to stop calling the police

[empatheticpretzel]

Last month I reported hearing long-term domestic violence from a neighbour, although I'm not sure which neighbour. There is CCTV in the landings, and after a particularly bad incident caught on camera, they were traced and arrested. I took a witness statement the following day and was told the woman was given a safe place to live but couldn't know where it was coming from exactly/names for data protection.
A few weeks later the woman had obviously returned as I could hear the abuse from the same location during the usual hours in the night. Every single night. I report to the emergency police and it is new officers each time who can't immediately access details of the previous case/doesn't know which neighbour it is and ask if I know who it is/if i dont know who it is how do I know its the same person/I cant speculate. When they get here they go knocking on all the doors and nobody answers. They then leave unable to do anything.
Because I have called that often and they are never able to find anything, they have asked if there's anything I need help with. They were polite about it but are they implying there is something wrong with my head?

Were you given an incident number the time they did locate them? If so that can be used to link things up (have had to do similar at work)

Then leave it for your own MH. The woman has gone back for more. So I don't think there is anymore you can do. It's not right, but what more can you do?

Please keep reporting. There are complex reasons why victims keep returning.

@Suzi89

Here is a link to the office of National statistics, the cost is 66 billion. It does not mean the police and CPS spend this money it’s the overall economic cost. A myriad of costs. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-economic-and-social-costs-of-domestic-abuse

Here is a link to Safe lives stats on women getting assistance, they say 50 incidences. https://safelives.org.uk/policy-evidence/about-domestic-abuse/how-long-do-people-live-domestic-abuse-and-when-do-they-get

I have worked with many abused women both in a frontline capacity and also fundraising for a women’s DV charity.

If there have been repeated reports of DV almost certainly the house/property will have a market. If you are not giving an address then of course the call taker cannot just assume which property it is and send resources at will. There are limited numbers of police officers, attending what seems like an infinite number of calls, so they have to be triaged into basically immediate threat to life.

Police officers can take a crime forward without the victim’s support, but there does need to be evidence for the CPS to agree to take it forward.

If there are 10 immediate rung in and you have 9 officers, you will send to the most urgent. After so many years of Tory public service destruction, you’ll be lucky to have 4 cops available on that shift. I’m not minimising what is happening to your neighbour, I’m just giving you the facts. Same as ambulance, NHS generally…you cannot reduce real funding for such things without reducing the ability to respond.

Police are tied in knots of legislation and more and more are under scrutiny - there either wasn’t enough of them or not enough evidence.

And what @OddsOff Said - the cost isn’t just policing, it’s housing, councils, social services, benefits, nhs….everything that is an indirect victim of ongoing DA