To think the police aren't fit for purpose

[countingsheep5678]

I am not talking about individuals who put their lives on the line, I'm talking about how police constabularies are run up and down the country.

I have experienced three quite horrible anti social incidents in the 'safe' area of Hertfordshire where I live! One a group of boys threatened to throw my toddler in the river and another a man threatened to smash my 'ducking' car in because I asked him to move a bag out of the road!

I want to speak to a local police officer to explain my concerns and ask if there would be more officers on the street and what they are doing about the anti social behaviour in the area. I managed to speak to someone who took all my details and said they'd pass it onto a safer neighbourhood team.

I asked when I would hear back... he couldn't tell me. I asked if I could speak to someone more senior as I wanted some reassurance quite soon, he said I would have to make a complaint if I wanted to speak to someone more senior. I asked if I could have the number of the safer neighbourhood team... they don't have a number. So essentially, unless I call 999 there and then there are no local police officers you can talk and engage with. I was also astounded by the lack of empathy the police officer I spoke to had. When you've been on the receiving end of horrible situations you want to feel reassured. I have got off the phone feeling more concerned about the safety of our neighbourhood than ever.

Just by luck I have seen my local safer neighbourhood police team are holding a surgery tomorrow... but surely we deserve better from the police? We need more open, direct access to them? Am I alone in thinking this?

We definitely deserve better

Unfortunately people keep voting for the opposite

Our business gets routinely burgled, sometimes on consecutive nights.

Police often don't turn up and close the case the following morning.

I have so little respect for the police. So sexist and awful. They really have so little respect for women.

Why are they all at fucking Pride rallies or whatever and not out solving crime?

For all the talk of "cuts", the police seem to have time for certain types of crime. Next time you call them, tell them that someone said something offensive to you on Twitter.

YANBU but the police have been massively defunded since 2010, by the supposed ‘party of law and order’.

Not sure what the solution is, other than a credible opposition, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to be forthcoming any time soon, so...

What a silly comment

exactly

The police were shit under Labour as well. They've de-prioritised the sorts of crimes that blight everyone's lives for decades, shoplifting, mugging, burglary, anti social behaviour

Do you really not understand the difference in time to investigate an online crime where there is easy to access evidence vs a burglary where they are so unlikely to be successful in finding who did it?

One takes a few hours tops and has near enough 100% success rate, the other can take weeks and with little chance of actually getting anywhere

Do you think Labour will support or oppose police arresting, questioning, and policing the thoughts of those who oppose gender ideology?

@whentheraincame

Considering I also support the police questioning and arresting those who post offensively online why would i have issue with Labour doing this?

If they did I'd actively support them

What has the current opposition party got to do with police cuts and now being a service rather than an actual force?
It's definitely got worse over the years and I'm sorry you had this experience.
I lost faith in them years ago. Like most public services they are broken and most do not care either. It's become the norm now not to expect too much from them.

So? What's your point?

And really? Online crime?
Offending someone on Twitter is NOT a crime and is, therefore, non of the police's business anyway.

I get the cuts! But I just think it is run appallingly! Surely with my complaint I should have been able to call our safer neighbourhood team directly! Not phone one person to push a bit of a paper to another person and not even tell me how long I would have to wait for a call back! So awfully inefficient! If police forces were run like businesses I swear it would be much better. Also, too many people behind desks and not enough visible police out and about. They manage to find enough police to patrol around the Houses of Parliament but the rest of us plebs are left to deal with disgusting anti social behaviour. I felt safer living in London than where I live now. Thanks for ranting along with me xxx

In the town where I work they’ve shut down the police station and moved them into a section of council offices with a separate door. There’s no longer a counter so you can’t speak to anyone. Just a yellow phone outside so you can call. Nearest police station with a counter is over half hour drive. They never come out on foot apart from to buy food. Teenagers vandalising public square directly outside without a care.

@womaninatightspot so frustrating! Sorry but hiding behind desks is not on!

You're not wrong, but it's been decades in the making. I was a special constable in the late 1980s and was aghast at just how lazy many of the police officers were and even back then, how they would only do things that could "tick their boxes". Proactivity was basically zero! They'd only do something if they really had to. I did quite a few "overnight" shifts, mostly with regular constables, but sometimes with another special or even on my own. I hated working with the regulars because they'd just park up to have a smoke several times over the shift, or go home/to friend's houses for brews, unless they were actively being given jobs to attend. When I worked on my own or with other specials, we'd walk the back alleys, check shop doors etc (old fashioned policing), and just by walking around, we'd find crimes - in the early hours when it's all silent, you can hear glass breaking from several streets away, and that's how I arrested several burglars, seen running away from the direction of the broken glass. By contrast I was once on foot patrol with a regular at a similar time, heard breaking glass, and he just carried on, I thought he'd not heard it and mentioned it, but he just said "we'll wait to see if anyone reports it".

I thought it was quite a reasonable question, actually.

@Badbadbunny how utterly depressing! I take it you're not in the police now? I wish you were... policing needs more people like you xxxx

I was thinkingthe same @countingsheep5678 , we need more people like @Badbadbunny
I bet its frustrating for those good officers who see the despair people are facing everyday too

YANBU, others have pointed out the main reasons.

Every time we've had anything to do with the police it's been a bit shambolic tbh
' here is a crime number '
Or knocking days later after reporting anything
Or not following anything up.
Yet if I did anything wrong or go two inches over a yellow box by mistake ( because you can't move forwards enough or misjudged it) and here is a 65 quid fine
Quick enough with anything like that of course

Major underfunding for years. Low morale.

Really? Serious crimes are more effort to investigate than hurt feelings and there is a lower chance of success so let's prioritise low hanging fruit?

Not sure you're qualified to be accusing others of making silly comments.

Me too.

I mentioned funding in my post, which is clearly a big factor. But institutional culture and priorities are just as instrumental.

It may well be that ‘clearing up’ inconsequential non-crimes, like somebody saying something on Twitter somebody else doesn’t like, is an easy gig for them that helps their stats look good. But the public they’re meant to serve want them to actually be effective in clearing up and preventing actual crimes that impact peoples’ lives.

The conviction rates for burglaries and rapes, to name just two crimes, are risible. That’s what they should be measured on, but they’ve stopped bothering even to investigate them. There’s a de facto licence to rape and burgle in this country right now. The chances of being caught and convicted are virtually nil. Hence OP not getting anywhere.