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?

If they weren't busy dancing round bloody pride stuff and bending their knees, they might find time to actually solve a crime!

Show me a racist homophobe, without saying they're a racist homophobe.

I drilled it into my nephews to the point they could recite it without even thinking about it by the time they were ten years old citing laws and the lot exactly what they should do when the police stopped them. Before they left for school they'd have to recite it to me, before they went to bed they would have to recite it. I told them very early on - the police are your enemies except they literally have a license to freely assault and cause you harm. They are extremely careful when having any dealings with the police because they know the police will disable them and blame them for it. I would divorce my husband if he woke up one morning and decided to join the force such is my dislike for the police.

Ok . I give
Up .

Enjoy x

Wow.

It does make me laugh when they call cops lazy. Most are carrying 30 live investigations and are given, if they are lucky, 5hrs a week to look into them.

The idea we spend all our time investigating people causing offence on the Internet is another falsehood. Those cases make the news, but in reality even death threats over the Internet, are rarely investigated. There isn't the time.

I saw an interesting image last week about the pressures on A and E. It showed ambulances queuing up. There were more Police cars than ambulances. Most cops spend more time sitting in A and E than some nurses.

To balance things a bit, I recently had a very positive experience with the police. A vulnerable family member (early 20s) went missing (concerns for his safety in light of mental health issues) and we had to report him missing.

The police were here within the hour, access to his bank accounts, phone history within 2 and had the bugger located within 4. Safe and well.

As you mentioned above, thanks to the police he's been referred properly and not just fobbed off to healthy minds (which was the case leading up to this incident). They were so kind and we felt in good hands.

Thank you

No o E will remember this but here in this very app - I have stayed up all night to hand hold and advise dv victims .
I stayed up all night once to handhold the wife of a drunk driver who got caught and she was so scared and worried, I told her what the procedure was and stayed up with her .
I didn't get paid to do that . That's just me . That's how I am . In and out of the job .

Dead right. It's the only one, though, isn't it?

As the old saying goes “Go woke, go broke”

Police go for easy targets to tick boxes

Solving real crimes is too difficult to tick boxes so not fully investigated

Sad really as I used to have a lot of respect for the Police Force but as a Police Service, sorry no

Sad really but reflects what this country has become after 50 years of various Governments 😔

I have respect for my local force, although they seem very underfunded, covering a vast area with very few people…and respect for some of the good people on this forum. But the Metropolitan police! Institutionally racist and sexist.

Thankfully I'm not in the met .

You sound great stillvicarinatutu.

As a Londoner, I can tell you’re not in the Met, just from your posts! It’s really quite frightening how the Met have gone downhill in recent years. I can’t think of anyone I know who has any respect for them - and I’m talking middle class professionals here, the sort you’d otherwise expect to be fully behind the police.

Unfortunately they’ve trashed their own reputation by being throughly useless and, often, actively unpleasant to boot.

It’s really quite worrying. We need a decent police force to rely on.

Very uniformed.. The easiest crimes to investigate are assaults. Person A hits Person B. Statement Interview, send to CPS.

The real crimes you talk about I assume are Burglary, Robbery, Rapes, Murders etc all of which have specialist teams that deal with, only those crimes. So the only "tick in the box" they get it solving those crimes.

I eventually left a burglary unit because of the 14-16 hr days I worked. Never saw my family etc. Just wasn't worth it.

Also worked CID . Longest Shifts Ever. Loved the work. Hated the bloody hours. Anyone else want to start at 5am and finish at 2 am the following morning? No . Me neither .

I've got dogs at home . It wasn't sustainable.

I've done response , safer neighbourhoods , CID , I love my job but it's absolutely thankless.
Especially when you get to court and the judge gives a sentence that sucks. Some of my jobs I spent over a year on getting to court .
I would never ever recommend this job to anyone now . It's FUBAR .
10 years to go . Response was
The best job but I was always late off . Every bloody shift . I was never lazy . I blatted from job to job to job . Consequently I had 33 crimes on my list to investigate and absolutely no time given to do it . I'd ask for an enquiry day but then get sent to scene sit or sit a prisoner or deal with a prisoner in the cells , or I'd be the only available resource so had to respond to immediates . I lost sleep . And health . And a marriage . I got shot at , bitten and assaulted. It's definitely a vocation. Because there is sod all other reason to do it .

