[Mystic Mock]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...dget-cuts.html

Chief constable says public expectation needs to change because of budget cuts

Burglary victims should no longer expect the police to come to their homes, one of the country’s most senior officers said yesterday.

Chief Constable Sara Thornton, the £252,000-a-year head of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said public expectations had to change in the light of budget cuts.

Forces needed to shift their focus away from ‘traditional’ crimes, she said – admitting that officers might not call round for offences such as an iPad being stolen by intruders.

‘Crime is changing in this country,’ she said. ‘There are a lot less burglaries than there used to be and a lot less car crime.

‘The sorts of crimes that are on the increase, sexual offences, concerns about terrorism, cyber crime, that’s where we really need to focus. We need to move from reacting to those traditional crimes to thinking about focusing on threat and harm and risk and really protecting the public.’

Mrs Thornton’s comments reflect the growing mood among police chiefs that ‘something has to give’ among frontline policing.

Many feel that spending cuts have left them struggling to provide the services millions of people expect, although crime is at a record low. But critics warned that the impact of a burglary remains ‘devastating’ and victims need long-term reassurance and support.

Above all, they said, those who have suffered at the hands of thieves want to know police are determined to catch those responsible.

Speaking to the BBC, former Thames Valley Police chief Mrs Thornton said: ‘What we are saying is if we are really serious about putting a lot of effort and resource into protecting children for example, that might mean that if you’ve had a burglary and the burglar has fled, that we won’t get there as quickly as we’ve got there in the past.

‘Of course we will still want to gather evidence, but we might do it in different ways."

It's my first time doing quote tags like this so please forgive any mistakes.

What do you guys think?

[joeysteele]

Doesn't surprise me, you cannot constantly cut the Police and the funding in real terms and expect the same 'service' and protection.

What is needed is an overhaul of the endless ridiculous paperwork Police have to do as to almost every so called crime, even if the investigation comes to nothing.

Then get in place faster smaller courts for petty crimes such as shoplifting or other debt related nonsense where no violence or damage has been done to property or person.
Removing endless investigation time and leave the main courts free to deal with serious crime that has violence related elements to it.
Fill the prisons with the real dangerous people, not the petty ones and their often only financial crimes.

Also I have recently come across,in my view unbelievably too, 5 cases in a Magistrates court of non payment of the TV Licence.
I really cannot believe that valuable court time is taken up with things like this.
Absolutely bonkers.

Sadly, we live in a violent age and Country too,with terrorists threats hanging around like rotten smells as well.
It is time to prioritise crime and it is also the only way forward for the Police and other security organisations to be able to cope now,in the midst of still so much cutting by govt despite those realities.

[Kizzy]

I agree Joey, they have been cut to the quick I'm glad they've made a point of voicing it it's a very honest view of how policing in the UK is straining due to cuts in the 'force'.

[the truth]

complete and utter disgrace....they've got plenty of time for drivel like twitter and online insults but they cant come to help vulnerable people who have been robbed , pathetic.

[joeysteele]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

I agree Joey, they have been cut to the quick I'm glad they've made a point of voicing it it's a very honest view of how policing in the UK is straining due to cuts in the 'force'.

I despair at seeing court case after court case going nowhere at all after sometimes lengthy investigation by the Police,endless hours of paperwork and then the cost of police time and court time.

Ending up with really nothing happening and so many cases even falling apart.

A shoplifter for instance, caught in the act, why waste hours of police time and then court time with that.
Have a 'civil' type court for smaller offences,fast tracked and dealt with on the day almost.

Burglary should be a serious crime,it will have involved likely damage to property or belongings but,well here is an example,I saw a while back.
At a supermarket,someone was stopped leaving,they hadn't paid for goods.
The police were called,they were taken away,for I understand around £8 of goods.
Yes £8 of goods.

Imagine the costs to the police as to their time,paperwork and then court time, if it even came to that.
Far more in excess of £8 for sure.

While the Police and courts and have to deal with daft offences like that,then other probably more serious things will have to suffer.
It does seem to me that shops and supermarkets can drain the resources of the police and legal system endlessly for petty and silly amounts as to offences by their shoppers.
The householder however, not having the same clout as supermarkets and business, gets the poorer justice again.

While police are engaged in,what I would term, minor offences,minor as to value and nature but never the less requiring heavy costs,paperwork and time to be dealt with.

[T*]

it's nice to know that they're really protecting us then
utter shambles tbh

[the truth]

many police are lazy cowards I could tell you 10001 stories

[empire]

I was watching life on mars, here on the net, with policeman like gene hunt, who said that people don't care in what methods we use too keep crime down, they want the job done, to keep the streets safe, the old school policeman would of just threw all the yobs, into the van, and roll them up into a mat, and use them for baton practice, political correctness, and too much paper work has made them into soft cake,

[Anaesthesia]

Tbh, when I first came back into the UK after several years away, I was in housing in a less than salubrious part of town. I depend on working remotely at times, and it wasn't long before the local little scrotes had worked out there was someone with a posh accent who didn't socialise living nearby.

Having a lot of computer equipment is part of my work requirement: I was burgled 5 times in 2 years. On one of those occasions my son was home (he was 16 at the time) , and quickly hid behind a sofa after hearing the door being kicked down.

Following that, I *told* the police who had done it, but with a lack of physical evidence, they could do nothing. My son heard whose voice it was, but was too frightened to offer a statement. Within a few months he had moved out of the area.

It's a sign of the times unfortunately. It's seen simply as a burglary, yet the human cost is so much more.

We need the policing resources.