Crime prevention or catching criminals. Q for BiB
Discussion
As the title - what do you thing is your job/priority ?
I ask the question because I asked Chief Superintendent **** ****** of my local force if he thought it was more important to prevent crime or catch criminals.
He replied "obviously I prefer catching criminals".
That really surprised me, I always thought that the polices job was to prevent crime, or am I just getting old?
I'm so old I remember the village bobby, you know the one that threatened you with talking to your Father and you'd rather he didn't
I ask the question because I asked Chief Superintendent **** ****** of my local force if he thought it was more important to prevent crime or catch criminals.
He replied "obviously I prefer catching criminals".
That really surprised me, I always thought that the polices job was to prevent crime, or am I just getting old?
I'm so old I remember the village bobby, you know the one that threatened you with talking to your Father and you'd rather he didn't
Preventing crime is very difficult to measure and assess, and carries no real job satisfaction. It's a vital part of Policing, of course, and one we all take very seriously, but I've never come home and told Mrs Local what I've prevented.
Catching someone bang to rights for a burglary or a robbery though - well, that's what we all joined the Police for - it's what we thought we'd be doing every day when we went for our assessments and interviews all wide-eyed and innocent.
So yes - catching crims is better where I work, but where I live, well, I'd prefer my local Police to prevent crime thanks very much.
Catching someone bang to rights for a burglary or a robbery though - well, that's what we all joined the Police for - it's what we thought we'd be doing every day when we went for our assessments and interviews all wide-eyed and innocent.
So yes - catching crims is better where I work, but where I live, well, I'd prefer my local Police to prevent crime thanks very much.
R_U_LOCAL said:
Preventing crime is very difficult to measure and assess, and carries no real job satisfaction. It's a vital part of Policing, of course, and one we all take very seriously, but I've never come home and told Mrs Local what I've prevented.
Which appears to be entirely the point in today's police 'service' ... measurement.R_U_LOCAL said:
Catching someone bang to rights for a burglary or a robbery though - well, that's what we all joined the Police for - it's what we thought we'd be doing every day when we went for our assessments and interviews all wide-eyed and innocent.
Or two kids brawling in the park?R_U_LOCAL said:
So yes - catching crims is better where I work, but where I live, well, I'd prefer my local Police to prevent crime thanks very much.
So no different to the majority then!Streaky
It's got to be a balance of both, but prevention is extremely difficult without overwhelming numbers of BiBs (D-day numbers ) or measures that would have people squealing about civil liberties.
There are a large number of incidents that can't really be prevented - domestic assaults, public order incidents which often occur right under the noses of BiBs in town centres all over the country, drink driving etc.
Shoplifters often steal from shops where there is CCTV and they know they will be identified and arrested but they still do it.
) or measures that would have people squealing about civil liberties. There are a large number of incidents that can't really be prevented - domestic assaults, public order incidents which often occur right under the noses of BiBs in town centres all over the country, drink driving etc.
Shoplifters often steal from shops where there is CCTV and they know they will be identified and arrested but they still do it.
Edited by Sheriff JWPepper on Wednesday 19th September 21:21
R_U_LOCAL said:
Preventing crime is very difficult to measure and assess, and carries no real job satisfaction. It's a vital part of Policing, of course, and one we all take very seriously, but I've never come home and told Mrs Local what I've prevented.
Catching someone bang to rights for a burglary or a robbery though - well, that's what we all joined the Police for - it's what we thought we'd be doing every day when we went for our assessments and interviews all wide-eyed and innocent.
So yes - catching crims is better where I work, but where I live, well, I'd prefer my local Police to prevent crime thanks very much.
Perfectly reasonable response, just what any normal person would honestly answer. I don't think this has anything to do with targets.Catching someone bang to rights for a burglary or a robbery though - well, that's what we all joined the Police for - it's what we thought we'd be doing every day when we went for our assessments and interviews all wide-eyed and innocent.
So yes - catching crims is better where I work, but where I live, well, I'd prefer my local Police to prevent crime thanks very much.
I manage projects, ask me which i prefer one which goes smoothly achieves what it should, or one where we have a crisis or problems & I have to go in & sort these out. You get a real buzz from the latter, not from the former. Life would be boring if all I did was ensure projects didn't get into trouble, I'd much rather dig them out of trouble.
skeggysteve said:
Reg,
Thanks for your reply but I'm a bit confused.
