| Todays Police Services 18:42 - Sep 27 with 6794 views | numptydumpty |
Had to write about this, because it's completely mad.
I don't know if this is too controversial but two scenarios, which I find hard to fathom.
If it has to be taken down, no problems but posting as both are real life scenarios.
Anyhow here goes.
A friend who lives in a social housing block in the hotbed of crime that infests the Thames Valley.
Young guys with baseball bats smashed windows of the wrong flat, adjoining flat , fortunately currently vacant, ie was adjacent to a flat a known drug dealer lives ie unhappy with a deal.
All the neighbours around 40 other households complained of feeling unsafe to the police.
Not only did the police say they would not investigate known drug dealer, they also would not attend the scene either to help make residents a little more comfortable that it would at least feel like some progress was being taken to prevent this happening again.
Reason given, no time available !!!
Yet email exchanges that may or may not be assessed as harassment but if a complaint suggests it is harrassment it HAS to be investigated.
Duty of care given as the reason and they say just because its been reported as harrassment even if it is clearly not, they have to send someone out.
Yet kids with baseball bats smashing up windows random flats and address of a known drug dealer with many complainants, they have not time
It's a total disgrace !!! "Allegedly"
Very weird society we live in today. How can this be. |  |
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| Todays Police Services on 09:16 - Sep 28 with 1696 views | hubble |
The police have more important things to do today than investigate actual crimes. They have to police political incorrectness for a start, and apparently this is more worthy of their time. There are countless examples of this Orwellian trend.
Speaking personally, the disappearance of the local bobbie on the beat is a significant reason for spiralling crime. I had a crack addict living in the flat below me several years ago, who turned her flat into a crack house. It took me a nightmare year to finally get rid of her on an ASB closure order, and that was fast, apparently. This involved me having to record every extreme noise/anti-social behaviour event and send in the evidence, as well as calling the police on numerous occasions to deal with stuff. On an average night I was lucky to get 2 hours sleep, due to the constant stream of punters, the screaming, fighting, dogs, prostitutes, you name it. The process involved over 10 different people across 5 different agencies, and the main reason it couldn't happen quicker was because they had to constantly check they weren't breaching HER rights, that she was being given all the right support, etc. etc. I kept saying, what about my rights??!! And they sadly shrugged their shoulders.
The story doesn't end there though. The same individual still haunts our neighbourhood, is still involved in dealing crack and is still causing trouble. And she still targets the house I live in, in all sorts of bizarre ways, like painting the wall and the buddliea bush with orange paint, leaving all sorts of stolen objects in our front garden - handbags, purses, shoes... as well as screaming outside in the middle of the night, threatening people, throwing bins across the road, and so on and so on. This has been going on for the last couple of years, but despite me sending in video evidence from me and my neighbours, calling 101 several times, having 3 community police officers in my flat to discuss this, calling the neighbourhood team directly whilst she's kicking off outside, they claim they are unable to even locate where she lives and have never once managed to catch her in the act. If there were police walking the beat, this would not be happening, and they would know exactly where she lived.
And of course this is not to mention the weekly stabbings, the odd shooting and the numerous car thefts. Yet we live 5 minutes from a police station that sends out cars with their sirens screaming, racing up and down our road every 20 minutes day and night. This is all happening in salubrious W9. Maybe I sound like a right old git, but it certainly wasn't like this when I grew up! |  |
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| Todays Police Services on 10:42 - Sep 28 with 1596 views | TheChef |
I thought the other main issue, besides lack of funding, is the amount of admin/red tape they have to wade through just to get the job done? |  |
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| Todays Police Services on 15:58 - Sep 28 with 1413 views | essextaxiboy |
| Todays Police Services on 23:23 - Sep 27 by Superhoops2808 |
Time to add a little perspective to this thread and address a few examples given.
Firstly to be open, last July, I left the Met Police after 20 years service. Why I left I will cover in a minute.
