told it wasn't seen as a big enough breach.

25+ people. So desperate to catch him before they hammered on my door at 8.30am as well as three of my neighbours

I'm afraid I'm to the point of speaking to Good Morning on ITV. They completely couldn't be bothered.

Police must be extremely busy dealing with calls though and you have to remember like the nhs they have been dealing with funding cuts for years. Too many people are also now breaking lockdown rules and you will still have normal crime that has to be dealt with like drugs, violence and domestic assault.

I cant believe they didnt have the full force sat waiting for your call

Yanbu

I didn't think the laws covered private residences? Only gatherings in public. Maybe someone will be along soon with a better grasp of the law as it stands.

Although if it was a noisy party until 4am then that would be covered as a noise nuisance.

The police weren’t just sat watching tv instead of helping you, you know? If they couldn’t come out to you, it means someone else was in more dire straits. Blame the government for budgetary cuts, not the police.

Incidentally, what was your issue with them using your first name?!

It sounds very annoying OP ... and you don’t sound like a knob. What was the point of the police specifically asking OP to call if they weren’t going to do anything - or they could easily have said something like thanks for calling, unfortunately we are overwhelmingly busy right now but we will send someone if we can. That would be perfectly fine.

And FWIW I agree that they shouldn’t have called OP by her first name - not a big deal obviously but it adds to the casual impression overall.

@NiteFlights thank you yes, I do find the casual use of my first name to be really poor form. It just felt very shrugged shoulders who cares in its entirety

I do not doubt they are busy. But they were so seemingly desperate to catch the guy (possibly due to him shouting for all to hear on how he thinks lockdown is racist, possibly because he is a bit of a knobend anyway and we've all wondered for years what he gets up to considering he has had many very expensive vehicles yet doesn't seem to work and also associates with other younger guys with high powered cars as well) that they were knocking round the street early in the morning.

25+ people is a serious breach of rules. He has been totally provocative about it as well, all "I'll do what I like" in the street.

When I called at midnight, they couldn't even find the original report. I was then told if it "bothered me" I should go across and tell him. A woman, alone, at midnight to an aggressive male? What sort of advice is that?

When I know our force has been posturing online at how many fines they've given out at "their discretion" to people running or going to a Supermarket they felt was further than necessary due to it being cheaper, and a lot of locals have been absolutely appalled by their lack of actual enforcement on those who genuinely need it, this just proves the point they pick and choose.

And remember, all the while people like this are able to continuously flout very clear, very easy to follow guidelines, we will never stop spikes of infections, we will be stuck in this groundhog Day hell for months and months more, education will suffer, the economy will suffer and people will, despite listening and heeding advice, suffer as a result financially, all because divs like my neighbor and his chums couldn't be bothered to sit and watch a few box sets indoors and the police decided to ignore it.

Two hours later and he's out in his car to get extra barbecue lighter

How do you know this?

Secondly I agree with you...I think the police have not handled this well and somehow taken you for a mug. Not hard to say they're busy but someone will get in touch instead of acting so casual about it. And yes, why ask you to report again if they're clearly not ready to do anything. Are you sure it was the police who rang you though?

I missed all this but the Saturday before last there were 5 police cars and a van with a police dog outside my house at 2.45 a.m.

Apparently a man had sat on my ndn's garden wall drinking...and he had a bag with him. He had also been banging in someone's door to be let in. It took them 20 minutes to arrest him and get him in a police car as he was kicking out at them and their vehicles and effing and jeffing.

I thought my ndn had somewhat exaggerated but, no, the chap over the road had captured it on cctv and others had seen it. I can't believe there was any reason for that amount of police and cars to deal with this incident. I can't believe they'd send anyone at all.

@Ajollygoodwrap his car was parked right outside my house and my armchair faces the window

@NotEverythingIsBlackandWhite exactly. All that for one person. Yet 25+ and they do nothing.
As I say, they've been showing off their heavy handed response online and they've had people commenting how they have been stopped and aggressively shouted at by officers for the crime of using our one time (until yesterday) allowance to get some fresh air and milk. They seem to be particularly happy to shame women on jogs and bike rides too.

And as for telling me to tell him, hell no, that's just irresponsible.
It was definitely the Police as well. I could hear lots of office sounding noise in the background and for it to show as private number too.

I just cannot understand why they went to the trouble of knocking so early last week and they were really quite insistent we call at the time he was breaching it only to flatly ignore me. I've also seen on the whatsapp we have in our street that one of my other neighbors who the police knocked at also called herself last night so they knew it was happening. We're all disgusted now.

Imagine someone calling you by your name! The horror! We must alert the elders 🙄

Police funding is not plentiful. It might, might be possibly “try” means they have other more pressing matters like domestic abuse or burglaries. Your neighbour sounds very troublesome but I’m sure if you keep ringing every time he has a party they will get out to you when they can.

@Prisonbreak sorry but I'm of the opinion that when someone unknown to me addresses me it should be formally, until I say "call me first name". It's a basic manners standard that was taught to me in school.
Clearly you weren't taught the same.

@BluebellForest836 sorry but did you read where I said at 8.30am last Friday officers knocked at mine, then three other neighbors and specifically asked us all to phone with a view to catching him at it?

I don't believe that makes me what you've so rudely and needlessly called me. I was asked to do something, so did as I was asked.

When I see comments like yours, one wonders if you are one of the breed of selfish people who refuse to follow a simple instruction and are thus helping continue the misery for all.

I called the police on Friday night at 2am to deal with a very loud party next door. They often have them and we've spoken to them about it, but they just carry on. They had friends over and were smoking drugs in the garden, and taking others in the house. Police weren't interested, told me to speak to the council noise nuisance team.

my armchair faces the window

I bet it does 😆

Please please make an official complaint, the police need all the laughs they can get

@claragolightly it's almost like they've been told to stand down isn't it?
I firmly believe we are all unwilling participants in Cummings and Boris and their Stealth herd immunity plan and this just confirms it.

Unless the guy knows people in the police or they won't touch him for fear of aggro I cannot see what has changed so significantly from last Friday and please call us we want to catch him to cannot be bothered you deal with it love at 12am, other than Boris's speech.

@Janaih due to the size of our living room, not for any other reason you oh so cleverly allude to.

@thecartofhelena when more people pass away due to the lacklustre response of the police I'm sure you will laugh too, since you find this so amusing.

May I point out, I called because I was asked to by an officer. They came to me. I hadn't reported him but know several neighbors had as he's an utter jerk. I was doing as I was specifically asked to on Friday morning, as did another neighbor. We were both fobbed off.