Crime. How easy is it?
Discussion
Reading a few threads on here. As a "relatively" law abiding type. Wondered how easy it is to do a crime and not get caught. I'm thinking for "ordinary people" Not people that have come in from another country illegally and have no record of ever being here. Fake passports et al.
Surely with all the CCTV and traffic monitoring alone. Once you do a serious crime in public, (ignoring speeding for now) it's only a matter of time before you get caught. If not the crime itself, but you going to and from the scene. Your car nearby, or you getting on a Bus. And even if you drove 200 miles away straight away. You'd be followed by the cameras up the motorway etc etc There's 2 public CCTV cameras on the main road 300metres from me now. Say I murdered someone I'd be seen running past at least 1 of those and going up my road, surely at that point. The police just canvas the whole street
Anything property (or drugs for example) related, you'd have to get rid of it quickly. Or not be caught with it. Which if someone has said "X has 20kgs of Heroin/Stolen TVs" to Police they'll be round fairly quickly surely? After the riots a few years back in London and other places. Most of the chavs got nicked. But not all of them clearly.
On a related note, the other evening. With kids and families out Trick or Treating all around them. I saw a teen couple buying weed from the window of a Mondeo parked on a kerb. The girl was so petrified is what made me look twice. Simple bang to rights surely. Call 101 tell them Drug Dealers in dark coloured Mondeo XXXX YYY. Parked on Z Road at 20:15. Only I know they wouldn't bother to even turn up.
With anything electronic, regardless of how you route it via Egypt and Moscow and the Cayman Islands. You always hear of the perpetrators getting caught. Nothing is truly anonymous without spending thousands on specialist equipment. So never send a girl that dick pic! Even from your PAYG mobile.
Related. Buy a PAYG phone and you'll be on cctv in the shop buying it. Even if you pay cash there's a link to you there.
I thought in the privacy of your own home would give you a chance, but thinking about it. DNA and hair samples and fingerprints all put you there. So again, with a bit of investigation.
Tax evasion? Well most of those people tend to live beyond their means, arouse suspicion and get caught.
I'm not sure if this is accurate though. Or just the perception the media and law enforcement would like you to believe. Since we are all aware that there are people walking around guilty but never caught. Is it more about "available manpower" and thus luck of the draw if they decide to look into it? Murder/GBH Id expect them to investigate. But you often hear of these cases drawing a blank. Surely there's more evidence available to them in those cases?! Stealing cigarettes from a newsagents? More likely of a conviction I would think. But probably way down the scale. Stealing a lawnmower from a shed? It's a bit more premeditated than Keying your neighbours car? But never going to get looked into probably.
Only exception I can think of is destroying evidence with fire afterwards? Over to the battle hardened PHers for their experience of "getting away with it regardless of the meddling kids!"
Edit to Add. Presumably. Never telling ANYBODY (as in not a single person! Just keeping it in your head) what you did would probably help.
Surely with all the CCTV and traffic monitoring alone. Once you do a serious crime in public, (ignoring speeding for now) it's only a matter of time before you get caught. If not the crime itself, but you going to and from the scene. Your car nearby, or you getting on a Bus. And even if you drove 200 miles away straight away. You'd be followed by the cameras up the motorway etc etc There's 2 public CCTV cameras on the main road 300metres from me now. Say I murdered someone I'd be seen running past at least 1 of those and going up my road, surely at that point. The police just canvas the whole street
Anything property (or drugs for example) related, you'd have to get rid of it quickly. Or not be caught with it. Which if someone has said "X has 20kgs of Heroin/Stolen TVs" to Police they'll be round fairly quickly surely? After the riots a few years back in London and other places. Most of the chavs got nicked. But not all of them clearly.
On a related note, the other evening. With kids and families out Trick or Treating all around them. I saw a teen couple buying weed from the window of a Mondeo parked on a kerb. The girl was so petrified is what made me look twice. Simple bang to rights surely. Call 101 tell them Drug Dealers in dark coloured Mondeo XXXX YYY. Parked on Z Road at 20:15. Only I know they wouldn't bother to even turn up.
With anything electronic, regardless of how you route it via Egypt and Moscow and the Cayman Islands. You always hear of the perpetrators getting caught. Nothing is truly anonymous without spending thousands on specialist equipment. So never send a girl that dick pic! Even from your PAYG mobile.
Related. Buy a PAYG phone and you'll be on cctv in the shop buying it. Even if you pay cash there's a link to you there.I thought in the privacy of your own home would give you a chance, but thinking about it. DNA and hair samples and fingerprints all put you there. So again, with a bit of investigation.