Was that the officer who answered a call about a stolen quad and then ended up with the rope around his ankle? Absolutely fucking disgusting of the little scrotes who did it and want to write a book about it. I would gladly volunteer to put them to sleep. They will never contribute positively to society. They are total scum.

I totally agree with what you've said. Yes there are some shit and evil police officers, and as an institution it needs work, but I don't know of any industry/business/institution that you couldn't say the same about.

Yes athena

Andrew Harper died 4 weeks after getting married when 3 hours late off his shift he answered a call to masked men stealing a quad bike worth 10k . They dragged him behind their car at 30mph - when he was found all he had in was his boots and socks . His clothes had been ripped off from being dragged behind the car . The tyre marks on the road showed the driver had swerved all over the road - probably trying to dislodge him . The defence argued the driver didn't know he was entangled in the rope they were using to steal the quad . They laughed and joked outside court . They got pathetic sentences. The court accepted manslaughter.
Andrew Harper was just like every other serving officer I know . Tying his best to catch criminals . He died for trying . And his killers got sentences that mean they'll be out in 6 years or so . He was flayed alive . Died at the scene .

And please don't think that's an isolated incident.

I was shot at answering a 999 call . It was only due to the fact firearms officers had heard the job come in and their spidey senses tingled that they came with me , and saved me from being shot . I wouldn't have known anything. I was under a porch roof knocking on a door when the gunman leaned out of an upstairs window - the firearms officer with me had stood back so saw it and literally dragged me by the stab vest round the corner of the house else I'd have been shot .

I earn 2k a month for that . I live alone , hand to mouth because my rent and bills leave me with sod all. Being a cop - just isn't worth the risks and the hatred we endure for trying to protect the public . We are all that stands between these people . And we are just people- I'm a mum , I was a wife , I have friends and family that love me . I try my best in my job . And I'm still universally hated . I'm counting my days to retirement. I joined late so my pension isn't gonna be gold plated. I'll need another job . If this one doesn't kill me first . !

And not forgetting the Police Service of Northern Ireland. They would make your hair curl.

New recruits earn the princely sum of 19k a year .

I'm on top whack at 2k having been in the job 13 years.

... And the child grooming gangs Labour didn't want to "offend"

In my experience the police are not prepared to even attempt to investigate most crimes which matter to individuals.
Which makes it particularly galling when you see for example arrests being made at the Sarah Everard vigil.
As a law abiding citizen I've never had a positive interaction with the police but have had plenty of negative ones.
I have no faith in the police whatsoever unless there are guns involved which still seems to elicit a response.

Such misinformation and ignorance on this thread despite actual police officers posting. My colleagues work their arses off for nothing in return. Overworked stressed and constantly having leave cancelled. Constant waste of funds in new Admin systems, no training in systems you are just left to train yourself.

Colleagues of mine last week one had 98 and another 104 active investigations. All of these need constant Admin plus then patrol and attending. More back room staff employed as its cheaper - so staff doing similar investigation roles on less money than front line. The government want more statistics than ever. Funnily enough like the NHS it's management and too many senior officers contributing to waste of time and dredging money. Too many chiefs and not enough Indians.

The majority of police officers are so frustrated exhausted and angry they can't do the job they want to do.

People are obsessed with Tory hatred and don’t see the wood for the trees

you can have as much funding as you want you are still reliant on the procedures of the law

the 2 examples OP gave whilst unacceptable and unpleasant all the evidence they had was a spoken statement that investigate and prosecute off chance of doing anything with that is zero
whilst the police look at things in a more practical manner when you report stuff like this and know there no chance of it going anywhere

Oh and I think society is changing. Children now have more say than parents, some parents just cannot and will not discipline their children teens. Same brand of parents except police school society to deal with their children. Forgetting this starts at home lack of respect at-home starts a vicious cycle.