Anyway, the 99% of police officers/staff work very hard, battling bureaucracy , under funding, lack of staff but the worst thing was the constant bashing and being tarred with the same brush because of the 1% who are lazy/corrupt and just plain wrong uns. They have no say in what should and shouldn't be deployed to, this is managed by senior officers who have knee jerk reactions to an incident that is in the public eye.
The forces resources are often taken up by going to issues that you as a victim may feel important but the next person may think is minor. The balance has to be found and that decision making is taken out of the hands of the boots on the ground.
The view is currently: To preserve life and property. If you see someone stealing your car, then there is a realistic chance of catching the suspect so they will deploy. If it happened some time during the night, then your car will be long gone and even with ring doorbell/CCTV it is unlikely to get your car back. In fact as you say, its organised and the vehicle is likely already being readied to ship abroad (Sorry to hear about your car btw)
Regards to the ASB in Thames Valley, you have a crime commissioner , write to them regarding the drug dealer. As for the harassment, that is a person being targeted and it can escalate from there hence why it is investigated
On the final note of stopping people for speeding, majority of these vans if not all are not manned by police officers. Its a myth that police officers are just there to catch you speeding. Most are going from incident to incident.
So anyway, (if you're interested) I left the Met because I became tired of the politics, the lack of staff to be able to do the job, and after being involved in The Borough market terrorist incident and losing a friend and colleague in Keith Palmer enough was enough. But the icing on the cake was walking in one day to signs everywhere saying that 'I must work hard to restore the public trust' when I had done nothing wrong was the final straw.
So I took a new challenge away from the Met and have never been happier now I no longer am made to feel that whatever I do its never enough.
Hopefully that gives the flip side of the coin. I'll now put my tin hat on!! |
A guy who works with me delivering prescription left the Met around the same time . He was on the opposing shift to Keith Palmer at parliament . |  | | |
| Todays Police Services on 04:37 - Sep 29 with 1371 views | CLAREMAN1995 |
| Todays Police Services on 09:16 - Sep 28 by hubble |
The police have more important things to do today than investigate actual crimes. They have to police political incorrectness for a start, and apparently this is more worthy of their time. There are countless examples of this Orwellian trend.
Speaking personally, the disappearance of the local bobbie on the beat is a significant reason for spiralling crime. I had a crack addict living in the flat below me several years ago, who turned her flat into a crack house. It took me a nightmare year to finally get rid of her on an ASB closure order, and that was fast, apparently. This involved me having to record every extreme noise/anti-social behaviour event and send in the evidence, as well as calling the police on numerous occasions to deal with stuff. On an average night I was lucky to get 2 hours sleep, due to the constant stream of punters, the screaming, fighting, dogs, prostitutes, you name it. The process involved over 10 different people across 5 different agencies, and the main reason it couldn't happen quicker was because they had to constantly check they weren't breaching HER rights, that she was being given all the right support, etc. etc. I kept saying, what about my rights??!! And they sadly shrugged their shoulders.
The story doesn't end there though. The same individual still haunts our neighbourhood, is still involved in dealing crack and is still causing trouble. And she still targets the house I live in, in all sorts of bizarre ways, like painting the wall and the buddliea bush with orange paint, leaving all sorts of stolen objects in our front garden - handbags, purses, shoes... as well as screaming outside in the middle of the night, threatening people, throwing bins across the road, and so on and so on. This has been going on for the last couple of years, but despite me sending in video evidence from me and my neighbours, calling 101 several times, having 3 community police officers in my flat to discuss this, calling the neighbourhood team directly whilst she's kicking off outside, they claim they are unable to even locate where she lives and have never once managed to catch her in the act. If there were police walking the beat, this would not be happening, and they would know exactly where she lived.
And of course this is not to mention the weekly stabbings, the odd shooting and the numerous car thefts. Yet we live 5 minutes from a police station that sends out cars with their sirens screaming, racing up and down our road every 20 minutes day and night. This is all happening in salubrious W9. Maybe I sound like a right old git, but it certainly wasn't like this when I grew up! |
That is horrible and pretty disturbing to be honest hubble I feel very sad yet angry after reading your post.