You seem to be saying that you want to prevent crime but your not allowed to?
Please tell me this is not so.
If you can't answer then no problem.
Steve
No, you've misunderstood me.Thanks for your reply but I'm a bit confused.
You seem to be saying that you want to prevent crime but your not allowed to?
Please tell me this is not so.
If you can't answer then no problem.
Steve
My force is very keen on intelligence-led policing and the targeting of known offenders. Officers are encouraged to visit and harass the known prolific offenders on their areas as much as possible, day and night. They're visited at home at all hours of the day and stopped and searched whenever they're seen in the street. The intelligence unit provide Officers with up-to-date information on who is suspected to be committing the highest volume of acquisitive crime, so that they know who to concentrate their efforts on.
Some local defence solicitors have suggested that this is harassment, but they're always told - if your clients stop committing crime, the Police will stop harassing them.
This is crime prevention at it's most basic, but most effective level. If an Officer visits their targets regularly over their night-shift, and then, at the start of their next tour of duty, they find that there was no overnight crime on their areas, then there is a certain amount of satisfaction in that fact.
If an Officer arrests and charges one of their targets for committing a crime, however, then there is obviously far more job satisfaction, despite the fact that the Officer didn't prevent the offence from being committed in the first place.
The local residents, obviously, would prefer the first scenario, whereas the Officer would prefer the second scenario.
Sir Robert Peel, when the Met Police were first formed put down certain objectives that became the cornerstone of effective policing through out the land (and elsewhere).
The first objective was:
The PREVENTION and detection of crime. Note which comes first.
The second one was:
The preservation of the Queens Peace.
Both those golden objectives seem to have been lost in each Forces endeavour to outdo the other with a plethora of objectives of their own leaving poor ground level Plod with a headache as to what he should concentrate on.
dvd
The first objective was:
The PREVENTION and detection of crime. Note which comes first.
The second one was:
The preservation of the Queens Peace.
Both those golden objectives seem to have been lost in each Forces endeavour to outdo the other with a plethora of objectives of their own leaving poor ground level Plod with a headache as to what he should concentrate on.
dvd
Police should form a visible detterent by bieing on the streets/roads.
However, local councils, government and society as a whole are responsible for crime prevention by providing routes for people to escape from crime.
Those that don't take those routes should be punished. And punished hard.
However, local councils, government and society as a whole are responsible for crime prevention by providing routes for people to escape from crime.
Those that don't take those routes should be punished. And punished hard.
R_U_LOCAL said:
No, you've misunderstood me.
Sorry.R_U_LOCAL said:
.... harass the known prolific offenders on their areas as much as possible...
Some local defence solicitors have suggested that this is harassment, but they're always told - if your clients stop committing crime, the Police will stop harassing them.
Can't see anyone moaning about those actions.Some local defence solicitors have suggested that this is harassment, but they're always told - if your clients stop committing crime, the Police will stop harassing them.
R_U_LOCAL said:
If an Officer visits their targets regularly over their night-shift, and then, at the start of their next tour of duty, they find that there was no overnight crime on their areas, then there is a certain amount of satisfaction in that fact.
[cynicalmodeon]I'm only a humble member of the public but I like the idea of no crime because the police are out there preventing it.[/cynicalmodeoff]Dwight VanDriver said:
Sir Robert Peel, when the Met Police were first formed put down certain objectives that became the cornerstone of effective policing through out the land (and elsewhere).
The first objective was:
The PREVENTION and detection of crime. Note which comes first.
The second one was:
The preservation of the Queens Peace.
Both those golden objectives seem to have been lost in each Forces endeavour to outdo the other with a plethora of objectives of their own leaving poor ground level Plod with a headache as to what he should concentrate on.
dvd
Dvd,The first objective was:
The PREVENTION and detection of crime. Note which comes first.
The second one was:
The preservation of the Queens Peace.
Both those golden objectives seem to have been lost in each Forces endeavour to outdo the other with a plethora of objectives of their own leaving poor ground level Plod with a headache as to what he should concentrate on.
dvd
Thanks for the info and I have to say I agree with your last paragraph.
Steve
Forums | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff