Police Attitudes To Stolen Bikes

[iconic]

Hi guys, this wasn't meant to be cop bashing thread, the reverse in fact but it sure has struck a chord....I have a used car sales and I sell lots of 3 series to local cops and I have never had a problem with any of them....not sure why they like 3 series though!

Point about the speeding is that yes, I held my hands up so I know when I'm in the wrong and don't expect to be let off (a stern warning would be nice though!)....

It's obvious that we have a post from a 'proper' cop who cares and many do but can't do the job with one hand tied behind their back...also, when I report and stolen bike and the whereabouts of it, am I talking to a cop or a 'civie'?.....I'd think a real cop maybe be keaner than a 'civie', most likely wrong but that is my perception,.

Also, this bike theft thing...it's fairly that this is a real big issue, in one week there were 12 bikes stolen in Medway that I know of, many more I don't know of no doubt, and does anyone get their bike back?

So, what's to be done if the police can't help, or are seen as helpless or apathetic? Well, I always HPI everything I buy, if you don't you will not know if the bike is hooky which only encourages the theft of bikes...they can't all be broken up for parts can they? Lots of very dodgy bikes seem to turn up on fleabay so always ask for a reg' plate or VIN to do a check on I suppose may help.

One last thought, I sold a Beemer to a retiring cop in the met' a few years back, one of life's gentlemen, he gave the impression he was quite high up and was looking forward to retirement as the job had changed too much....anyway, he gave me

[Andy]

Friend of mine's nephew who joined the Police straight from school has just jacked it in - at the grand old age of 22. Very disillusioned. Too much paperwork and bureaucracy and not enough real policing. I'm sure he's not alone.

[frontroomautos]

Yes I've heard similar from others too. Well I suppose all you can do is protect your bike from theft as good as is possible, I went at it by spending out on steel lockup, ground anchor & I think I might just as well plate & register my next bike for two reasons. 1. Keeps no claims bonus going 2. Get paid out if the worst should happen. Having done all that I can think of no more other than perhaps an alarm but where does it stop, It becomes an ordeal just accessing your bike, but at least thieves dont have the satisfaction (but if they want it they'll try), but they'll have to have allot of expensive gear with them to acheive nicking a couple grands worth of trials bike. Proffessional theives will get near anything but theres nothing in it for them for even a new trials bike. The only ones that will be after them are usuall brainless, thick chavs. The sort that will bend up the corner of yer up & over garage door & try & bolt crop the chain from the ground anchor. These morons have set the alarm of in my house (without knowing it) as soon as they've touched the garage door, let alone the rest & forget comming through the garage wall...4mm chequer plate & 2" box steel support all round & again alarm goes off. I wont mention the roof, something evil awaits, They'd' regret that for the rest of yer life ho ho ho

[eiger]

Many comments in the previous posts suggested that most cops are useless which is not the case at all, a minority may be lacking in certain area's just like any cross section of the general public but the majority are decent and hardworking people with morals and principles. These cops support the view that our current judicial system is weak and inept, governed and operated by weak do-gooders who are far removed from the real world. Some of you may have seen the daily papers recently where a disgustingly inadequate Court result was highlighted. The offender was a male in his twenties who was travelling on a packed bus in London, a 97 year old chap was stood up holding on to the upright pole as no-one had offered him a seat (another sign of our times) as the offender made to leave the bus he collided with the elderly gent and his hat fell off, he called the elderly gent a b*****d and promptly punched him in the face before getting off the bus. The victim was badly injured and the assault resulted in him losing the sight in one eye, at Court the offender was convicted and his penalty was a three year community punishment order (replace the word punishment with joke) he should have been given a custodial sentence to protect society, in prison they cannot commit offences against society.

Another post refers to civilians perhaps lacking in some respects, I work with many of these people and would argue that most are capable and caring people but some are not, one common complaint from cops is when joe public phones police to report say someone breaking into a house, until we get there joe public is our eyes and ears and we should be keeping him on the line if he is not compromising his own safety,however its almost like the call has to be terminated and when we call over the radio 'is the caller still on the line' the response is usually 'no they have terminated'. On arrival the caller, when spoken to will say that they wanted to stay on the phone but the civilian terminated the call.Its down to training but call takers are governed by targets, one being how many jobs they can clear, so the pressure is for them to get rid of callers, another home office piece of red tape.

