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?

An allegation of sexual assault on a minor child needed to be investigated there was an alleged incident at a certain date a certain time with a witness willing to speak to the police man was arrested investigation begins bail extended twice witness never spoken too statements never taken case dropped due to lack of evidence, evidence freely offered but never looked at

That article about the athlete is exactly my point from earlier how people only get to hear one side of things and there are other things going on

samg76 you say why bother? As the article says the car didn’t stop at first so Officers will be very suspicious why that is…for example there could be drugs or weapons being hidden before it stops which DOES happen.

Also anyone wondering why 7 cop cars including firearms officers arrived…..its very probable that as the car didn’t stop at first police have to be prepared that it may continue to not stop and a pursuit could take place which carries an obvious major risk to other traffic and pedestrians so if that happens they need more resources there to deal with it like getting stingers there etc..

Firearms Officers are also more specially trained in dealing with vehicle pursuits than average cops too

Isaidnoalready
I don't know about individual cases, but there are so many questions to ask here

How old was the child - were they interviewed?
What did the suspect say in his interview?

Did both accounts given mean that the witness could not add anything to the investigation?
Was there another reason why the witness was not used?
Was there forensic evidence that negated the case?
Did CPS drop the case without the requirement of the witness under their guidance?

Sexual assault on a child would have gone to CPS for a charging decision - probably why bail was extended twice. I'm pretty certain that CPS would have asked for a statement from the witness if it was needed before the case was dropped.

You need to go back to the OIC to get a full explanation as to why the case was dropped. You can also challenge the decision given by CPS and ask them for an explanation. This is the victim's right.

Womblesgash
Agree exactly - if a car makes off from police, the only way its going to stop is by crashing or stropping of its own accord. Its obviously looks like its not going to stop of its own accord - so the police can't just wait until it crashes.

We have to put something in place to stop it - best way to do this is by boxing the car in and bringing it to a controlled stop. You need at least 4-5 cop cars to do this safely

That's why it took 7 officers to stop him on this occasion. That's 7 officers pulled away from other things for someone who just didn't want to stop.

Absolutely this 100% .
It's tiring . And for us oldies - learning how to upload bwv and redact , no one trains you on the stuff you need daily , most you get in a mandatory online course that bores you half to death and you only get time to even look at it on a night shift at 4am when your eyes and brain have all but stopped working.
I manage the active queue now- and I make decisions daily that are above my pay grade . There are just too many jobs on the box for too few cops to get to . Throw in a murder (happens very often )and you soon run out of cops. It's relentless and unsustainable.

I can well imagine the media making mischief, for a story, and your explanation of what happens if somebody fails to stop, and why, makes sense.

Do we know why they tried to stop him in the first place? Was it justified? He seems very much of the opinion that it was a 'driving a flash car whilst black' pull.

For context, living in London in the Met jurisdiction, I see people driving while on the phone every day. To be fair, there aren't that many patrol cars visible any more, but even so, I have never seen the cops pull anyone over for doing that. Have a few times seen people drive erratically, swerve, skid over a stop line etc while a cop car or van is passing and felt sure the officers would pull them over, but they've just sailed past!

Oh and the other issue ....

Police call handlers . Now I love ours . Work with them often . But it's run like a customer service call centre . So like today . I got a job whereby a woman phoned police because she was annoyed that the previous owner of the house had forgotten to update their address details for "boohoo" clothing and she had received 2 parcels for previous occupant. 2 parcels in 2 years. And she wanted police to tell the previous owner it was "unacceptable!"
And the call handlers said yes madam, course madam , 3 bags full madam and put a job on the active queue for an officer to do just that .

