Police call handler request.

DancingDuck

YANBU at all, as someone else said, it could have put you in danger. It is not reasonable for the police call handler to ask you to do that as a member of the public and they should have made a welfare call to check on the flat.
Honestly words fail me at how little the police get involved in anything 'domestic' these days.

If you only knew the long hours my husband works, how hard he works… it’s absolutely enraging to hear people constantly disparage the police, yet encourage others here to waste their precious time and resources.

The call handler was following correct procedure. OP had no way of knowing whether police needed to be involved, or whether an ambulance was required - nothing. Just that someone’s door was open.

The police don’t have the time to devote to genuine issues because people think this is a reasonable use of their time - it isn’t. Ask some to close the door. Police are busy attending someone who’s had their head kicked in down an alleyway, or someone purposely walking down the train tracks; if you want police to attend quickly in an emergency, yet waste their time with nonsense like this, you’re the problem.

I don’t think I’d have been comfortable to go in and investigate, certainly not on my own. I don’t think you did anything wrong.

Sorry, I'm only just catching up on the past weeks messages, but this one rings very true of my call to the police earlier this year. My husband and myself, both in our 70's, retired to bed one Saturday night, at around midnight, a "young man"settled himself outside our gate, along with a loud radio "contraption" and preceded to sing along (very out of tune). I phoned the police and too was asked to go out to him and ask him to leave!
Why ask 70+ year old pensioners to check on someone who could have been armed and possibly nasty.
He finally left after "serenading" us for over an hour, no police seen at all......

@magshard20

You didn’t know he was armed, or nasty, because you didn’t want to speak to him. Which is your prerogative - but then you seem surprised the police didn’t turn up. They’re attending stabbings and muggings and victims of crimes, and you want them to dedicate their time instead to a total non-event like this?

You obviously have no idea how thinly stretched police resources are now - how few officers are actually on duty - have you ever considered the reason they can’t attend to everyone they need to is because their time is being wasted by calls like yours?

It makes my blood boil when people denigrate the police for not turning up, and fail to realise they’re part of the problem. He was outside your gate - not on your property. Annoying you with his music, but not a threat to you. Why do the police need to get involved?

theworriedwell - I'm not suggesting that the Police should hang around for five hours -that would be a huge waste of their time.
I think that they should investigate to see that the house hadn't been burgled and no one was injured or sick .

Was he ok, dead, murdered or what?

Esmay

theworriedwell - I'm not suggesting that the Police should hang around for five hours -that would be a huge waste of their time.
I think that they should investigate to see that the house hadn't been burgled and no one was injured or sick .

They should have attended soon as.

I would not have done as the police asked either.

As soon as what? As soon as they are freed up from more urgent jobs? Do you think there is a police officer always immediately available for any of us? There are limited numbers of officers on duty at any time and jobs are prioritised. This wasn't huge top priority

“I think that they should investigate to see that the house hadn't been burgled and no one was injured or sick.”

They absolutely don’t have the time for this. Someone - close the door. Job done.

If someone is injured or unwell, then it’s a waste of their time anyway and an ambulance would (possibly) be needed, not the police.

The entitlement of the public is just astounding.

They’re attending stabbings and muggings and victims of crimes, and you want them to dedicate their time instead to a total non-event like this?
That could have been another one.
Another two if Dee1012 had taken the advice of the call handler and a crime had been committed in there and the perpetrator still present.

I know how stretched police resources are but that advice was wrong.

MadameFeuveral

“I think that they should investigate to see that the house hadn't been burgled and no one was injured or sick.”

They absolutely don’t have the time for this. Someone - close the door. Job done.

If someone is injured or unwell, then it’s a waste of their time anyway and an ambulance would (possibly) be needed, not the police.

The entitlement of the public is just astounding.

Just close the door

And - if someone was in there, injured or sick and needed an ambulance, then shutting the door would mean that, if help was needed, none would be summoned.

Advising an older woman to go in there on her own to pop over and have a look was wrong. The man himself, whom she says she doesn't know, might be armed and dangerous.
These things happen even in pleasant, leafy suburbs. We've lived in a couple of ordinary residential roads in different areas where murders have happened in neighbouring houses, one quite horrendous.

So no, the advice was wrong and should be re-addressed.

No one advised the op to go in the flat. The operator asked a perfectly reasonable question, the op didn't want to do it. End of the issue.

“Advising an older woman to go in there on her own to pop over and have a look was wrong.”

No one advised her to. She can ask someone else to if she doesn’t want to investigate herself.

theworriedwell

No one advised the op to go in the flat. The operator asked a perfectly reasonable question, the op didn't want to do it. End of the issue.

"could you pop over and have a look."
Sounds like suggesting she went over to investigate.

MadameFeuveral

“Advising an older woman to go in there on her own to pop over and have a look was wrong.”

No one advised her to. She can ask someone else to if she doesn’t want to investigate herself.

Yes, she could and did.
Someone arrived a few hours later and helped.

I am not suggesting the police drop what they were doing and go along immediately to investigate. I am saying that the police call handler suggesting an older, lone woman pop over and have a look was the wrong advice and should be revised.

I totally disagree MadamFeuveral if the poster or anyone else nominated by her had gone to investigate and been hit on the head as they cautiously approached the door that would have put them in unnecessary danger What if they walked into a murder scene ! They could have contaminated the whole area or been killed themselves
If they had just shut the door without anyone investigating inside there could have been a body there festering away who perhaps could have been saved

I totally understand the police are too busy and run ragged and I have a lot of empathy, it’s a difficult job and it just shows when the last government cut all the police numbers how wrong there were, but the public shouldn’t have to investigate a situation like this

Well said, Bluebelle.

I think you did the responsible thing in calling the police.

I think it was wrong to be told to go and have a look yourself.

She wasn't told to go and look. The operator asked a question.

People have now idea how stretched the police are. I've known the subdivision where I lived have one officer on patrol for the night. When he had the cheek to go in for his meal break there was not one officer available. People don't want to pay enough tax to have the services we need and then they complain about it.

Allira

*I am not suggesting the police drop what they were doing and go along immediately to investigate. I am saying that the police call handler suggesting an older, lone woman pop over and have a look was the wrong advice and should be revised.*

She said could you, not go and look. The operator won't know every property in the force area and it could be something the OP could easily do. The OP knew the layout and she made the decision. Perfectly reasonable all round.

She wasn't told to go and look.
the person on the phone asked "could you pop over and have a look."
Much the same thing.

People don't want to pay enough tax to have the services we need
Some of us would prefer a penny or two on income tax, even though our pensions are not large. We'd prefer that to sneaky taxes that raise little.

Allira

^She wasn't told to go and look.^
the person on the phone asked "could you pop over and have a look."
Much the same thing.

People don't want to pay enough tax to have the services we need
Some of us would prefer a penny or two on income tax, even though our pensions are not large. We'd prefer that to sneaky taxes that raise little.

I think it would be more than a penny or two. We need more police, paramedics, doctors, nurses, physios (I've been waiting three months for a physio appointment). Then there's dentists, social workers, schools and enough teachers. Do t even know where to start with social care.

(^I've been waiting three months for a physio appointment^)
Yes, I've been told it will be 14 weeks wait here.

2p in the £ would be a start.
Chasing the wealthy who evade tax would be a good idea as would closing loopholes.

Looking at why we are paying millions to wealthy people for Government contracts would be another area worth investigating.