The Police, what's the point of them?

I don't think it the actual Police officers that are refusing but unfortunately it comes from a much higher level, and the buck stops at government funding and namely the home office. They are looking for boxes to be ticked and a new way of policing unfortunately it isn't the type of policing that Joe Public want, as usual it is all cost. Even in major crime they have to not process some of the evidence they uncover as the cost would take them over budget. The days of the copper on the beat are long gone.

A few years ago I came back from holiday and our garage had been broken into I phoned the police all I got was an Incident number to give to my insurance company no one came out to investigate, no one cared. I got sent victim of crimes help sheets, it's turns out lots of garages had been broken into in my area which I found out by reading the local paper, the perpetrator probably got a slap on the wrist.

Surely we should ask more of our police force. Our grandson's need protecting on nights out, our granddaughter's need protecting. Whose protecting us, no one it seems if we call 999 will anyone police arrive, I don't think so. Knife crime, burglary, rape, perhaps murders after someone has been Killed, I feel that we are living in a lawless society.

So what did you expect the police to do? Wouldn’t you rather they were dealing with knife crime than your garage!

Maybe it depends on the area. When our house was burgled the police were marvellous. They came out straight away and we had a follow up visit when the culprits were caught. Mind you this was a long time ago.
About five years ago we had an incident with a dangerous dog. Once again the police visited us and we had a follow up visit to tell us the outcome of the investigation.

Agree with GSH am pretty sure Police Forces would not investigate theft of cycles taken to Poland unless this is part of organised crime intel ..

We have the lowest number of police officers per head of practically any developed country - some have twice as many. The PCSO teams that helped with neighbourhood support have been virtually dismantled in the name of cost cutting, as have the proactive teams working within communities to stop crime before it happened. The police starting salary was slashed to £19000 from over £23000 ten years ago.

If you want a better service, perhaps address your queries to the people responsible for all of the.above?

And just keep hoping that the police are never allowed to strike. Because if they stopped working for a few days we’d soon find out what the point of them is.

The police are understaffed and underfunded. My daughter and son are in the police and its the hardest job in the world. If your child goes missing who do you call? You know they'll come through for the most important things.

The choice is not between pursuing theft or saving lives. Much police work is spent on routine paperwork, chasing up licences, visditing women who take photographs of some TERF stickers, and such like.

Some police forces had decided that mental health is not a police matter and should be dealt with by the NHS. Police cells are NOT a suitable place for the mentally disturbed.

We are far to quick to find excuses for people and groups not doing their jobs properly. That is why their are so many corrupt and violent members of the police who should have been kicked out and haven't been.

Polite cough! Ahem
Police do investigate cycle thefts, my neighbour had his and his son’s bike stolen last year.He reported the thefts ( taken from back yard) and to his surprise got them back a few months later.The police knew, as they often do, the bad lads who were stealing them, and they recovered them from a property along with other stolen stuff.

Nicenanny3

Cyclist forced to spend £6,000 on drones, private investigators and drive to POLAND to get stolen bikes back after police said there wasn't enough evidence - despite him giving them the crooks' Names (Daily Mail today)

What do you think? I think it's frightening that a crime is committed you phone 999 and the police don't want to know, they are about as much use as a chocolate teapot.

If I were you I would stop reading The Daily Fail , oh I mean Daily Mail !!! . It is very anti police , does not accurately report and twists headlines .
The public would be absolutely astounded if they spent even a couple of hours alongside the police and saw what they have to deal with day in and day out .
We never pick up a paper and read about all the positive cases do we .
It really infuriates me this constant anti police rhetoric . We have in the UK one of the most tolerant and compassionate police forces in the world , I think we should be grateful for the men and women who pull that uniform on every day not knowing if they'll make it home at the end of the day .
Insulting to say the least .

Nicenanny3

54Wenmore

If a cyclist loses their bike l don't want my tax spent on getting it back.

He didn't just lose his bike he was robbed of 4 specialist bikes worth over £36,000 I'm sure you'd change your tune if robbers came into your house and pinched goods worth that amount.