The first job of the police in every country in the world is to protect and serve not turn a blind eye to the issues you are lots of people are dealing with.
This woman has serious issues and has to be either arrested or sent to get mental health help before somebody gets seriously injured or God forbid dies .
We all want the same thing to be safe in our homes , good schools for our kids and enjoy the neighbourhood so hopefully she is caught and taken away .
Best of luck |  | | |
| Todays Police Services on 06:18 - Sep 29 with 1345 views | Northolt_Rs |
| Todays Police Services on 22:29 - Sep 27 by Northernr |
Can vouch for this. Many years ago Mrs LFW lost the key to one of those bloody things. It was parked next to the car garage next door to our flats, and it took them a day, and an intervention from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, to get the thing off. Tried all sorts of tools, cutting equipment, welding gear...
When we moved out of the flat at the end of the year the key dropped out from behind the desk when we moved it. |
Did you and your missus share a little chuckle? |  |
| Scooters, Tunes, Trainers and QPR. |
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| Todays Police Services on 07:40 - Sep 29 with 1281 views | numptydumpty |
| Todays Police Services on 09:16 - Sep 28 by hubble |
The police have more important things to do today than investigate actual crimes. They have to police political incorrectness for a start, and apparently this is more worthy of their time. There are countless examples of this Orwellian trend.
Speaking personally, the disappearance of the local bobbie on the beat is a significant reason for spiralling crime. I had a crack addict living in the flat below me several years ago, who turned her flat into a crack house. It took me a nightmare year to finally get rid of her on an ASB closure order, and that was fast, apparently. This involved me having to record every extreme noise/anti-social behaviour event and send in the evidence, as well as calling the police on numerous occasions to deal with stuff. On an average night I was lucky to get 2 hours sleep, due to the constant stream of punters, the screaming, fighting, dogs, prostitutes, you name it. The process involved over 10 different people across 5 different agencies, and the main reason it couldn't happen quicker was because they had to constantly check they weren't breaching HER rights, that she was being given all the right support, etc. etc. I kept saying, what about my rights??!! And they sadly shrugged their shoulders.
The story doesn't end there though. The same individual still haunts our neighbourhood, is still involved in dealing crack and is still causing trouble. And she still targets the house I live in, in all sorts of bizarre ways, like painting the wall and the buddliea bush with orange paint, leaving all sorts of stolen objects in our front garden - handbags, purses, shoes... as well as screaming outside in the middle of the night, threatening people, throwing bins across the road, and so on and so on. This has been going on for the last couple of years, but despite me sending in video evidence from me and my neighbours, calling 101 several times, having 3 community police officers in my flat to discuss this, calling the neighbourhood team directly whilst she's kicking off outside, they claim they are unable to even locate where she lives and have never once managed to catch her in the act. If there were police walking the beat, this would not be happening, and they would know exactly where she lived.
And of course this is not to mention the weekly stabbings, the odd shooting and the numerous car thefts. Yet we live 5 minutes from a police station that sends out cars with their sirens screaming, racing up and down our road every 20 minutes day and night. This is all happening in salubrious W9. Maybe I sound like a right old git, but it certainly wasn't like this when I grew up! |
This is something can vouch for myself.
Before I knew my better half, her next door neighbour was a prostitute and on all sorts of god knows what illegal substances.
Men would openly visit her at all hours of the day and night.
The police rarely came out. Only once when one "gentleman" came in through my partners back door of her house, thinking it was the neighbours, did they come out quickly.
The police did visit, but the visits happened all the time she lived there, over many many years.
On an another random weird justice type scenario.
In the town I live in, they have been building blocks of flats galore, all over the place. So two bed flats, selling for around £300k.
In one of the new tower blocks, there is shared ownership and social housing mixed in together with fully mortgaged properties.
I do know that several men and women, who have recently come out of prison and of no fixed abode, are due to be housed there. They are brand new flats and if you a full time worker, that will cost you three hundred grand.
That's Mad !!
But not only that, they all addicts and what will happen, the dealers will befriend them, so they can keep them supplied and the dealers will get keys cut and it will be the dealers that live in these brand new smart flats.
The user will be on the streets and back in prison, pretty quick.
Whilst a brand new flat is likely to be well and truly trashed.
Police and probation services know this but its just left to happen, which is beyond nuts !!! | |
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| Todays Police Services on 07:41 - Sep 29 with 1280 views | LimehouseR |
The problem now with the Met is that so many experienced officers have left/retired and the uptake on numbers wasn't kept up over the last 10-15 years. Then this government claim a big boost in recruitment but actually it's just back up to similar numbers prior to them taking over government. The main problem with this now is that you've lost a lot of experience and most officers leave the job within 5 years these days (it's something like a third leave prior to 5 years service). So you have officers acting like they know everything after a few years leading officers who know nothing and you get a poor reduction in the standards. Lots of DCs are also getting direct entry jobs so know nothing about actual street policing. It is a total mess.
The Met have also implemented a new online system called Connect which is not fit for purpose. But because they have already ploughed money into it, despite almost every officer saying it is a total shambles, they are persisting with it. I have a close friend who has to use it and says he spends hours and hours uploading a case file to then click 'complete' and half the time it all disappears. He calls IT and they say 'yeah you'll have to do it again'. Which is a total joke in a time sensitive scenario as he only has 24 hours to get everything sorted in what must be extremely complex investigations. He's looking to leave too, he's had enough.
The state of the CPS and the court system also means justice is rarely issued anyway. It is a total disaster and completely underfunded. Some of the wait times for a trial date are years down the line. I am surprised anyone is ever convicted of anything these days. |  | | |
| Todays Police Services on 07:59 - Sep 29 with 1269 views | Northernr |
| Todays Police Services on 07:41 - Sep 29 by LimehouseR |
The problem now with the Met is that so many experienced officers have left/retired and the uptake on numbers wasn't kept up over the last 10-15 years. Then this government claim a big boost in recruitment but actually it's just back up to similar numbers prior to them taking over government. The main problem with this now is that you've lost a lot of experience and most officers leave the job within 5 years these days (it's something like a third leave prior to 5 years service). So you have officers acting like they know everything after a few years leading officers who know nothing and you get a poor reduction in the standards. Lots of DCs are also getting direct entry jobs so know nothing about actual street policing. It is a total mess.
The Met have also implemented a new online system called Connect which is not fit for purpose. But because they have already ploughed money into it, despite almost every officer saying it is a total shambles, they are persisting with it. I have a close friend who has to use it and says he spends hours and hours uploading a case file to then click 'complete' and half the time it all disappears. He calls IT and they say 'yeah you'll have to do it again'. Which is a total joke in a time sensitive scenario as he only has 24 hours to get everything sorted in what must be extremely complex investigations. He's looking to leave too, he's had enough.
The state of the CPS and the court system also means justice is rarely issued anyway. It is a total disaster and completely underfunded. Some of the wait times for a trial date are years down the line. I am surprised anyone is ever convicted of anything these days. |
Great point at the end there. The collapse of the court system in this country gets nowhere near the coverage or attention of the collapse of our utilities, sewage and water system, railways, health service, school buildings and everything else that's been allowed to decay and is now falling apart, but it's every bit as chronic. |  | | |
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| Todays Police Services on 08:19 - Sep 29 with 1233 views | LoftusR |
Several comments on this thread is relation to police resources. Yesterday at 6.00pm I came out of Finsbury Park tube station, there were 18 uniformed officers, 2 plain clothes officers and 4 London transport sucurirty staff carrying out ticket checks. Only one officer was doing anything the rest were stood around chatting. I'm all for catching fare dodgers but over 20 officers in attendance is ridiculous especially in light of my earlier issues mentioned. |  | | |
| Todays Police Services on 08:20 - Sep 29 with 1233 views | LimehouseR |
| Todays Police Services on 07:59 - Sep 29 by Northernr |
Great point at the end there. The collapse of the court system in this country gets nowhere near the coverage or attention of the collapse of our utilities, sewage and water system, railways, health service, school buildings and everything else that's been allowed to decay and is now falling apart, but it's every bit as chronic. |
From first hand experiences and also following the Secret Barrister on Twitter/X or whatever it is called now. Like you said, gets hardly any coverage.
If you are the victim of a robbery/sexual assault etc at what point maybe 3 years down the line do you think I can't be bothered or cope any more with the wait.
I have it on good authority in a lot of almost stone bonker cases for drug dealing the CPS won't offer a charge unless EVERYTHING is available right there and then. Doesn't matter if they had a kilo of heroin under their bed, they want DNA testing or phone downloads or whatever else all in place. So again, a case is delayed for years when it could have been resolved with an early guilty plea and a drug dealer is allowed to carry on dealing whilst released under investigation etc. Partly the fault of the CPS but then they have such a back log of cases they don't want to take new ones on unless they are almost guaranteed a guilty plea. | | | |
| Todays Police Services on 08:38 - Sep 29 with 1193 views | PlanetHonneywood |
| Todays Police Services on 07:59 - Sep 29 by Northernr |
Great point at the end there. The collapse of the court system in this country gets nowhere near the coverage or attention of the collapse of our utilities, sewage and water system, railways, health service, school buildings and everything else that's been allowed to decay and is now falling apart, but it's every bit as chronic. |
Mentioned the CPS in my piece above and the Prison Service too.
In relation to the CPS, 'The Secret Barrister' was particularly disturbing reading a few years back, and I very much doubt things have improved since. Well worth a read to get an insight into the systemic failure that it lurches from on weekly basis.
As for the Prison Service, the rate of recidivism is a key indicator of it and the country's failing to reduce crime too.
If the Tories insist on seeking to mold this country to the US, then things will only get worse. Their policing, criminal justice and penal systems are woeful and the UK's will rival in due course.
As I said earlier: it needs all stakeholders to get their brains and acts together and to do it fast. Yes it will cost money to initiate, however, if you see it as an investment do reduce crime then the savings will flow: less court time is itself a huge saving, as it would be in reducing the need for legal aid and the CPS' costs; lowering the prison population through an actual reduction in crime as opposed to alternative sentencing will save millions; and also, less crime 'should' see insurance premiums reduce accordingly (won't happen of course, because they are greedy slags).
Or, the UK just carries on as it is. More private prisons - who do less to rehabilitate and thus, reduce recidivism because that doesn't fit the business model of needing more prisons on the one hand, and forcing people to install expensive security equipment on the other. Thus, crime and criminals increase and if you have hamstrung the police, then it's an ever decreasing circle. |  |
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| Todays Police Services on 08:42 - Sep 29 with 1184 views | slmrstid |
Mrs SLM works within family law and the collapse of the courts system leaving parents screwed left right and centre makes her want to leave her field, and she's been in it over 10 years now. |  | | |
| Todays Police Services on 08:43 - Sep 29 with 1181 views | numptydumpty |
| Todays Police Services on 08:19 - Sep 29 by LoftusR |
Several comments on this thread is relation to police resources. Yesterday at 6.00pm I came out of Finsbury Park tube station, there were 18 uniformed officers, 2 plain clothes officers and 4 London transport sucurirty staff carrying out ticket checks. Only one officer was doing anything the rest were stood around chatting. I'm all for catching fare dodgers but over 20 officers in attendance is ridiculous especially in light of my earlier issues mentioned. |
An incident years ago, think it would have been early 90s.
Me and a mate of mine were parking fairly near the stadium and there was a queue, getting fairly near kick off time, so in my wisdom, I decided take a chance, was near the right hand turn and snuck up as thought have chance but got caught up and left stuck on the chevrons, before the turn off.
Fortunately for me, right next to riot squad van with 12 to fifteen police officers in.
They flashed me to pull over after I turned. Got us both out of the car, split us apart, so around six or seven police around myself and likewise with my mate, got us to stand hands against a wall, while they frisked us both and then searched the car for drugs and whatever else with torches etc.
God knows why.
Basically the whole process took about 40 minutes and in meantime they all enjoyed the industrial chat to us, like we were scum on earth.
All I had done, was drive and be stranded on the chevrons in the road. Wrong but rape, murder or GBH it wasn't !!!
Had to present documents at my local police station and that was that ie a warning not a caution.
We got game half hour late, and can't say my mind was there watching.
Unbelievably ridiculous situation, just because we surmised, they were bored with the lack of trouble in the build up to the game, and wanted to create their own aggro.
Appreciate this was thirty years ago and I doubt this could happen today but I would never be surprised if it did. [Post edited 29 Sep 2023 9:53]
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| Todays Police Services on 08:59 - Sep 29 with 1155 views | gazza1 |
After I retired many years ago I joined the police as a VSRO doing a few hours a week working on the front office in a police station. The coppers, a lot of them, who came in and out of the station were so laid back, easy going and never rushed around - many looked for the easy option whether it was right or wrong, the PC's were poorly managed imho by the Sargent's and were allowed to meander around a lot of the time. Much of it reminded me of the Civil Service back in the 1960's (& maybe now) when staff done what they liked and when they liked (only my opinion when working for the Civil Service (Charles House, Kensington). IMHO the police need to 'up their game' a lot.
As for these devices that secure your steering wheel etc.....my mate had his car stolen at 1pm down the side of his house and it had one of these devices attached. Contacted the Met Police, came round 10 days later, told him no chance of getting it back and the case was closed a few days later. | | | |
| Todays Police Services on 09:35 - Sep 29 with 1098 views | PlanetHonneywood |
| Todays Police Services on 08:42 - Sep 29 by slmrstid |
Mrs SLM works within family law and the collapse of the courts system leaving parents screwed left right and centre makes her want to leave her field, and she's been in it over 10 years now. |
I left the UK/labour law essentially to pursue further interests after 15 years at it. Back in the late-00s, you could see how the employment law/tribunal service was going and I was happy to move on. Did a little bit of criminal law work back in the day, and it was just depressing, I would not touch it with a barge pole.
At the time I left, I read an article in the Law Society Gazette that said 25% of lawyers were actively looking to leave the profession due to various frustrations with the job. These lawyers are like your wife and me: working with very stressed people in the most trying of circumstances and are often left to justify the systemic failings preventing them from doing the job they signed up for.
Same goes for teachers, nurses/doctors, police and prison officers, all professions where ultimately, the problems emanate from politicians not doing their jobs due to failing to look at the bigger picture. It really needs a total reset and restarting all over again. | |
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| Todays Police Services on 10:00 - Sep 29 with 1050 views | numptydumpty |
| Todays Police Services on 09:35 - Sep 29 by PlanetHonneywood |
I left the UK/labour law essentially to pursue further interests after 15 years at it. Back in the late-00s, you could see how the employment law/tribunal service was going and I was happy to move on. Did a little bit of criminal law work back in the day, and it was just depressing, I would not touch it with a barge pole.
At the time I left, I read an article in the Law Society Gazette that said 25% of lawyers were actively looking to leave the profession due to various frustrations with the job. These lawyers are like your wife and me: working with very stressed people in the most trying of circumstances and are often left to justify the systemic failings preventing them from doing the job they signed up for.
Same goes for teachers, nurses/doctors, police and prison officers, all professions where ultimately, the problems emanate from politicians not doing their jobs due to failing to look at the bigger picture. It really needs a total reset and restarting all over again. |
Yep
Prison service, the Police, Health Service and Education sector, some areas very poor in service provision due to lack of funding, recruitment, training, support of existing staff so the jobs are often performed at minimum effectiveness.
Could be said for QPR as well !!!
🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 | |
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| Todays Police Services on 13:09 - Sep 29 with 956 views | PlanetHonneywood |
| Todays Police Services on 10:00 - Sep 29 by numptydumpty |
Yep
Prison service, the Police, Health Service and Education sector, some areas very poor in service provision due to lack of funding, recruitment, training, support of existing staff so the jobs are often performed at minimum effectiveness.
Could be said for QPR as well !!!
🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 |
I believe the NHS and Prison Service cite us frequently as in, 'at least we're not QPR!' and the Police have an acronym for the managed decline of their service: Quality Policing Reduction!
Still, when Gazonomics kicks in...we'll be laughing! | |
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| Todays Police Services on 13:27 - Sep 29 with 912 views | Konk |
We know almost 30 former teachers, all of whom are under the age of 45, and I know another 4 who are desperate to leave the profession. Worrying thing is that many of them had teachers as parents, and they decided to go into teaching as a result of that. I don’t know a single teacher or former teacher who would encourage their kids to teach.
I would love to live in a country where the government and electorate cared about having properly functioning public services, where public servants were supported and properly looked rewarded, but unfortunately this is a country where we assume that good people will continue in these roles out of a sense of duty, no matter how miserable and stressful their working lives become. |  |
| Fulham FC: It's the taking part that counts |
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| Todays Police Services on 13:35 - Sep 29 with 873 views | DavieQPR |
It's not the 90% at the lower end it's the 90% at the upper end you have to worry about. |  | | |
| Todays Police Services on 13:58 - Sep 29 with 847 views | R_from_afar |
| Todays Police Services on 07:41 - Sep 29 by LimehouseR |
The problem now with the Met is that so many experienced officers have left/retired and the uptake on numbers wasn't kept up over the last 10-15 years. Then this government claim a big boost in recruitment but actually it's just back up to similar numbers prior to them taking over government. The main problem with this now is that you've lost a lot of experience and most officers leave the job within 5 years these days (it's something like a third leave prior to 5 years service). So you have officers acting like they know everything after a few years leading officers who know nothing and you get a poor reduction in the standards. Lots of DCs are also getting direct entry jobs so know nothing about actual street policing. It is a total mess.
The Met have also implemented a new online system called Connect which is not fit for purpose. But because they have already ploughed money into it, despite almost every officer saying it is a total shambles, they are persisting with it. I have a close friend who has to use it and says he spends hours and hours uploading a case file to then click 'complete' and half the time it all disappears. He calls IT and they say 'yeah you'll have to do it again'. Which is a total joke in a time sensitive scenario as he only has 24 hours to get everything sorted in what must be extremely complex investigations. He's looking to leave too, he's had enough.
The state of the CPS and the court system also means justice is rarely issued anyway. It is a total disaster and completely underfunded. Some of the wait times for a trial date are years down the line. I am surprised anyone is ever convicted of anything these days. |
"The Met have also implemented a new online system called Connect which is not fit for purpose. But because they have already ploughed money into it, despite almost every officer saying it is a total shambles, they are persisting with it. I have a close friend who has to use it and says he spends hours and hours uploading a case file to then click 'complete' and half the time it all disappears. He calls IT and they say 'yeah you'll have to do it again'. Which is a total joke in a time sensitive scenario as he only has 24 hours to get everything sorted in what must be extremely complex investigations".
I think there is a general issue with software and IT systems. Considering how long this technology has been around, the usability is appalling. Screens time out, as you wrote, and icons and commands are poorly and vaguely labelled such that you need an interpreter to work out what they do. Software and systems should be tested not by developers or designers but by the least IT literate people available, so they can be made truly user friendly. Sorry, this is a personal bugbear of mine and I have had nightmares using some of the big customer relationship management packages. Hours wasted on what should be simple tasks...
