What is the point of the police?

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  • Let me start by saying that when I was young, I had the utmost respect for the police. But, many years later that has been turned onto its head.

    Without boring everyone, I have had a NFH (Neighbour From Hell) for over 10 years. He came out of prison and you name it, he's done it. Drugs, drink, prostitutes etc. But that was not the problem, he has systematically damaged my property at every opportunity. From crow-barring fences, to pouring bleach over my plants. From drilling the walls every day.... to heavy bass music. I could go on....

    Suffice to say, I have called the police and what has been their response. Nothing! Different officers have repeatedly said to me they don't get involved in neighbour disputes and I should really learn to get on with them...

    Even a complaint via police procedures got nowhere. The inspector who called me back said he has more important things to deal with and I don't appreciate what the police have to do with.

    A common theme here, if it were not obvious, is that that the police turn things back on you and you're the problem. Even a complaint to the London Mayor's office got nowhere either.

    So, what's the point of the police? If they don't enforce the law, what are they there for?

  • I've noticed this problem everywhere else as well. It's a sign of the times. If you have a complaint, don't go to the complaints section. If you have a problem, don't tell anyone. If you have a suggestion, why don't you keep it to yourself because we're not interested. Feedback? Please go away, unless you're going to tell us how wonderful you think we are. Of course we won't thank you, we don't have time for that sort of thing. And everyone is always on holiday or about to go on holiday so it's hard to get their attention about anything.

    I would suspect that police officers in Britain are terrified of being sued. Doctors are already so terrified of being sued that they tend to be half hearted at emergency sites because people are often on the lookout for litigation cash, so no professional wants to become the victim of some opportunist and its squadron of lawyers. Maybe the police are just as cautious. Every time they do something the media goes mad and they are dragged through the muck and questioned.

  • Firstly you need to keep a diary. If you decide to fit a CCTV camera to use as evidence, don't tell anyone and ensure that your neighbour can't see the camera.

    That tends to make things worse. After a while you should have a fair bit of evidence about his anti social behaviour and can use that in any action but he'll probably only get an ASBO. The local council may be willing to help.

    If all else fails, I'm sure a few big lads from the local pub will be willing to tell him where he's going wrong for a price.

    A smack in the mouth often saves a thousand words. ;)

  • I've noticed this problem everywhere else as well. It's a sign of the times. If you have a complaint, don't go to the complaints section. If you have a problem, don't tell anyone. If you have a suggestion, why don't you keep it to yourself because we're not interested. Feedback? Please go away, unless you're going to tell us how wonderful you think we are. Of course we won't thank you, we don't have time for that sort of thing. And everyone is always on holiday or about to go on holiday so it's hard to get their attention about anything.

    I would suspect that police officers in Britain are terrified of being sued. Doctors are already so terrified of being sued that they tend to be half hearted at emergency sites because people are often on the lookout for litigation cash, so no professional wants to become the victim of some opportunist and its squadron of lawyers. Maybe the police are just as cautious. Every time they do something the media goes mad and they are dragged through the muck and questioned.

    Many of the police here are:

    1. Stupid.
    2. Lazy.

    And they get well paid.

    The Americanised suing culture is starting here, but its a long way from American standards for the time being.

  • Have you tried the council? Not really a police matter I'd have thought.

  • Just trying to watch something on television (don't know why I bothered, as two of the main channels are showing the same type of police reality programme) and on one of the programmes, someone dialled 999 and reported that their daughter had received racist insults on Facebook.

    As I said earlier in OP, I've had a lot of neighbour problems including my property destroyed and daily threats for over 10 years, so as the police did sweet FA about my problems, I expected the same for this issue. Instead the police contacted Facebook and traced the message back to it's originator, then 3 or 4 officers were dispatched to arrest him immediately. I switched off at this point.

    I was going to create a new thread about this as I'm always on the lookout for new thread ideas, but I'd thought I stick this in here instead.

    Why is is that the police don't consider my property being damaged by a convicted criminal, getting threatened and multiple other things over many years a police matter, yet, if someone posts something racist on Facebook and not even threatening, the police go "all out" to "hunt" the offender down?