I wouldn't have £36,000 worth of anything in my house. When l was in twenty l had almost every possession stolen, taught me you don't need many possessions. £36000 of bikes should be in secure storage, adequately insured.

We have a business, and we no longer bother to ring the police.

We have invested in state of the art security, which generally alerts us to suspicious behaviour, and we have challenged them, several times ending in scuffles.

We have good relationships with other traders, if someone known is seen in one unit, the owner will ring around so that we are prepared.

It’s all very well saying it’s only stuff, but we all work hard to pay for it, and don’t plan on allowing anyone to just walk away with it.

Police are human and as such are not all the same.
It's true that you never see them walking around but often in cars with the blue lights flashing, probably attending road traffic incidents.
Sadly, you see them in hospitals especially dealing with drunks.

999 calls are always answered. Not so much 101.

I have several friends who are retired police. I met them through voluntary work where they work hard and are good company.
They are often far more compassionate about the criminals in society than I am.

22:58MarathonRunner

We have in the UK one of the most tolerant and compassionate police forces in the world , I think we should be grateful for the men and women who pull that uniform on every day not knowing if they'll make it home at the end of the day

I don't want a tolerant and compassionate police force I want a police force who are tough on crime. For every crime committed there is a victim, a young lad saving up for a new bike his pride and joy then some scumbag takes it from him well I sorry but yes I want it investigated. These scumbags think they own the streets, they want something they just take it. They walk into shops and just steal whatever they want they know the chances of anyone stopping them or the police arresting them are zero. Near where I live in Alderley Edge a man was recently attacked with a machete and his watch and other jewellery taken. We are living in a lawless society and I personally want the Police to step up and do their job.

06:33Sara1954

We have a business, and we no longer bother to ring the police

It's disgusting that you can't expect any help from the police and yes it might just be stuff but it's your stuff and your business that you've worked hard for.

I can’t speak for other crimes, but as far as stealing from retailers is concerned, they know that nothing will be done about it.
In the past we have given the police names and addresses, their excuse for not following up on it? They will just say they found it. Nothing we can do.

07:15Sara1954

It's probably only going to get worse unfortunately.

Nicenanny
Sadly, I think you’re right.

Surely the aattitude of maany people on this thread explains the utter indifference of the police to dealing with community crime.

I wonder how they would feel, if it was their business that was being forced into closure by shoplifting or their houses broken into, or their belongings vandalised.

It must be very frustrating to think that shop theft is not investigated .
Is that the reason all the remaining shops in our high St are investing in ugly steel shutters and cctv?

They spoil the look of the street and make it look like a no-go area from a NY cop drama and not a conservation area with attractive planting in the pedestrian area.

My pet hate is vandalism and littering which is never investigated.

I called the police to our community garden when a shed was burnt down. All they wanted to know was how much it was worth.
It wasn't until 2 more sheds were burned down that it was taken a bit more seriously and they interviewed a couple of schoolboy suspects. (I had done some investigating myself) that the vandals stopped. There were no more sheds to burn!

Would you be whingeing as some of you have, if you were the family of that poor toddler who went missing and was found in a local pond? Did you see on your screens the number of police vehicles drawn up in the village where they searched for and found the child? The police are grossly under-staffed but there's not a single officer who won't do his or her best to turn out in a real emergency. Please get real, and if you have complaints about police, start bombarding your MPs about the situation that has come about through many years of under-funding.

annodomini👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Recently A police sgt was killed trying to help a distressed man on a railway track

I’m a bit cross after my friend was robbed of her mobile phone by two women. We felt harassed and didn’t realise what had happened until they left. With the phone. The police weren’t interested. But they come to the synagogue every Saturday morning for what? I don’t understand.

Nicenanny3 please vent your frustration about the police at the real cause, the government. Theresa May cut police budgets. Forces funding has been pared back to the bone and still more cut backs. Police officers and staff work very hard, with fewer staff doing more work. It’s a tough job. I agree the current situation isn’t good, but focus on the real issue, don’t blame the police.