Anyway, back on topic, I remember a public lecture by the head of the Met Police a few years back. A very good point he made (can't remember his name) was that the police are left picking up the slack caused by a number of other positions of authority disappearing. Bus conductors, park keepers, those sorts of jobs. Those people helped keep order but there are very few of them around these days. |  |
| "Things had started becoming increasingly desperate at Loftus Road but QPR have been handed a massive lifeline and the place has absolutely erupted. it's carnage. It's bedlam. It's 1-1." |
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| Todays Police Services on 14:00 - Sep 29 with 847 views | QPunkR |
| Todays Police Services on 10:42 - Sep 28 by TheChef |
I thought the other main issue, besides lack of funding, is the amount of admin/red tape they have to wade through just to get the job done? |
Yep, I had a mate who was a copper for a while in Kilburn in the not-too-distant future and this was a massive bug-bear of his and main reason for leaving the service.
This was two-fold: Firstly he was annoyed at how long every single job took him to log with all the admin, and secondly he could see the sheer number of his colleagues who elected to make an easy collar early in the shift just so they could sit back at the station the rest of the day filling out reams of paperwork rather than policing. Sad state of affairs. |  |
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| Todays Police Services on 14:14 - Sep 29 with 840 views | themodfather |
i have not read all the replies, police morale is low, as is LFB< NHS etc tory under staffing and cuts , i mean closing police stations when crime is out of control?
then again, police do sod all in society but come footy day they get their numbers up, captive audience, literally.
i live in central london, rarely see police on the beat, the dug dealers and users were rife, recently new private development has seen private security in numbers and they have managed to move the dirt bags away, not police , private security guarding their land. so why am i paying taxes? | | | |
| Todays Police Services on 14:53 - Sep 29 with 774 views | Esox_Lucius |
| Todays Police Services on 13:58 - Sep 29 by R_from_afar |
"The Met have also implemented a new online system called Connect which is not fit for purpose. But because they have already ploughed money into it, despite almost every officer saying it is a total shambles, they are persisting with it. I have a close friend who has to use it and says he spends hours and hours uploading a case file to then click 'complete' and half the time it all disappears. He calls IT and they say 'yeah you'll have to do it again'. Which is a total joke in a time sensitive scenario as he only has 24 hours to get everything sorted in what must be extremely complex investigations".
I think there is a general issue with software and IT systems. Considering how long this technology has been around, the usability is appalling. Screens time out, as you wrote, and icons and commands are poorly and vaguely labelled such that you need an interpreter to work out what they do. Software and systems should be tested not by developers or designers but by the least IT literate people available, so they can be made truly user friendly. Sorry, this is a personal bugbear of mine and I have had nightmares using some of the big customer relationship management packages. Hours wasted on what should be simple tasks...
Anyway, back on topic, I remember a public lecture by the head of the Met Police a few years back. A very good point he made (can't remember his name) was that the police are left picking up the slack caused by a number of other positions of authority disappearing. Bus conductors, park keepers, those sorts of jobs. Those people helped keep order but there are very few of them around these days. |
Based on periodical revelations regarding contracts given out for services to government run institutions, would it be beyond the realms of possibility that the contract was given to a Tory donor? or a mate of someone in government whose previous experience of IT was that they owned a smart phone?
It's been over ten years since I have worked alongside a number of software developers for large systems and have used data management systems such as SAP and there is no excuse for ANY software to have so many bugs and failings as those described above.
It appears to be a common cause amongst the posts in this thread that the problem lies with the people charged to govern the country and it's long overdue for a complete overhaul of how the country is run. It appears that Labour are no longer an alternative to the Tories, thanks to the Tufton St. cuckoo and his cronies dismantling and bowdlerizing the party, so what can be done to affect change will be an almighty struggle.
No more extreme right, no more extreme left, no more class warfare and a more equitable distribution of wealth through fair taxation is but a pipedream which makes me fear for the younger generation and should be a cause for concern to all but the hard of thinking.
The current government has turned the nation upon itself whilst distancing themselves for any responsibility or culpability for their actions, and continuing to do so with cynical aplomb. All we are getting at the moment is a country that is being raped of all it's foundations. |  |
| The grass is always greener. |
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