The public loses faith in police to investigate crime

[BovaryX]

The Telegraph reports the public is losing faith in the police to investigate crimes. It is quite incredible that after 10 years of Conservative government, the alleged party of law and order are presiding over a collapse in public confidence in the police. Meanwhile, the CPS are training cops to police limericks and Tweets and providing guidelines to schools about how adolescent girls shouldn't expect sex segregated toilets. WTF is going on? It is way past time to call this out.

^The public has given up on the police solving crimes, an official report warns on Friday, as it says officers have been "rumbled" for failing to investigate offences including burglary and theft.
Matt Parr, HM Inspector of Constabulary, said the failure of the police to investigate high-volume crimes like car thefts, minor assaults and burglaries was having a “corrosive” effect on the public’s trust in the police^

I'm uncomfortable about the idea of government having/ losing control of the police

Really? So you don't think the democratically elected government should be in control of the police? Then who should control them?

Bovary "They don't understand the voters want them to be Conservative, not apologise for it"

this in spades. This government has indeed been in situ for 10 years. I can't see that Labour would be tough on crime, but I think the Conservatives are cowering from cracking on with it.

87,000 non-crimes? I didn't know it was that many.

It's like Labour's failure to focus on class issues (in a way that's actually relevant or useful to working class communities). There are certain expectations that go along with each party and "tough on crime" is one for the Tories, so it's a bit embarrassing for this to be happening on their watch. Though certainly some of it started under Blair.

Bovary has it nailed about public sector top levels being the exact kind of out of touch, woke lunatics we've seen from Labour candidates on the webchat.

Like the rest of that group, they believe that they are ethically and morally superior and that change must be forced on the unclean. They promote and employ only those sound in the same beliefs, they write the policies, they enforce the priorities and ethos below. I've seen that first hand. That is what a government has to deal with, (when not mostly distracted by Brexit) and it's going to be very difficult to do.

Yeah Michelle

We should just clear off with our rape allegations.

Let’s spend 2 days in court on 2 people having a fight on twitter

On of the results of cost saving measures is contracting out police training to lobbyists.
Training is what prioritizes issues for the line officers. Supervisors don't say 'we want you to prioritize hate incidents over assaults' but the training teaches them what matters most.
There is also an element of self preservation on the choices police officers make. Following up on a "hate incident" by harassing a woman who was rude to a man on twitter is one hell of a lot less dangerous than following up on a DV report.

Thanks for the info Michelle and Snippy. I hadn't realised Boris was aware.

It's pretty disconcerting as a leftist to be relying on Boris Johnson to right wrongs for you, but that's where we are. This whole issue has pretty much destroyed trust in the left for many women.

Prodigal “ This whole issue has pretty much destroyed trust in the left for many women.”

So much this. Well for me anyway. I never thought I’d see Johnson as a sign of hope, it’s discombobulating.

It really is.

Really? So you don't think the democratically elected government should be in control of the police? Then who should control them?

There has to be some level of separation between a government and the police. On the one hand you need control on the other you have to be careful not to make a police force, (or a military, for much the same reasons) political. Usually there are checks and balances and institutional structures that are meant to try and achieve this state.

you have to be careful not to make a police force, (or a military, for much the same reasons) political. Usually there are checks and balances and institutional structures

This is exactly the state we're in. We have a police force that has become politicised, has been trained by a political lobby group, those politics not having anything to do with a democratically elected party. And the checks and balances have not been enforced or even considered. The NHS and schools are being similiarly politicised by the same lobby. The NSPCC was compromised years ago.

This is the govt's problem; that this was able to happen despite the checks and balances, and regulatory capture has not only been achieved but actively helped by people and bodies who should have been focused on public duty and fairness. Not on their own personal political views.

Well write to your MP. Not that many people do it. It's not the police being stupid it's the government who legislates and demands targets are met. If the plo e are not targeting the right thing write and complain to your MP.

This is exactly the state we're in. We have a police force that has become politicised, has been trained by a political lobby group, those politics not having anything to do with a democratically elected party. And the checks and balances have not been enforced or even considered. The NHS and schools are being similiarly politicised by the same lobby. The NSPCC was compromised years ago.This is the govt's problem; that this was able to happen despite the checks and balances, and regulatory capture has not only been achieved but actively helped by people and bodies who should have been focused on public duty and fairness. Not on their own personal political views

Great post Michelle It was this board that opened my eyes to the regulatory and institutional capture. It's an utter bloody outrage and it's a total failure of government to challenge this. It's profoundly undemocratic and it is corroding public faith in the state. Most people don't know about it, but people do know there's something profoundly wrong with the state of policing. It's just unbelievable.

I did wonder if 3 police arresting her and 7 hours in custody was a way of the police flagging up the nonsense this is.

Meanwhile, down here in Kent, people feel the same way.

www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/public-lose-faith-in-police-221683/

Of the 10,150 burglaries reported between January and November last year in Kent 71% of them were categorised as having an outcome of 'investigation complete; no suspect identified'

andy

It's insane. They have time to police Twitter but can't be bothered to investigate burglaries? This situation is untenable and unsustainable. The government needs to urgently address this problem

Goosefoot, exactly. The law is meant to be above party politics. We don’t want a politicised police force, nor one that’s swayed by interest-group lobbyists.

Prodigal, most of what I used to call the Left lost interest in us long ago, probably soon after they dumped the working class. I now read the Morning Star - seems the Communists aren’t obeying the shouty trans mob.

BovaryX

A few years ago, a group of people with "protected status" broke into our property and stole some garden equipment. I managed to get the numberplate of their vehicle and contacted Kent police. Initially it was a good response with two PCSO's sent out. Then nothing happened and the police attitude became diabolical. The suspects were known career criminals, but the police didn't want to prosecute them because the CPS probably wouldn't take it further, and anyway if I did insist, then - THE CRIMINALS KNEW WHERE I LIVED.
I have lately maintained a view, that the police prefer criminals to the general public because they spend so much time around them.

The suspects were known career criminals, but the police didn't want to prosecute them because the CPS probably wouldn't take it further, and anyway if I did insist, then - THE CRIMINALS KNEW WHERE I LIVED

This kind of thing is precisely why the public is losing faith in the police. I think it's outrageous that this is the situation after 10 years of Conservative government. I am not in the UK and stuff like this makes me glad I am not. There are many things to love about the UK, but the ongoing failure of the police to protect the public from recidivist criminals is not one of them. I hope Boris Johnson is planning to do something about this, but I am not holding my breath....

It's been the same since labour was in power.

What ever government takes power the outcome is always the same, no one cares for the public.

"What ever government takes power the outcome is always the same, no one cares for the public."

The public elects politicians, so that once they are in power, they take orders from lobby groups and ignore the public.

andyoldlabour the police prefer the criminals because it makes life easier for them. It's like when teachers side with the bullies, rather than make the effort of actually doing something to tackle bullying.

The whole 'grooming gang' scandals in Rochford etc could have been stopped in their tracks, if the first complaints had been fully investigated, prosecuted and maximum sentences handed down. And that's just one example.