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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To expect the police to take smashing a car up in the street seriously and not get asked 'why did you phone the police?'

42 replies

mumfor1standfinaltime · 11/02/2008 12:44

I just phoned my local police non emergency phone number to report some young lads kicking in a windscreen on a car and generally trashing it. I got asked by the police 'and what is your concern?' 'why did you phone the police?'

HMMM!!

OP posts:
SparklyDYSONGothKat · 11/02/2008 12:46

No wonder the country is overrun with thugs...

Wisteria · 11/02/2008 12:49

same reaction I got when 2 (14yrold) lads were drinking lager (that I had just seen them buy from the shop) outside my house at 11am in the morning on a school day, dealing cannabis.

pissed me right off

OrmIrian · 11/02/2008 12:49

Perhaps they only meant to find out whether the car was yours or someone else's. ie what was your specific connection to the incident.

Original poster
mumfor1standfinaltime · 11/02/2008 12:54

14 years old dealing and drinking? Terrible.

I had explained that the car was outside their house and that I had never seen it before.
She did a vehicle check and said it wasn't stolen - erm tax, insurance, keeper?
Broken glass? Damage to property? Vandalism? Anti social behaviour?

Maybe we should all just go around smashing things up, who cares? The police don't seem to!

She also felt the need to ask if I lived in a council house/ha house - I felt like saying why does that give me less rights?

I have phoned my local housing association who were very helpful and very interested as they have been trying to evict them.

OP posts:
Wisteria · 11/02/2008 12:57

What really pissed me off was that the street has recently been made a 'no alcohol' zone and our taxes used to fund all the signs which is the reason why they are now all drinking on the street in the first place! Supposed to be a £500 fine for being caught - which translates to me now as, the police would have to do some paperwork and fine them, so it's not even worth the bother of coming to confiscate it....

Original poster
mumfor1standfinaltime · 11/02/2008 13:05

It does make you wonder why you pay council tax to the police doesn't it? What is the point of it all. Things seem like too much effort to them. She told me to ring my local council as they have neighbourhood wardens, I tried that and was on hold for ages, so gave up.

OP posts:
Wisteria · 11/02/2008 13:15

the only way to get the police to react is to tell them if you don't get a police presence then you're going to get your shotgun out/ or something is on fire but then they tend to arrest you

Original poster
mumfor1standfinaltime · 11/02/2008 13:22

Lol! I did feel like saying well I had better deal with it myself then!

Makes me sick because whole family lives rent free, on benefits and are general pain in the beeehind, yet the tax payer who reports them to the police gets told 'yeah whatever, let them trash a car, do I look bovered?'

OP posts:
needmorecoffee · 11/02/2008 13:26

tell them it's animals rights or anti-war protestors. They will be there like a shot

bossybritches · 11/02/2008 13:30

Could I point out that the bored voice on the end of the phone is NOT a police officer.

bossybritches · 11/02/2008 13:30

But YANBU

....and I agree with need more !!

Wisteria · 11/02/2008 13:32

the one I spoke to was BB! It's our local 'police contact point', manned by 2 officers who spend their time drinking tea and answering the phone to concerned citizens, thn telling them to bog off as far as I can make out.......

bossybritches · 11/02/2008 14:33

They'll be Community Beat Officers Wisteria...known as CHIMPS.

Completely Hopleless In Most Police Situations.

.......and they wonder why the trained police are generally against them????

Wisteria · 11/02/2008 14:34

BB - they are not, we do have CSOs but not there - they are proper coppers. this is a fact as I know them!

unknownrebelbang · 11/02/2008 14:40

harsh bossybritches, harsh.

(sadly often true, but harsh all the same)

bossybritches · 11/02/2008 14:42

lazy sod's whatever they are called,

YANBU!

I would be tempted to make a complaint- they need to know these eejits are not doing their job. Might not seem like you're achieving much but it will get logged on their record.

Wisteria · 11/02/2008 14:44

The community officers here are a darned sight more use than the real coppers IME - at least they are a presence, walk round and talk to the disaffected youth......

Original poster
mumfor1standfinaltime · 11/02/2008 15:19

I did wonder if the woman on the phone was even a police woman!

I mean why would I want to report crime in progress, silly idea really!

We do need a local bobby imo, who knows the kids on the street and who knows the local people and who they are.
It does put you off even reporting anything.

OP posts:
BadKitten · 11/02/2008 16:12

Thats awful

We had some kids smashing bottles put out for recycling as they walked home from a late night party. I saw one just picking up a bottle, smashing it into the road, walking to the next one and doing the same, all down the road.
I dashed outside as did several neighbours as the kids disappeared round the corner. One neighbour called the police, another couple went after the kids.

Eventually the kids came back up the road, the one who'd done the smashing was crying 'I'm sorry'. She was 14. I gave her a hug and told her right we are going to clean all this up. We got some brooms and dustpans. Me, another neighbour, her and her boyfriend cleared up all down our road, all down the next road. It took us absolutely ages. She was sobbing the whole time. Her boyfriend promised to get her back safely. A couple of other kids were hanging round in the background making nasty little remarks.

By the time the police arrived I was tucked up in bed again and had been asleep for half an hour. Ridiculous.

bossybritches · 11/02/2008 17:03

Unknownrebel- I agree it sounded harsh but the regulars get so fed up with the high-ups getting untrained, inexperienced PCSO's in where trained officers are better going but don't because PCSO's are cheaper.

If you get a good one great (our's are lovely because the regular PC in charge of them has spent LOADS of time supervising & supporting them as they train) but so many areas have complete novices dropped in difficult situations then told they can't deal with them. Not fair on them or the public.

FioFio · 11/02/2008 17:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Kathyis6incheshigh · 11/02/2008 17:12

My dh got told off for ringing the police when a burglar alarm went off in our village in the middle of the night the other week

I quite understand that alarms go off accidentally and they may have had other things to deal with more urgently, but ffs if you're not even allowed to report it what is the point of having them?

Wisteria · 11/02/2008 17:40

Is 999 not just for a serious or life threatening issue? If I was trying to get through because there was a mad axe murderer at my door and the line was busy because someone was reporting vandalism I would be a pit peeved to say the least!

Wisteria · 11/02/2008 17:40

bit

Kathyis6incheshigh · 11/02/2008 18:00

But what can you do out of hours when the non-emergency lines are closed? It's not like they're manned 24 hours or even 7 days a week.

Crimes don't only get committed in office hours unfortunately....