    What the hell is the point of the police if most crime is decriminalised, unless, that is, the "crime" is posted on Facebook?

  • I would presume that the police today are the victims of political correctness gone mad and they do what they are instructed to do or they themselves become victimised by the system and the mob.

    It's a sure fire way to destroy the very fabric and significance of guardians. And I am fonder of guardians than of any other human manifestation.

    I also know from experience that if there is something rotten in Denmark (quote Hamlet) then a certain type gets attracted to the security services of that rotten regime, ostensibly to defend its "values" but mostly so as to inflict personal aggro on favoured targets, and get away with it.

  • The big question for me is, does having a elected police commissioner actually improve the police or is it just another political post for those who aspire to be in politics to aim for?

  • Why is is that the police don't consider my property being damaged by a convicted criminal, getting threatened and multiple other things over many years a police matter, yet, if someone posts something racist on Facebook and not even threatening, the police go "all out" to "hunt" the offender down?

    What the hell is the point of the police if most crime is decriminalised, unless, that is, the "crime" is posted on Facebook?

    If you're one of an ethnic minority you could try the hate crime ploy. This usually means that if you consider the crimes to be hate crimes they are crimes and receive more consideration. Unfortunately this route isn't open to most people and you'll probably find that most of your attacks are listed as 'anti social behaviour' rather than threatening behaviour or criminal damage.

  • They didn't even list the bulk of the stuff, it's only when I went to have a row with them (not an entirely sensible thing to do in a police station..) did I find out that most stuff they hadn't bothered to log.

    Note to all: if you report a crime to the police, ensure you get a crime reference number. If you do not get this number, the crime will not be logged. You have been warned!

    Hate crimes should be investigated but given no special priority over any other type of crime, but what happened in this crappy show last night, wasn't a crime. Someone said something like you have been implanted with the seed of a nig**r. The person who wrote that on Facebook didn't make a threat. What the hell is going on?

  • Someone said something like you have been implanted with the seed of a nig**r. The person who wrote that on Facebook didn't make a threat. What the hell is going on?

    The thought police. In another place I recently quoted the Duke of Edinburgh's asking a Scottish driving instructor in Oban: "How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test?"

    I was instantly accused of racism by a Scot. Sheer lunacy. 8|

  • The point of the police is to replace the bible as a system of control to keep the populous on the straight and narrow. Once upon a time, people would behave because they thought some intangible being was going to smite them down, or stand over them on judgment day. Now we have the police with the help of CCTV cameras to watch, and the judiciary to hand down the punishment.

  • The point of the police is to replace the bible as a system of control to keep the populous on the straight and narrow. Once upon a time, people would behave because they thought some intangible being was going to smite them down, or stand over them on judgment day. Now we have the police with the help of CCTV cameras to watch, and the judiciary to hand down the punishment.

    My experience with the police is similar to Horizon - they rely on people not to commit crimes. If they do then the best they do for you is give you a crime number so you can claim on the insurance.

    Quick story - my wife runs a business which I am a sleeping partner of, it got broken into the other day. The door was smashed in and a small amount of money was taken. They had CCTV evidence and fingerprint evidence in various places which her and the staff made sure they didn't contaminate. First off the police said there was no need to come round, then when they finally did the officer didn't even come inside - he just gave an email to send the CCTV footage to. Meanwhile we got an email saying the case was closed! This wound me up so I rung up - congratulated them on solving the crime so quickly and asked them when the trial date was. Of course they hadn't even bothered looking for anyone. I lost my temper with them - soon after a SOCO chap came round, got fingerprints and studied and saved the CCTV.

    I know nothing will happen, this was just for show. On the phone I said I was bloody annoyed I didn't realise the police were so uninterested in catching criminals a bit earlier in my life, I would have enjoyed a lucrative tax free career as a petty criminal. They tried, unsuccessfully in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, to convince me they were interested in catching criminals..

    I feel sorry for coppers though. I expect most go into it with good intentions but quite clearly it is a bullshit job these days.

  • Interesting

    My experience with the police is similar to Horizon - they rely on people not to commit crimes

    If you think about it the State has always had a certain reliance on people not committing crimes in order to maintain control.