This government introduced Police Community Support Officers, they are supposed to build bridges with the community especially the youth element, some have done a good job but generally (despite many individuals best efforts) the idea is a failure, they cannot be confrontational and if a group of youths get a bit mouthy then they have to request a uniformed cop so what is the point, we should just employ more cops.

Before I bore you all completely (some probably already are!) most shifts are ten hours, and in around a half of them I do not get a break, no brew and no food, that is how busy I can be along with the rest of us. I cover a division with a population of around 300,000 people, on an average night we will have between 12 and 15 cops on duty, recently we had three serious crime scenes by 01.00 which needed 2 cops on each scene to preserve it until scenes of crime officers (fingerprint and evidence retrieval people who are usually civvies and wear the white suits) could attend the following morning. This left 9 cops, by 02.00 hrs 5 cops had made arrests and were dealing with prisoners leaving just 4 cops to try to look after a huge area and population.

If the public knew what I know about dangerous people, they would be asking for a general election now although the electors voice has no choice - Cameron? waste of space, Monster raving loony party would be a better option. Many are being released early (violent or paeodophilic where the probation and prison service have expressed concerns prior to release) and yet they are released (often to an unknown address) which shows the level of inadequacy and incompetence in this country.

If I am working a Friday evening I'll take an extra shirt as Iwill usually get covered in someones blood, or vomit, or urine or faeces or perhaps a mixture of two or more.

None of us probably have an easy job and mine certainly isn't but its interesting and rarely boring, just very frustrating and makes you very cynical, Andy mentioned that someone he knew left the cops at the ripe old age of 22, well if i was not tied to the pension I'd have gone a long time ago.

Oh and despite my requests for those to pm me as per my previos post where I did not believe their complaint I still have not heard anything.

No more posts/rants now I promise.

[nigel dabster]

Many comments in the previous posts suggested that most cops are useless which is not the case at all, a minority may be lacking in certain area's just like any cross section of the general public but the majority are decent and hardworking people with morals and principles. These cops support the view that our current judicial system is weak and inept, governed and operated by weak do-gooders who are far removed from the real world. Some of you may have seen the daily papers recently where a disgustingly with a population of around 300,000 people, on an average night we will have between 12 and 15 cops on duty, recently we had three serious crime scenes by 01.00 which needed 2 cops on each scene to preserve it until scenes of crime officers (fingerprint and evidence retrieval people who are usually civvies and wear the white suits) could attend the following morning. This left 9 cops, by 02.00 hrs 5 cops had made arrests and were dealing with prisoners leaving just 4 cops to try to look after a huge area and population.

If the public knew what I know about dangerous people, they would be asking for a general election now although the electors voice has no choice - Cameron? waste of space, Monster raving loony party would be a better option. Many are being released early (violent or paeodophilic where the probation and prison service have expressed concerns prior to release) and yet they are released (often to an unknown address) which shows the level of inadequacy and incompetence in this country.

If I am working a Friday evening I'll take an extra shirt as Iwill usually get covered in someones blood, or vomit, or urine or faeces or perhaps a mixture of two or more.

None of us probably have an easy job and mine certainly isn't but its interesting and rarely boring, just very frustrating and makes you very cynical, Andy mentioned that someone he knew left the cops at the ripe old age of 22, well if i was not tied to the pension I'd have gone a long time ago.

Oh and despite my requests for those to pm me as per my previos post where I did not believe their complaint I still have not heard anything.

No more posts/rants now I promise.

Think that is a great post and a reality check for those above that think thier experience is the norm, police are all *******s and don't give a damn.

Its just a shame we don't value those that do a good job and report the cases where the police are helpful and willing, but thats not good news is it?

Edited November 1, 2007 by Nigel Dabster

[frontroomautos]

I agree Nigel, If you read my posts you will observe that not once have I criticized police in the majority, as I say I have a good friend who has been a long time serving in the force, which I suppose means nothing you could say but I agree with Eiger & the police have my support and have had my assisstance. I would always be happy to assist the police & have. If you read my post Nigel you will find that the gripes I have are with Whithall & that they are political NOT with the police. I make no appologies for wanting a tougher penal system (punishment) & more police on the streets; as Eiger said there just arn't enough to enforce the law. Government can make all the laws & white papers they like but if theres no one to enfoce them & no institution to detain/punish whatever, whats the point.