That officer happened to be me . And that caller was bitterly disappointed when I basically told her that this is not an offence , no crime had occurred, it is not a police matter , and how did she expect me to find said previous occupant in any case ? What the hell has a job like that got to do with police ?!! Police deal with criminality. We aren't some customer service rep for pissed off people who got accidental post !
But because that call handler had put a job on and said police would be in touch her expectations were that I'd deal with it for her . Well news flash - it's not a police matter . She was entitled and rude . 2 parcels in 2 years - it not like she was getting a parcel a week . And that job was out on for an officer to deal with . If officers answered the phones , and had some discretion to tell people essentially to get a grip - then we might actually be able to deal with crime . Not customer service gripes with royal mail. 🤷🏻‍♀️

The comments on here are ridiculous. The police aren't the problem and all those whinging about them they will be the first you call when you need help. The problem is criminals, how about all the idiots committing crimes stop doing that or is that too simple

Just seen yet another couple of scumbags laughing outside court because a judge has let them off with a non-custodial sentence.

This is where the problem lies. Recidivists need locking up for a decent length of time, if nothing else to give some respite to their long-suffering fellow citizens.

Courts are a huge letdown .

For context - this month my force remanded a very very dangerous individual whose behaviour was escalating.

Remanded Friday . Court Monday . Court bailed this person . The following day they committed the most horrendous murder in cold blood . Facebook was full of people decrying police . But it wasn't the police . Police had remanded to court saying the behaviour was escalating to dangerous levels . A magistrate decided not . Magistrates have absolutely no legal training . They are just upstanding members of society. That's why I hate magistrates court and prefer crown court - at least there they all have legal training and know what their doing .
So gets released by court Monday .
Tuesday kills someone . Yeah now he'll be remanded for life - cps lawyer recommends whole life tariff . But someone had to die for that to happen . And that wasn't the fault of the police and yet plastered all over fb ....police are shit . Police knew . Police should have .....

We have antisocial behaviour in our village.
The police don't turn up when called. We ask them to be more present. They drive through occasionally but don't stop. They ignore things like parking on double yellows and blocking drives and roads and say it is a council issue. They don't come out when cats are broken in to even several in one road.
I really don't know what we get for our council tax.
It seems to me if they tackled 'low level' crime and antisocial behaviour then society would be better. It would mean more people could enjoy their surroundings.

Yep. But last week in my force went had so low number of officers we could only answer immediates . Parking on yellow lines or responding to a murder ? Not much of a contest really .
I wish people knew the reality . Instead of thinking if they ring 101 a police officer appears as if by magic seconds later .

I think people do know the reality to an extent, it’s just they place the blame with the police themselves, rather than the politicians who set the budgets and priorities.

BTW, re the athlete and his mobile phone. If you watch his own footage, the police signal him to stop. He is driving along the Westway in London at 4 a.m in the middle lane. The police car pulls in front of him , and signals for him to stop, instead the athlete overtakes the police car and doesn't stop. He says he was looking for somewhere safe to stop. Now, the point is that by not stopping, he has made the officer think that something much worse than driving while using a mobile phone is going on. Hence, the number of cars that are then in attendance. The moral to the story is , if the police signal you to stop, then you do, particularly when the road is empty. ( And I have been stopped on several occasions . And I am female and middle-aged)

I have a very negative view of the police. I see them as disengaged or ineffective in policing matters that have been formally prioritised for them by my local population in my city. And i see them doing a great deal of harm in cases of Sarah Everard and strip searching children to mention just 2 of many many recent newspaper stories.

I am a middle aged, middle class law abiding woman. If my demographic has this view of the police what on Earth do other demographics think?

Yup, isn't this the issue with society all over. We are so, so good at being divided and ruled, and our government are just so good at manipulating that. Only thing they are good at. Point the blame at someone else and sit back while everyone turns on them. Police, teachers, NHS staff...anyone can be the pantomime villain if it deflects attention from the huge budget cuts at the root of the problem. We fall for it every bloody time and nothing will change for the better while we still do.

I rang the police when I witnessed a man kicking his poor ddog in full view on a busy walkway. He became aggressive and threatening towards me when I challenged me.
Rang the police on non emergency number and gave my details..
I am still awaiting a call back.
It was September 2019...

The behaviour of the police at the Sarah Everad vigil really sickened me!
The treatment of the peaceful protesters (mainly women) made me and every woman I know extremely angry.

Very telling that one of their own had been responsible for her death.

Contrast that with the Livy livered approach to handling the Downing Street parties, and the fact that they couldn’t even be bothered to investigate any wrong doing until they were pushed!
The met has been riven with corruption for years, but plenty of other forces across the country are not far behind!

If your not happy feel free to sign up and be an officer yourself 🙄

Snog
What matters were previously prioritised for them? And how do these compare to say safeguarding a victim of domestic violence or a missing from home now?

The strip searching of minors is a difficult one - but loads of schools have drug problems due to minors bringing drugs into the school to sell - and they won't just hide the drugs in their pockets. Teachers phone the police to report it and place the child in isolation - what do you want the police to do on arrival, just search their pockets? We have had incidents of drug dealers dealing on the streets using a baby as a 'mule' hiding the drugs in the nappies.

Creepymanonagoatfarm
If the male became aggressive and threatening to you - why didn't you phone 999?
What did you report to them on the non-emergency number - did you know the male involved? If you didn't know the male, why were we going to phone you back - what further information were you going to give that you couldn't give in the first phone call?

Not having a go - just curious

Tiamariaa
Wasn't all peaceful protests during the vigil - a police van was smashed up during it - do the police just ignore this? And if there were police officers in the van, do you think that's acceptable for them to endure? What would you expect the police to have done with this - baring in mind that would be another response vehicle off the streets which could not be used to police anti-social behaviour in the community or respond to emergencies.

The Downing Street parties could not have been investigated until the evidence was presented to them. Couldn't do it at the time as you just have politicians coming and going from a busy office - police don't patrol the corridors, so could not have seen any gatherings taking place.

A lot have mentioned that we shouldn't be policing the internet & social media - yet that is where a lot of domestic related crime occurs - harassment, stalking, breach of non-mol orders and can lead onto murders such as the murder of Molly McLaren

Its difficult - policing has changed and can't go back to the Dixon of Doc Green or Gene Hunt approaches as they won't work now. Yes, police make mistakes and yes we have incidents of evil people in the ranks (such as Couzens) but its not the norm across the country. I work on a shift of people who are hard working, dedicated and professional and I'm proud to be a part of them.

The minimising and excusing of heavy handed ( literally) policing of women and the subservient relationship that the police have with the rich and powerful is fucking awful. Sadly, not surprising in a country that’s utterly broken!

The Truth about the Sarah Everard protest was that for over six hours people attended and paid respects with no issues at all. Once the darkness fell then a different type of protester started arriving including actresses and antifa. Police were initially deployed as the flowers laid earlier in the day were being trampled by the protesters. The behaviour of some was horrendous- female officers were threatened with rape, police vehicles were vandalised. Other peaceful protesters started to feel unsafe. Police would have been criticised either way - if they had stood back and let the flowers and tributes get trashed…..
Again MSM propaganda at its best.

And again before everyone mentions the evil man responsible - don’t forget to recognise the praise the judge gave to the investigating officers for their tenacity in capturing him.

i see them doing a great deal of harm in cases of Sarah Everard and strip searching children to mention just 2 of many many recent newspaper stories

I agree - these two stories do them no favours at all, and the tone deafness over Sarah Everard when one of their own had killed her in cold blood was astonishing, and they've still not seen the need to say "sorry we really messed up there"

The story of the black girl being strip-searched was also awful (though her teachers/school staff behaved outrageously badly as well).

As for the sprinter - maybe he should have stopped, he probably does see a police car and sigh because he knows they'll pull him over for no reason. Why on earth does the Met have the resources to pull over "black people in flash cars" and victimise women who attended the Sarah Everard vigil, but not actually deal with all the stabbings going on in London?

don’t forget to recognise the praise the judge gave to the investigating officers for their tenacity in capturing him

In what way were they tenacious? It only took them a few days to get him. And they could have avoided it altogether if they'd dealt correctly with his "bantz".

I'd say something like capturing the murderer of Caroline Hogg, Susan Maxwell and others took tenaciousness and real policing skill.

Tenacious my arse😂 Really scrapping the barrel there!!