The Police, what's the point of them?

MOnica yes - 12 years of devastation of public services and those services losing ‘expensive’ experienced staff, replaced by new recruits, no wonder we have a problem Houston

Individual heroic acts do not mean that the general state of the police in this country is not pretty poor with most minor criminals knowing that they can continue to shoplift and steal with impunity

Yes payees1, they are indeed.
They’re the ones running into danger when we are running away.

Are these the same police who dived into a freezing lake to save children, or the policeman who lost his life saving a man from the railway track.

The news this evening covered the approach Humberside police is introducing. After lengthy discussions including police, health m.h., social care the police will continue to respond where life is at risk, for people in crisis the caller will be re-directed to the appropriate service
That’s what always happened until austerity devastated all our key services. The police became the only emergency service that responded to 999 calls

I find the word Gollywog racist.

I think police have to deal with too much these days. Drunks, people with mental health issues, kids in foster care coming home late, lost animals, trapped animals, car crashes, speeding etc.

Police should be dealing with murders, rapes, burglaries and other serious stuff and maybe have another arm or section dealing with minor stuff.

The Police round here wouldn’t come out when our workshop was broken into. They didn’t want to come out when our 4 x 4 was left on bricks with all the wheels stolen. Yet last week there were 3 police vehicles and 6 police officers at a house where a pushbike had been stolen. Madness!

I’m sure the police have to prioritise crimes, they’ve under staffed and funded. Violent crimes sadly must take precedence over stolen goods. The minority of bad police officers give the hard working majority such bad press!

We have had 3 break-ins and one attempted break-in. The last 26 years ago, and on each occasion the police attended. In all but the last time. several times.

Very little was stolen on either occasion because as I have very little jewellry and we do not keep money in the house nor have expensive tvs or electronic equipment, there were very few portable items of value in the house, nor are we rich and famous.

This did not stop the police attending domestic burglaries in the 1970s/80s. I see no reason why it should stop them doing it now.

A blitz on shoplifting and burglary and street crime could see a a very public and satisfactory drop in that type of crime and would go a long way in increasing public trust and support for the police.

Germanshepherdsmum

Incidentally the value of the bikes isn’t exactly comparable to that of Tamara Ecclestone’s jewels.

But that is really my point. In my luckily quite limited personal experience of seeking police help - all of it to do with various instances of car crime - the police give you a number to make an insurance claim and give no indication they intend to look for the culprit. They only seem to do that for wealthy individuals who have lost something of high monetary value. These people are probably more able to absorb the loss than less well-off people who have to cope with much increased insurance premiums after a claim. I don’t want to run down the police who I know have a tough job, but I do sympathise with the man who had to investigate the stolen bikes on his own.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

I read that Braverman’s comment that the police are too woke had been sharply criticised by the Police Association.

She really is pretty hopeless.

Nanna
That’s my thinking too.

Perhaps lobbying your local MPs to get more police might be the way to go? Perhaps a group to deal with ‘minor’ crimes would be good , as opposed to violent ones ? We have people assigned to the railways who are not fully fledged police but have powers of arrest. The railways and stations are much better and safer now as a result. Maybe they could look at that sort of model ?

Anniebach

As police cannot strike we can only guess ‘what’s the point of them’ .

👏👏👏

This thread is another started by this OP, with the intention of trying to provoke a row.

Nicenanny3

Seems strange posters wanting to shut down a thread which they have been posting on since the beginning 🤔

Strange? After the disgraceful things you have said about the police whilst others have mentioned some of the terrible things they have to deal with and the brave policeman who died after trying to get someone out of the path of a train?

As police cannot strike we can only guess ‘what’s the point of them’ .

I suppose crime is changing, therefore the police have to adapt to a new way of crime fighting .
Cyber crime is the new big threat, and I suppose more and more police are needed to try and keep up with it.
Despite thinking we’re quite sceptical about things , we were recently scammed, which cost us a lot more than a few things taken from the shop floor.
The scam was so elaborate, with so many different people involved, That we just didn’t question it.
We feel pretty stupid now, I don’t think the police could have helped us, but I imagine a lot of police resources has been diverted to cyber crime
But we still need police on the streets and in the communities, so unless we’re prepared to accept a complete breakdown in law and order, we really need to be recruiting a lot more police.

I think the police are underfunded and that is a Tory government issue. That said, there will always be priorities: it's a matter of how those priorities are set, how consistent they are and how they are explained to the public. Brexit has probably caused some problems with international crimefighting.

Seems strange posters wanting to shut down a thread which they have been posting on since the beginning 🤔

But, in the interest of fairness. We recently broke down on motorway, a long way from home.
The AA wouldn’t come out until the police had made the area safe, and the police were great, cheerful and helpful.

I don’t have a personal thing going with the police, but I do question how they use their resources.
I was recently followed for fifteen miles by a police car. When I got to work it drew up beside me, and asked me to get into their car.
My crime? The previous evening I had backed into a wall ( on my own property) and smashed a rear light. I hadn’t driven in the dark with it out
I was ordered to report to the police station later that day after I had it repaired.
That’s two police officers who could have been doing something more useful for an hour.
I would have had it fixed without their intervention

Ok, yes, I must have missed that somewhere.

Sara1954

GSM
What are you finding disgraceful?
Just asking

Let’s start with namby pamby, afraid of their own shadows.

Nicenanny3

Essex police chief whose force raided pub on suspicion of 'hate crimes' for having golliwog dolls behind bar has 'no 'regrets' despite CPS later dropping the case (Daily Mail)

They sent 6 police officers to seize the golliwogs. The golliwogs had been on display for 10 years landlady said. Pub now closed. Essex police chief had no regrets, you couldn't make it up could you, a good use of 6 policemens time I don’t think so.

I was pleased and reassured that the police chief who ordered the investigation into the provocative presence of dolls that are offensive to many.
I’ve read interviews with the landlords, racist views expressed as would be expected

AGAA4, and granny bags, Beauty and the beast (and anyone I missed) if I was American, I’d say please thank your relative for their service

I’ve needed the police in my private life and regularly in my working life. At work I remember two who were in need of further training/a personality transplant, in almost 40 years. In my private life - no criticisms at all.