My fundamental point was that when the police do arrest & charge someone & it goes to court, they must feel very demotivated when they see the silly sentences that Judges dish out which go hand in hand with benefits, stupid counceling sessions & all kinds of pathetic sick little schemes to make life easy for them that have been dreamed up by moronic lefty politicians & civil servents. Thats what makes crime a worthwhile risk, believe me I see it up close often enough, I wish I didnt have to, if I didnt perhaps I would not have such a strong opinion on this. Anyway, there's no deterent for most crimes & here's just one example; Don't like prison cos it makes you cry? Answer: Feign mental illness & hide in the psychiatric services (and before I'm missenterpreted Again: I do NOT think all psychiatric patients are like this, and I'm happy to contribute towards the running of services for those who need them). I'm saying that all those who contribute to society by working & those who are unfortunate not to be able to enjoy the privilege of being able to & who live within the law & respect others & do no harm to others deserve protecting properly from scum.

If thats considered off limits & a put down to cops then I'm afraid there's no hope or point in any of this.

From now on I'm sticking only to trials but it was an interesting thread that perhaps appears to have left the point of stolen bikes, but then again it has'nt, its totally related and totally relvent. Anyway you can only try to do good & hope to encounter it, but you can't rely on Justice & thats a fact (and for the B****y last time, try to see this IS NOT a criticism of the police).

[Andy]

I've had recent dealings with Strathclyde Police over the tragic death of Colin McRae and have nothing but praise for them over the way they handled things. I am on the Committee of the Subaru Impreza Drivers Club in the UK and, naturally, we wanted to put together a fitting tribute to the guy who made Subaru a global name. If it wasn't for Colin's WRC win in 1995 there is no doubt the marque would not be what it is.

The Club planned to meet up at a service station on the motorway and travel in convoy to the public celebration service of the lives of all who were lost in this tragic accident. Somehow Strathclyde Police picked up on our plans and contacted one of our guys to ensure everything went smoothly.

They were absolutely spot on. Even when the event co-ordinator told them the number of cars had doubled from 60 to 120+ they just said "Good stuff! thats fine with us".

We all met up at the services, had some great banter with the traffic cops assigned to us (mostly ripping the p*** out of their 5 series diesel!), and then 136 Imprezas travelled in slow convoy with a Police escort and them stopping all other traffic so we could travel in one to the service. It was an unbelievable experience and hopefully a fitting tribute.

On arrival at the parking spot in Lanark for the service, one cop on duty turned and said "I'm not really into cars - but when I saw and heard you guys coming into the carpark , I felt the hairs stand up on the back of my neck "

Another Officer on duty when asked "How did it go ? I hope there were no complaints?" said "Any complaints about you guys today would have been ignored"

It raised my opinion of the police considerably - the way they worked with us and accomodated us. It's just a shame it took such tragic circumstances to do so.

[bikespace]

One cop on duty turned and said "I'm not really into cars - but when I saw and heard you guys coming into the carpark , I felt the hairs stand up on the back of my neck "

I'm struggling not to comment here

Did he just mince over and say that?

I'll get me coat

[Andy]

I'm struggling not to comment here

Did he just mince over and say that?

I'll get me coat

It's the flat four burble, twatface!

[bikespace]

It's easy to slag people off. The problem is from the outside we do regularly see the poor job that the police do in tracking crime. I'm not saying the police are to blame there. They seem to be absolutely limited by the need to chase statistics rather than criminals.

I had my car broken in to recently outside a pub/hotel, in broad daylight, items stolen from the boot. The scumbags were caught on CCTV. Obviously I reported this (about 15 minutes after the event) to the police. My details were taken and the fact that it was on CCTV. I was given a crime number to satisfy my insurance and received a call on my answer phone a week or so later providing me with an update - which basically said we have not found the culprits but will keep you updated if there is any progress.

I checked with the pub/hotel next time I was in and they confirmed that the police had not been to see the CCTV footage.

Now I would imagine that the police just don't have the resources to respond to the majority of vehicle crime, and they will have priorities set from above. I really didn't even think about it afterwards as I would agree that the amount of effort that it would take to find the culprits, for him to get a slap on the wrist just doesn't seem worth it.

I'm now trying to get my crap car broken in to again so that I can dish out some tough love

Watch this space - I'll end up with an ABH charge.

P.S. whats the difference between grievous and actual bodily harm?

[steveo]

At a guess BS, grievious bodily harm is when it causes you to have grave concerns about fronting a beak for what you did to the prick thats wronged you. Actual bodily harm is when you catch the scum to teach him a lesson and come off more sore and sorrow than your target.

[frontroomautos]

I checked with the pub/hotel next time I was in and they confirmed that the police had not been to see the CCTV footage.