    The bible was always there to try and keep people on the straight and narrow, rather than catch people after the event, and subsequently, so are the police.

    The bible achieved it by virtue of an omnipotent being , who would ultimately sit in judgment over people. The police achieves it by creating a fear you will get caught, leading to a Judge standing over people sitting in judgement.

    Neither is 100% effective, but the one big flaw with the new system is that no-one would be daft enough to think the police could be omnipotent. Also, because they are tangible and will get scrutiny, anyone can see that they are not infallible. With the bible system, everyone gets their comeuppance in the end another beauty of religion is that judgment happens when you die, so no one can report back and say the deity got it wrong.

    In many ways the police, CPS and Courts, perform a function that the bible was originally designed to perform.

  • My experience with the police is similar to Horizon - they rely on people not to commit crimes. If they do then the best they do for you is give you a crime number so you can claim on the insurance.

    Quick story - my wife runs a business which I am a sleeping partner of, it got broken into the other day. The door was smashed in and a small amount of money was taken. They had CCTV evidence and fingerprint evidence in various places which her and the staff made sure they didn't contaminate. First off the police said there was no need to come round, then when they finally did the officer didn't even come inside - he just gave an email to send the CCTV footage to. Meanwhile we got an email saying the case was closed! This wound me up so I rung up - congratulated them on solving the crime so quickly and asked them when the trial date was. Of course they hadn't even bothered looking for anyone. I lost my temper with them - soon after a SOCO chap came round, got fingerprints and studied and saved the CCTV.

    I know nothing will happen, this was just for show. On the phone I said I was bloody annoyed I didn't realise the police were so uninterested in catching criminals a bit earlier in my life, I would have enjoyed a lucrative tax free career as a petty criminal. They tried, unsuccessfully in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, to convince me they were interested in catching criminals..

    I feel sorry for coppers though. I expect most go into it with good intentions but quite clearly it is a bullshit job these days.

    When my neighbour crow barred my fence for the second or third time, the police office insinuated I had done it for the insurance money. I pointed out to him that I couldn't afford house insurance. He left and of course never did anything to the neighbour, a convicted, violent, robber.

    Another incident shortly afterwards, the police officer quipped to me, "you know when they say on Crimewatch that crime doesn't pay, well, let me tell you something now, it does, it really does."

    I felt like saying, crime pays because of lazy arseholes like you, but as my Dad just stated to cry over all of it, he understood enough that something was wrong and I needed to feed and toilet him, I let it go - again.

  • A 78-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a suspected burglar was stabbed to death.

    The man, named locally as Richard Osborn-Brooks, discovered two intruders in South Park Crescent, Hither Green, south-east London, at about 00:45 BST.

    One suspect, armed with a screwdriver, forced the man into his kitchen where a struggle ensued and he was stabbed, Scotland Yard said.

    This echoes the farmer Tony Martin story, but this time the robbers remained in the house and were armed with a screwdriver, yet its the victim who gets arrested for suspected murder. WTF:?::cursing::thumbdown:

    After the Martin case, the CPS were reminded by the government of the law which said that you can use reasonable force to defend yourself and your property. If someone is attacking you with a screwdriver in your own house after midnight, how is it unreasonable not to defend yourself against said attack?

    Why is it that the assumption by the police that the man is suspected of murder, when it should be the other way? Unless someone can prove he invited these people into his house to kill them, the assumption should be that he did what he felt was necessary to defend himself against a very dangerous and immediate threat?

    In the BBC article (click on the orange writing in the quote box to read the full article) it says the man acted lawfully, yet he was arrested. Do the police have any clue whatsoever of the law? Do they care?

    What is the point of the police?

  • The big question for me is, does having a elected police commissioner actually improve the police or is it just another political post for those who aspire to be in politics to aim for?

    A rather late reply to your query Ron, but I think that's a very good question.

    I've barely heard anything about these commissioners in the news, so I suspect its just purely a political post and they will quietly get dropped at some point in the future.

    @hoxton_hockler

    You probably won't see this, but did the police ever get back to you about your break-in that you posted about here last year?

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