Tax evasion? Well most of those people tend to live beyond their means, arouse suspicion and get caught.
I'm not sure if this is accurate though. Or just the perception the media and law enforcement would like you to believe. Since we are all aware that there are people walking around guilty but never caught. Is it more about "available manpower" and thus luck of the draw if they decide to look into it? Murder/GBH Id expect them to investigate. But you often hear of these cases drawing a blank. Surely there's more evidence available to them in those cases?! Stealing cigarettes from a newsagents? More likely of a conviction I would think. But probably way down the scale. Stealing a lawnmower from a shed? It's a bit more premeditated than Keying your neighbours car? But never going to get looked into probably.
Only exception I can think of is destroying evidence with fire afterwards? Over to the battle hardened PHers for their experience of "getting away with it regardless of the meddling kids!"
Edit to Add. Presumably. Never telling ANYBODY (as in not a single person! Just keeping it in your head) what you did would probably help.
Edited by Rich_W on Wednesday 4th November 23:37
Gargamel said:
Also I think you over estimate cctv, most of it is defeated with a hoodie or darkness.
OK. But less use an example. HYPOTHETICAL before anyone kicks in. 
I want to go an steal a radio from a car. I have a cheap plastic glass breaker tool from Halfords. I wear black hoody, trousers, shoes and a balaclava for good measure. At the point of the crime on side road there's no CCTV. But then I walk round the corner and there's one outside the off license. And when I walk down the road, I have to remove the balaclava or it looks suspicious. Just in time for me to walk under a street light by the petrol station. Plus I'm carrying something in a plastic bag. Walk along like that and any passing police car will look at you surely. OK Ive got a farly unlucky scenario there. But to get away with it must require paying complete attention all the time and for hours afterwards.
What about other crimes like racism? Shout something at someone and they've got witnesses but not everyone gets caught?
Edited by Rich_W on Wednesday 4th November 21:48
An old acquaintance of mine was a major league coke & E dealer, massive house, 2 million villa in Marbella on an income from a modest storage facility in the north west ,but everyone local knew what he did.
He's inside now, but only because he got turned in by some other dealer who got nicked in Spain.
I've got a couple of mates from years back who've been selling decent amounts of weed for 10+ years and never had a 'problem'.
Of course the cops could bust every drug dealer tomorrow if they had the resources and space in the prisons.
You generally get caught by being stupid or unlucky.
With regards CCTV, most of the time the footage is s
t and for most crimes it's unlikely they will be putting your face in the news.
Of course the cops could bust every drug dealer tomorrow if they had the resources and space in the prisons.
You generally get caught by being stupid or unlucky.
With regards CCTV, most of the time the footage is s
t and for most crimes it's unlikely they will be putting your face in the news.In your example it would have to be a VERY slow day for the police to go to all the trouble of investigating a crime considered to be pretty minor. It's far easier to issue a crime reference number and let the insurance take care of it.
Whilst we may be one of the most watched nation on earth, it still takes manpower to trawl through tapes and with someone with no 'previous' would add to the difficultly of finding and identifying you then trying to prove you did it. Even more so now that police resources are stretched to the limit.
i think it greatly depends on the crime. Low level stuff will be quite easy for a 'clean skin' to get away with. Heavy stuff will be bumped up to a specialised department and your chances lower dramatically as the police will divert resources and will spend the money to have a bored copper sit through hours and hours of cctv to try and catch you.
Just my 2p.
Whilst we may be one of the most watched nation on earth, it still takes manpower to trawl through tapes and with someone with no 'previous' would add to the difficultly of finding and identifying you then trying to prove you did it. Even more so now that police resources are stretched to the limit.
i think it greatly depends on the crime. Low level stuff will be quite easy for a 'clean skin' to get away with. Heavy stuff will be bumped up to a specialised department and your chances lower dramatically as the police will divert resources and will spend the money to have a bored copper sit through hours and hours of cctv to try and catch you.
Just my 2p.
0000 said:
Easy, unless it's something on Facebook.
...
The post about the welsh woman who was not very tactful (Suggested enforced Euthanasia of Downs Syndrome children) on Facebook was one of the things that made me write this post. She's an idiot, but really? Publically on Facebook. Where it's blatantly obvious it's you? Talk about slam dunk! ...
(Not that I think she should have been prosecuted though. Just made to look foolish in the media instead. Conviction is overkill)
rouge59 said:
He's inside now, but only because he got turned in by some other dealer who got nicked in Spain.