Now I would imagine that the police just don't have the resources to respond to the majority of vehicle crime, and they will have priorities set from above. I really didn't even think about it afterwards as I would agree that the amount of effort that it would take to find the culprits, for him to get a slap on the wrist just doesn't seem worth it.

I'm now trying to get my crap car broken in to again so that I can dish out some tough love

Thats exactly why I infered earlier that we might as well live in a state of anarchy (metaphorically speaking) as the police have been made to be ineffective by political legislation. There is not enough of them to be of much use & as you say they obviously consider theft not worth the persuit considering their rescourses & idiotic sentencing from judges. In other words the only guardian you have is your insurance policy concerning your property & possessions but when it comes to being protected against worse, well you are'nt & neither will you get justice in the UK if they are caught. As you say Bikespace, the only way is to make your own justice but remember the judge will always sympathise with the low life because he is equally as lowly.

[nigel dabster]

I checked with the pub/hotel next time I was in and they confirmed that the police had not been to see the CCTV footage.

Now I would imagine that the police just don't have the resources to respond to the majority of vehicle crime, and they will have priorities set from above. I really didn't even think about it afterwards as I would agree that the amount of effort that it would take to find the culprits, for him to get a slap on the wrist just doesn't seem worth it.

I'm now trying to get my crap car broken in to again so that I can dish out some tough love

Thats exactly why I infered earlier that we might as well live in a state of anarchy (metaphorically speaking) as the police have been made to be ineffective by political legislation. There is not enough of them to be of much use & as you say they obviously consider theft not worth the persuit considering their rescourses & idiotic sentencing from judges. In other words the only guardian you have is your insurance policy concerning your property & possessions but when it comes to being protected against worse, well you are'nt & neither will you get justice in the UK if they are caught. As you say Bikespace, the only way is to make your own justice but remember the judge will always sympathise with the low life because he is equally as lowly.

This dead horse do you want to flog it some more?

[gwrev3]

To add my two pen'eth, I've had good and bad experiences with the Police.

Bad:

Some a***hole tried to steal my car, with my empty bike trailer on the back, while I was riding in some woods one morning. A guy on an enduro alerted me and told me that he thought he'd disturbed the scumbag responsible. When I contacted the Police, the only useful point to come from my initial conversation was a crime reference number. When I told the operator that a screwdriver had been left in my car, she said there was no point sending an officer to the scene, so could I pop the screwdriver into a bag and drop it in at the station when I was passing? About six weeks later, I returned home from work one Sunday morning to find a PC waiting for me who'd come to follow-up on the incident. He seemed very sincere and was less than impressed when I got to the part about the screwdriver.

Good:

Recently, the wife decided to try her hand at a bit of demolition derby aginst a 7.5 tonne council wagon. Unfortunately, her Golf GTTDi wasn't upto the challenge and it ended up coming a very poor second, whilst the wife suffered whiplash, bruising and a great amount of shock. The Police who were involved with the accident were absolutely superb, they were very sympathetic towards my wife at the hospital and offered us both help and advice. Over the ensuing weeks, they made contact with her several times to see how she was, offer advice and keep her up to date with what was happening.

It's not my intention to have a dig at the Police and appologise to anyone who may think I have. I believe what Eiger says and think that the majority of cops are good at what they do and go about their business in a proffessional manner. But in the UK, the press and a fair proportion of the public like to wallow in negativity and love nothing more than pulling someone or something to pieces, whether it's one of the nations sports teams, a "celeb." or an organisation such as the Police. Also, it must be soul destroying for cops, having to do their best with insufficient staffing levels, only to see the scum get off with ludicrously lenient punishment, if they get punished at all.

To conclude, there are times when the Police do drop a clanger, no-one's perfect and there are times when the procedures they have to follow don't concur with what we'd expect. But when you watch some of the TV programmes showing the lowlife they deal with day-in, day-out and the harrasment they take, you've got to give them some credit. I for one know that I wouldn't do their job for a gold pig.

[eiger]

Dabster; apologies but this dead horse is having one more kick!

Bikespace; I read your posts and can only agree with your comments, however if the cops have info that your car was broken into and there is cctv then why haven't they got that footage? You should complain, we need to act and act quickly if there is a line of enquiry. Most places which have cctv only keep it for a certain period of time. It is a fundamental piece of Police work to chase up any possible line of enquiry. I want to catch people for committing crimes but need help to do so, we all need to work together and hopefully redress the balance.

Night folks x