Getting stolen property back from the Police
Discussion
My brother had his car stolen over a week ago.
Recovered the next day with the help of a tracker, the Police snatched it as soon as they were told where it was.
Since then it has lived in the recovery companies yard, where they say it will stay until the end of the month due to a forensics backlog.
While he obviously is happy to be a good citizen, he is now grumpy about being in a rather basic (but adequate) hire car, while paying for his nice car to sit around at nobody's urgency but his. Obviously, the hire car is a bit of a misdirection. As far as the police are concerned this may be his only car, it makes no difference.
So the question is, is there anything he can do about it? Is he able to say let's forget it chaps - even if you do catch them we've all seen Traffic Cops, and the slap on the wrist?
Or does he just have to suck it up?
Recovered the next day with the help of a tracker, the Police snatched it as soon as they were told where it was.
Since then it has lived in the recovery companies yard, where they say it will stay until the end of the month due to a forensics backlog.
While he obviously is happy to be a good citizen, he is now grumpy about being in a rather basic (but adequate) hire car, while paying for his nice car to sit around at nobody's urgency but his. Obviously, the hire car is a bit of a misdirection. As far as the police are concerned this may be his only car, it makes no difference.
So the question is, is there anything he can do about it? Is he able to say let's forget it chaps - even if you do catch them we've all seen Traffic Cops, and the slap on the wrist?
Or does he just have to suck it up?
I understand the frustration but the police really can't win here. If they'd just left the vehicle in situ for him to recover himself then he'd no doubt he aggrieved if it were to be removed again by the thieves prior to his arrival. Similarly, if they'd said they won't forensically examine the car he'd likely moan that the police couldn't be arsed to investigate his car being nicked. The people to be hacked off with are the thieves who stole it in the first place. Their actions have caused him inconvenience whilst the police investigate. Presumably he wants them to investigate the offence considering he called them to report it?
R1 Dave said:
I understand the frustration but the police really can't win here. If they'd just left the vehicle in situ for him to recover himself then he'd no doubt he aggrieved if it were to be removed again by the thieves prior to his arrival. Similarly, if they'd said they won't forensically examine the car he'd likely moan that the police couldn't be arsed to investigate his car being nicked. The people to be hacked off with are the thieves who stole it in the first place. Their actions have caused him inconvenience whilst the police investigate. Presumably he wants them to investigate the offence considering he called them to report it?
So, lose his car for three weeks ? Unless they can hurry the exam up i'd ask for it backR1 Dave said:
I understand the frustration but the police really can't win here. If they'd just left the vehicle in situ for him to recover himself then he'd no doubt he aggrieved if it were to be removed again by the thieves prior to his arrival. Similarly, if they'd said they won't forensically examine the car he'd likely moan that the police couldn't be arsed to investigate his car being nicked. The people to be hacked off with are the thieves who stole it in the first place. Their actions have caused him inconvenience whilst the police investigate. Presumably he wants them to investigate the offence considering he called them to report it?
At this stage, he wants his car back in a reasonable time. And to be honest I suspect his insurance company would have been as swift to recover the car as the police...And let's be frank. They are not investigating while it is sat waiting 3 weeks for forensics. It's just in the queue.
surveyor said:
At this stage, he wants his car back in a reasonable time. And to be honest I suspect his insurance company would have been as swift to recover the car as the police...
And let's be frank. They are not investigating while it is sat waiting 3 weeks for forensics. It's just in the queue.
Just Waite till the storage company tries to charge him for weeks of storage feesAnd let's be frank. They are not investigating while it is sat waiting 3 weeks for forensics. It's just in the queue.
Police don't recover stolen vehicles, they get a recovery agent to do it. Same as the insurance do except the police contracts stipulate a maximum time for attendance so going through his insurance likely wouldn't have seen it recovered so swiftly.
I do see the frustration and in an ideal world the vehicle would be examined quicker. Unfortunately it's all down to funding cuts and regionalisation. At least his local force still examine stovehs tho, not all do.
If he wants to withdraw his complaint and request his vehicle back he should call up and ask.
I do see the frustration and in an ideal world the vehicle would be examined quicker. Unfortunately it's all down to funding cuts and regionalisation. At least his local force still examine stovehs tho, not all do.