And in truth, this is how most "proper" criminals get caught. Someone either "grassing" them up (either a rival or conscientious member of the public), or if it was a gang job (say a robbery) then someone in the gang bragging about it or becoming very obvious with their newfound wealth.
Clearance stats US:
http://www.statista.com/statistics/194213/crime-cl...
Context is everything; murder has a high clearance rate because it's rarely committed without either planning or motive.
If you want to be a professional bike thief the chances of you being caught is pretty low per incident, issue is the relatively high volume you'd have to do to get a decent return which ups your chance of being caught.
http://www.statista.com/statistics/194213/crime-cl...
Context is everything; murder has a high clearance rate because it's rarely committed without either planning or motive.
If you want to be a professional bike thief the chances of you being caught is pretty low per incident, issue is the relatively high volume you'd have to do to get a decent return which ups your chance of being caught.
CountZero23 said:
I've got a couple of mates from years back who've been selling decent amounts of weed for 10+ years and never had a 'problem'.
Of course the cops could bust every drug dealer tomorrow if they had the resources and space in the prisons.
i doubt they could. in howard marks' book he estimated london alone consumed over a ton of weed per day. drugs policing is akin to sticking your hand under a sieve to stop the water getting through.Of course the cops could bust every drug dealer tomorrow if they had the resources and space in the prisons.
In this time we live, the amount of people who are bothered by a bit of pot is shrinking ever smaller.
In every place I've worked there have been plenty of people who openly partake. Even knew pig who went straight to the dealers once he knocked off.
It's not something to gwt worked up about, most people smart enough are discreet enough not to be blatant about it, and those that aren't get caught.
In every place I've worked there have been plenty of people who openly partake. Even knew pig who went straight to the dealers once he knocked off.
It's not something to gwt worked up about, most people smart enough are discreet enough not to be blatant about it, and those that aren't get caught.
Very easy to commit all sorts of crimes as with current policing they do very little about it let alone with continual budget cuts. Very little is actually investigated and there's endemic apathy.
Things will get a lot worse as crims know this only too well, and we are on the brink of a crime explosion.
The Government dictate what resources should be deployed where, so 300+ officers and detectives investigating a few journalists over the phone hacking 'scandal' is fine but street theft and property crime soars unchecked.
Personally I couldn't give a toss whether A paid B for information on C who is a serial killer in prison but apparently it's important enough to spend millions on investigating and tens of thousands of police hours. I'm more interested in the Police nailing burglars, drug dealers and scummy crims to make the British Public safe.
OP sorry to say this but some of your examples are fantasy the Police won't even turn up. If they do then any 'investigation' will just fizzle out if there's any effort involved. There are areas of the UK which are so poorly policed they are a crime free-for-all
Things will get a lot worse as crims know this only too well, and we are on the brink of a crime explosion.
The Government dictate what resources should be deployed where, so 300+ officers and detectives investigating a few journalists over the phone hacking 'scandal' is fine but street theft and property crime soars unchecked.
Personally I couldn't give a toss whether A paid B for information on C who is a serial killer in prison but apparently it's important enough to spend millions on investigating and tens of thousands of police hours. I'm more interested in the Police nailing burglars, drug dealers and scummy crims to make the British Public safe.
OP sorry to say this but some of your examples are fantasy the Police won't even turn up. If they do then any 'investigation' will just fizzle out if there's any effort involved. There are areas of the UK which are so poorly policed they are a crime free-for-all
Edited by V6Pushfit on Thursday 5th November 07:45
Edited by V6Pushfit on Thursday 5th November 07:46
CountZero23 said:
I've got a couple of mates from years back who've been selling decent amounts of weed for 10+ years and never had a 'problem'.
Of course the cops could bust every drug dealer tomorrow if they had the resources and space in the prisons.
You generally get caught by being stupid or unlucky.
With regards CCTV, most of the time the footage is st and for most crimes it's unlikely they will be putting your face in the news.
A guy who deals coke/MDMA/pills/very strong weed etc for my London friends has been doing it at least 15 years that I know of and has never been caught. The last time I was at a party, someone bought something off him, didn't have any cash on him, "no worries mate, just BACS me the money tomorrow!" He throws huge parties, lives on a very nice street in SW London and has never (as far as I'm aware) had any brushes with the law whatsoever. He has a "legitimate" sideline, but I think it's a hobby more than a revenue generator.Of course the cops could bust every drug dealer tomorrow if they had the resources and space in the prisons.
You generally get caught by being stupid or unlucky.
With regards CCTV, most of the time the footage is s
t and for most crimes it's unlikely they will be putting your face in the news.Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff