Letter from Police

Author
Discussion

Engineer1

10,486 posts

211 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
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Um yeah the stationery and stamp really must drain resources.

Citizen09

882 posts

173 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
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Poledriver said:
the whole of our social/law system need to try to return our society to one where you shouldn't need to worry about leaving valuables in the car because there should be no fear of anyone wanting to steal from it!

I, know, I'm living in the past/cloud cuckoo land, but there was a time when this is how it was! frown
When was this particular time? There's never been a time when people didn't steal from each other, or from vehicles, once they were invented.

eldar

21,896 posts

198 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
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thinfourth2 said:
eldar said:
thinfourth2 said:
eldar said:
mrmr96 said:
Why does this letter bother you?
Good question. Leaving a satnav mount in place is an invite for a scrote to have a rummage in your car. I'd assume the police have a good idea about the crime levels in a particular area.

Wouldn't bother me at all.
If they have enough time to write a letter then they have enough time to sit and wait for a scrote to break into the car.
They really can't win, can they. Be a bit proactive and try and stop opportunist crime, end more is expected. I'd thought crime prevention was part of the Police's remit, not just cleaning up the aftermath.
When they are screaming about a lack of resources sending out letters doen't scream we have no resources.
Less cost required for sending the letter than reporting the crime and sorting insurance. Better management of resources. Only losers would be the scrotes, whats the problem with that?

14-7

6,233 posts

193 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
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pacman1 said:
14-7 said:
The police walked in through my front door the other day and took all my belongings because I'd left the front door open.

They then had the cheek to ask me to provide proof of ownership to get everything back!
..must have had a warrant. You mean they gave you back your 'gear'?! All sounds a bit dodgy to me..
Sorry it was a tongue in cheek at posters who are talking rubbish.

Police don't remove property from your car then when you turn up to get it back ask for proof it is yours. Unless of course they suspect it is stolen.

R1 Loon

26,988 posts

179 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
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Shuvi Tupya said:
Strange logic, do burglars only rob people if they think the police won't be informed?
I don't know, I'm neither a burglar nor thief, but if they knew all you intended to do was report it for "insurance purposes" then I'm sure they'd feel that the risk has reduced substantially.

Shuvi Tupya said:
Let's face it, our society is such that you have to involve the police in certain matters. As members of the public we do not have the authority to hunt down those who do us wrong for example.
You are Charles Bronson AICMFP

Shuvi Tupya said:
So yes, there are scenario's in which i would turn to the police for help, but i don't have the option of not doing my bit in funding them so surely it is fair that i ask for some help if i needed it.

I don't need them to wipe my ass though.
This means that you believe that because you contribute to their coffers you have a right to use their services, but only the extreme aspect of it. As the Police operate around the concept of "To serve and protect", then I'd say that what they are doing here is just that, I don't see that their primary goal is to solve crime, but to prevent it.

However you seem to believe that the Police are there purely to solve crimes that you have helped to happen.

By extension of the above and your expectation of using a service becaase you contribute to it, do you claim on all your insurances every year? Do you have children in 13 year intervals, so that one is always in the education system? What about the MoD funding, do you turn up at Aldermaston demanding to set off a nuclear weapon, or use a couple of tanks at Salisbury Plains?

BTW, they're not "wiping your ass", they're preventing themselves being tied up in endless paperwork by acting proactively, in your case after the actions of a selfish member of the public.

R1 Loon

26,988 posts

179 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
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don'tbesilly said:
Perhaps not, but the insurer might blame the victim and after a thorough investigation of the circumstances and checking the terms of the contract between them might not pay out on any claim as the victim had not protected the items that were stolen.
EFA

Every person with insured property has a duty to safeguard that property, just because it is insured does not mean that you have absolved yourself of the responsibility to do this.

An extreme example of this is that suicide is often excluded (at least for a lengthy period on inception) on life assurance policies to prevent abuse.

havoc

30,283 posts

237 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
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Nigel Worc's said:
The Police really can't win can they ?

If they'd stopped you and educated you about breaking the speed limit instead of nicking you, you'd have been delighted I guess.

They are offering you you free crime prevention advice, because there isn't enough of them to prevent all crime.

I would however take a different view if they removed my property and then refused to return it to me unless I could produce a recipt ..... if indeed they do that, if I'd been stupid enough to leave it in a position where they could remove it, and then they gave it back to me (they will know what they have taken), that'd be ok, I'd thank them and feel silly for my stupidness.
My thoughts too. Expecting the police to solve ALL our problems regardless of whether we do or don't help ourselves is a very childish attitude - much like an 8y.o. expecting Mum & Dad to clear up after him all the time and replace his toys when he breaks them.


So a letter from them explaining where you were going wrong, from a security-perspective, should be very welcome. Unless you're one of these people who likes creating problems for themselves and then blaming others...

Shuvi Tupya

24,460 posts

249 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
quotequote all
So, i fork out for insurance because the system has allowed theft to become epidemic, and then my insurance won't pay out because theft is an eopidemic and i should know better than to have nice things on show.

The police who i pay for will also blame me.

Assumning it somehow ended up in court, i guess the court would also find me responsible.

I might as well just go and be a theif seeing as i am already resposnible for all this theft.




WeirdNeville

5,987 posts

217 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
quotequote all
The primary directive of a constable is the prevention of crime.

That is all this letter was seeking to do.

It's not about "Blaming" victims for becoming victims. It's about encouraging people to take reasonable steps to safeguard their own valuables to make the lives of thieves a bit more unpleasant.

As already said, the cost and time of printing and sending this letter is minimal compared wit hthe potential cost to both police and the victim should a car be broken into, items takne, repairs, investigation, scenes of crime work, arrest, interview, prosecution paperwork, court time, costs of imprisoning a convict. BEtter for all concerned if the crime does not happen in the first place, or if it does, at least the thief has really ahd to work for it, maximising the chances of a sucesful investigation (secondary directive of a constable: Detecting crimes).

Shuvi Tupya

24,460 posts

249 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
quotequote all
R1 Loon said:
Shuvi Tupya said:
Strange logic, do burglars only rob people if they think the police won't be informed?
I don't know, I'm neither a burglar nor thief, but if they knew all you intended to do was report it for "insurance purposes" then I'm sure they'd feel that the risk has reduced substantially.

Shuvi Tupya said:
Let's face it, our society is such that you have to involve the police in certain matters. As members of the public we do not have the authority to hunt down those who do us wrong for example.
You are Charles Bronson AICMFP

Shuvi Tupya said:
So yes, there are scenario's in which i would turn to the police for help, but i don't have the option of not doing my bit in funding them so surely it is fair that i ask for some help if i needed it.

I don't need them to wipe my ass though.
This means that you believe that because you contribute to their coffers you have a right to use their services, but only the extreme aspect of it. As the Police operate around the concept of "To serve and protect", then I'd say that what they are doing here is just that, I don't see that their primary goal is to solve crime, but to prevent it.

However you seem to believe that the Police are there purely to solve crimes that you have helped to happen.

By extension of the above and your expectation of using a service becaase you contribute to it, do you claim on all your insurances every year? Do you have children in 13 year intervals, so that one is always in the education system? What about the MoD funding, do you turn up at Aldermaston demanding to set off a nuclear weapon, or use a couple of tanks at Salisbury Plains?

BTW, they're not "wiping your ass", they're preventing themselves being tied up in endless paperwork by acting proactively, in your case after the actions of a selfish member of the public.
No, i use very little in the way of services actually. No kids, no benefits and i own my house.

I am not interested in the police's initiatives to save themselves trouble in the long run. If the system was not so badly broken, this would not be happening.

I do not believe that it is law abiding people who should be held responsible for the behaviour of low lifes.




WeirdNeville

5,987 posts

217 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
quotequote all
Shuvi Tupya said:
I do not believe that it is law abiding people who should be held responsible for the behaviour of low lifes.
I whole heartedly agree.
I too would dearly love to live in a society where I could leave my home unlocked, And the keys in my Ferrari outside, and leave my Wi-Fi insecure so that passers by may avail themselves of my hospitality.

That is not the world we live in.

There are those who seek to take what they cannot buy, or obtain thisngs for their own uses. We have a duty to protect our possessions and our homes, to make that way of life sufficiently unpleasant that only the really desparate choose to do it.

Put it this way: If you walked past a Ferrari, running in the street, with no-one looking, I doubt there's one of us that wouldn't ponder "what if?!" just for a moment. If that cars locked, 99.999% of us would never consider such a thing. It's about raising the bar enough to put the truly determined off, not turning your home into fort knox or enjoying those possessions we've worked hard to obtain.

One thing that really does p1ss me off is when you see "senior officers" saying things like "We urge people not to display their iPhones in the street, and not to wear their rolexes...." Eerrrrr, no, they are entitled to do what they please. If they're leaving their rolex on the dash of an unattended car, however, they shouldn't be too suprised to find the car broken into upon their return.

eldar

21,896 posts

198 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
quotequote all
Shuvi Tupya said:
So, i fork out for insurance because the system has allowed theft to become epidemic, and then my insurance won't pay out because theft is an eopidemic and i should know better than to have nice things on show.

The police who i pay for will also blame me.

Assumning it somehow ended up in court, i guess the court would also find me responsible.

I might as well just go and be a theif seeing as i am already resposnible for all this theft.
You are part of the system that has allowed theft to become epidemic. You should know better that to leave things 'on show' if that makes easy pickings. Why do you expect insurance to be cheap and easy when you can't be arsed to take basic precautions. WTF should my premiums increase to subsidise your fecklessness?

And yes, you would be in part to blame if you didn't take reasonable steps to protect your property.

I can't decide if you are lazy, paranoid or unwilling to take responsibility for your own actions.

Shuvi Tupya

24,460 posts

249 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
quotequote all
eldar said:
I can't decide if you are lazy, paranoid or unwilling to take responsibility for your own actions.
Amazing!

I want to look after my own possessions and not have the police chasing around tidying up after me, and you suggest i am unwilling to take resposnibility for my own actions.

What i am asking for is THE CHANCE to take responsibility for my own actions! That is no longer an option it would seem frown


14-7

6,233 posts

193 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
quotequote all
Shuvi Tupya said:
eldar said:
I can't decide if you are lazy, paranoid or unwilling to take responsibility for your own actions.
Amazing!

I want to look after my own possessions and not have the police chasing around tidying up after me, and you suggest i am unwilling to take resposnibility for my own actions.

What i am asking for is THE CHANCE to take responsibility for my own actions! That is no longer an option it would seem frown
Leaving expensive items on display in your car is not responsible given the society we live in and that we are all part of.

The option is yours but the police are trying to get crime down and people leaving items on display in cars are an open invitation to a thief.

Bill

53,109 posts

257 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
quotequote all
Shuvi Tupya said:
eldar said:
I can't decide if you are lazy, paranoid or unwilling to take responsibility for your own actions.
Amazing!

I want to look after my own possessions and not have the police chasing around tidying up after me, and you suggest i am unwilling to take resposnibility for my own actions.

What i am asking for is THE CHANCE to take responsibility for my own actions! That is no longer an option it would seem frown
confused So you don't want police to take pre-emptive action to prevent car theft by warning people who might not be aware that they're leaving clues for the scrotes? Because you feel you're sufficiently aware of the risks. And this, you feel, is the best way to reduce your insurance premium.

scenario8

6,603 posts

181 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
quotequote all
To make it easier for the Police to recognise you do not wish them to waste their resources trying to educate you that you may be inadvertantly exposing yourself to a higher risk of being the vicitm of crime, may I suggest you print and attach to your windscreen an A4 sized piece of paper stating

"EXPENSIVE AND EASILY SOLD VALUABLES INSIDE - OWNER AWARE OF THE RISK"

Thus the Police would know you do not wish to be made aware of the risk and thus the Police would not attempt to make contact to you proactively.

Job done.

Mr GrimNasty

8,172 posts

172 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
quotequote all
Wasting time and money sending out letters making people feel they are to blame for (potential) crime, is insane. It will nor reduce crime. It will just possibly make one or two individuals less likely to be an actual victim. The criminals will simply target someone/thing else. What stops crime is catching and effectively punishing criminals. But then that is harder than sending out condescending letters. Where does it stop? Send a letter to everyone with a posh car telling them to sell it because their ostentatious display is inviting criminals to their house to nick their keys? Make it illegal to go out in public with a flash watch? This sort of letter shows exactly how the police (or rather their masters) have got their priorities all wrong, exactly why they have lost the trust of the public and alienated them. Hell next time just send a PCSO around the block smashing all car windows with 'goods on display' and take them back to the station for safe keeping. Start breaking into people's houses if there is a half open window? Oh yes, they've already started doing that! It is a mad mad world.

Pothole

34,367 posts

284 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
quotequote all
Poledriver said:
mph1977 said:
Mastodon2 said:
kiethton said:
All i will say is good on them, to me it shows that they are doing somthing to actually prevent crime which can only help to reduce the number of thefts in the future...whats the problem?
Some people might say the already extremely busy police officers should be prioritising more important tasks than noting who is leaving a sat nav holder / mobile phone / laptop bag etc on display in a car.
It's exactly the sort of job that PCSOs were invented for or that the old school police employed TW could have had added to their role, along with telling those without watches the time upon being asking and helping old ladies cross the road ....
On a more serious note... What has gone wrong with society where the police (and I'm NOT knocking them!) are spending their already limited time in investigating totally innocent people for doing nothing wrong when the whole of our social/law system need to try to return our society to one where you shouldn't need to worry about leaving valuables in the car because there should be no fear of anyone wanting to steal from it!

I, know, I'm living in the past/cloud cuckoo land, but there was a time when this is how it was! frown
When was this golden age of zero crime? Well before cars were invented if the founding of Australia is anything to go by!

Shuvi Tupya

24,460 posts

249 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
quotequote all
14-7 said:
Shuvi Tupya said:
eldar said:
I can't decide if you are lazy, paranoid or unwilling to take responsibility for your own actions.
Amazing!

I want to look after my own possessions and not have the police chasing around tidying up after me, and you suggest i am unwilling to take resposnibility for my own actions.

What i am asking for is THE CHANCE to take responsibility for my own actions! That is no longer an option it would seem frown
Leaving expensive items on display in your car is not responsible given the society we live in and that we are all part of.

The option is yours but the police are trying to get crime down and people leaving items on display in cars are an open invitation to a thief.
Then maybe they could allow us to have tinted/unbreakable windows, at our own expense?

No we can't do that either.

A mate of mine had the entire interior of his car stolen once. it was worth over £2000 and the silly bugger just left it on display, sitting in his car. He deserved it really.






Pothole

34,367 posts

284 months

Sunday 21st November 2010
quotequote all
Shuvi Tupya said:
14-7 said:
Shuvi Tupya said:
eldar said:
I can't decide if you are lazy, paranoid or unwilling to take responsibility for your own actions.
Amazing!

I want to look after my own possessions and not have the police chasing around tidying up after me, and you suggest i am unwilling to take resposnibility for my own actions.

What i am asking for is THE CHANCE to take responsibility for my own actions! That is no longer an option it would seem frown
Leaving expensive items on display in your car is not responsible given the society we live in and that we are all part of.

The option is yours but the police are trying to get crime down and people leaving items on display in cars are an open invitation to a thief.
Then maybe they could allow us to have tinted/unbreakable windows, at our own expense?

No we can't do that either.

A mate of mine had the entire interior of his car stolen once. it was worth over £2000 and the silly bugger just left it on display, sitting in his car. He deserved it really.
did they get in and out through the windows?