If he wants to withdraw his complaint and request his vehicle back he should call up and ask.
You aren't obliged to let them do forensics on your car, just contact the officer dealing with it, insist that you want your car back now and to facilitate its release from the compound.
There will be a recovery fee to pay in order for you to reclaim your car, but any storage costs will not start until the day after the police release your car from being on hold. So once it is released don't delay.
Also depending on what you are intending to do in relation to your insurance, be aware that the car may not be in the same condition as to when it left your possession. Quite often there are various amounts of interior trim that have been ripped off where the thieves have been trying to locate a tracker or disable any telematics etc.
There will be a recovery fee to pay in order for you to reclaim your car, but any storage costs will not start until the day after the police release your car from being on hold. So once it is released don't delay.
Also depending on what you are intending to do in relation to your insurance, be aware that the car may not be in the same condition as to when it left your possession. Quite often there are various amounts of interior trim that have been ripped off where the thieves have been trying to locate a tracker or disable any telematics etc.
Matt_E_Mulsion said:
You aren't obliged to let them do forensics on your car, just contact the officer dealing with it, insist that you want your car back now and to facilitate its release from the compound.
There will be a recovery fee to pay in order for you to reclaim your car, but any storage costs will not start until the day after the police release your car from being on hold. So once it is released don't delay.
Also depending on what you are intending to do in relation to your insurance, be aware that the car may not be in the same condition as to when it left your possession. Quite often there are various amounts of interior trim that have been ripped off where the thieves have been trying to locate a tracker or disable any telematics etc.
Really is my brother. One of his issues is they won't let him see his car so he does not know what condition it is in. Oh and the investigating officer does not return calls or answer their phone.... They took the only key, so as soon as it's released the insurance company is having it off to the main dealer for a new one...There will be a recovery fee to pay in order for you to reclaim your car, but any storage costs will not start until the day after the police release your car from being on hold. So once it is released don't delay.
Also depending on what you are intending to do in relation to your insurance, be aware that the car may not be in the same condition as to when it left your possession. Quite often there are various amounts of interior trim that have been ripped off where the thieves have been trying to locate a tracker or disable any telematics etc.
surveyor said:
Really is my brother. One of his issues is they won't let him see his car so he does not know what condition it is in. Oh and the investigating officer does not return calls or answer their phone.... They took the only key, so as soon as it's released the insurance company is having it off to the main dealer for a new one...
That is correct, whilst it is on hold for forensic examination the only people who are allowed access to it are the police and their forensic team. That is purely so that any potential forensic evidence is not compromised.The problem with the investigating officer not answering their phone or returning calls is not helpful. Maybe your brother should escalate this up to the investigating officers sergeant. That might stir things up a bit.
The forensic departments of the police forces have been cut to the bone over the past few years so they have to prioritise the jobs that they do. And car crime is unfortunately at the lower end of the scale. Personally I think that fingerprinting stolen cars is a waste of time, there isn't much effort put into it unless the car has been used for another 'bigger' crime. And don't fall into any illusion that they will test/sample for DNA evidence, they won't - it costs too much money to do!!!
Matt_E_Mulsion said:
surveyor said:
Really is my brother. One of his issues is they won't let him see his car so he does not know what condition it is in. Oh and the investigating officer does not return calls or answer their phone.... They took the only key, so as soon as it's released the insurance company is having it off to the main dealer for a new one...
That is correct, whilst it is on hold for forensic examination the only people who are allowed access to it are the police and their forensic team. That is purely so that any potential forensic evidence is not compromised.The problem with the investigating officer not answering their phone or returning calls is not helpful. Maybe your brother should escalate this up to the investigating officers sergeant. That might stir things up a bit.
The forensic departments of the police forces have been cut to the bone over the past few years so they have to prioritise the jobs that they do. And car crime is unfortunately at the lower end of the scale. Personally I think that fingerprinting stolen cars is a waste of time, there isn't much effort put into it unless the car has been used for another 'bigger' crime. And don't fall into any illusion that they will test/sample for DNA evidence, they won't - it costs too much money to do!!!
Puzzled... reduction in funding is a real thing. The link below shows the cut in funding through the 2010s has now been reversed in cash terms (through a combination of central grant and ctax precept increases).
But factor in that inflation was increasing all the while during the cash flat funding periods, then there's a big real terms drop to be addressed. And that's before considering whetherdemand has increased (terrorism, historic investigations, welfare and mental health etc...I'm not an expert on that but got the impression the headline lower crime rates hid a lot of detail).
I guess one could argue less crime = less police, but I've never seen an article calling for less uk police officers
https://www.statista.com/statistics/298637/united-...
But factor in that inflation was increasing all the while during the cash flat funding periods, then there's a big real terms drop to be addressed. And that's before considering whetherdemand has increased (terrorism, historic investigations, welfare and mental health etc...I'm not an expert on that but got the impression the headline lower crime rates hid a lot of detail).
I guess one could argue less crime = less police, but I've never seen an article calling for less uk police officers
https://www.statista.com/statistics/298637/united-...
speedyguy said:
Bigends said:
Matt_E_Mulsion said:
surveyor said:
Really is my brother. One of his issues is they won't let him see his car so he does not know what condition it is in. Oh and the investigating officer does not return calls or answer their phone.... They took the only key, so as soon as it's released the insurance company is having it off to the main dealer for a new one...
That is correct, whilst it is on hold for forensic examination the only people who are allowed access to it are the police and their forensic team. That is purely so that any potential forensic evidence is not compromised.The problem with the investigating officer not answering their phone or returning calls is not helpful. Maybe your brother should escalate this up to the investigating officers sergeant. That might stir things up a bit.
The forensic departments of the police forces have been cut to the bone over the past few years so they have to prioritise the jobs that they do. And car crime is unfortunately at the lower end of the scale. Personally I think that fingerprinting stolen cars is a waste of time, there isn't much effort put into it unless the car has been used for another 'bigger' crime. And don't fall into any illusion that they will test/sample for DNA evidence, they won't - it costs too much money to do!!!
Hope he gets it sorted soonest.
It's worth bearing in mind when trying to contact officers that as they work shifts you only have a 1 in 5 chance of phoning when they're working and depending on their pattern and rest days / annual leave could be nearly 2 weeks before they're working social hours where they'll be able to phone you back. It may depend on the force but in the force I work for the only person able to provide an officers email address is the officer themselves - control room will not give out that to any one.
wwpaddler said:
It's worth bearing in mind when trying to contact officers that as they work shifts you only have a 1 in 5 chance of phoning when they're working and depending on their pattern and rest days / annual leave could be nearly 2 weeks before they're working social hours where they'll be able to phone you back. It may depend on the force but in the force I work for the only person able to provide an officers email address is the officer themselves - control room will not give out that to any one.
If the force wont provide an email (my force always would) then via 101 get a message sent to the officers email address and ask for a line to be added to the crime report that youve requested contact and an update in relation to the cars status - that will then be available for the officers supervisor to viewEdited by Bigends on Friday 17th September 23:23
Rather than b
hing about it on a open forum, just suggest to your brother that HE just tells them HE isn’t interested in catching the people that stole HIS car and simply wants it back now,
IF he IS interested in seeing them caught, he needs to sit tight like everyone else in the same scenario and wait his turn.
hing about it on a open forum, just suggest to your brother that HE just tells them HE isn’t interested in catching the people that stole HIS car and simply wants it back now,IF he IS interested in seeing them caught, he needs to sit tight like everyone else in the same scenario and wait his turn.
On a sidenote, there was a recent TV prog where cars lay in storage awaiting forensics. One of them, and I assume many others, had a forensics and the police guy would arrive and do his business. Until then the car simply lay in storage at £100 per day, £100,
So who's paying that £100? The Police? Or Insurance Co?
So who's paying that £100? The Police? Or Insurance Co?
Sir Bagalot said:
On a sidenote, there was a recent TV prog where cars lay in storage awaiting forensics. One of them, and I assume many others, had a forensics and the police guy would arrive and do his business. Until then the car simply lay in storage at £100 per day, £100,
So who's paying that £100? The Police? Or Insurance Co?
He’s been told that the police pay that until forensics have processed the car.So who's paying that £100? The Police? Or Insurance Co?
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