Forum Topic

have our local police abdicated all responsibility?

In the early hours of this morning, (4am) a pair of car thieves spent a full hour and a half breaking into and then disabling the anti-theft mechanisms of a white Range Rover parked in Spring Grove, setting off the car alarm at regular intervals, before finally speeding off in the stolen vehicle the wrong way down the street around 5.30am. Neighbours made calls to 999 as the theft was proceeding - police would have had ample time to arrive and nab the culprits. They refused to come out "there's nothing we can do unless the owner tells us its stolen". Really?A neighbour videoed the whole thing. A black range rover was stolen, incidently, up the road in Grove Park four days ago. I suspect these chaps will continue to operate with impunity given that our police are no longer turning up at crime scenes.

Birna Helgadottir ● 1917d59 Comments

So if a police officer sees a burglar breaking into my house he can't do anything until I report that I have been burgled? That can't possibly be true or, if it is, then it's bonkers.

Susan Kelly ● 1917d

Not sure if your neighbours are stating the whole facts as to when it was reported and what the conversation was. If the police have anyone available to attend for such a live crime they would be attending the scene as well as a live house burgulary as quick as possible. To me,it sounds like it was reported after the car had been taken for that responce,or break down in communication facts while theft was taking place.

Julian Pavey ● 1917d

@Susan, my thoughts exactly.@Julian, the calls were definitely made while the crime was in progress. Our neighbourhood watch person is following it up with the police to find out why they wouldn't come. The car was a 2015 reg and worth around 35,000 quid, probably. Given the theft of another range rover in the area just four days before -if I had an expensive newish car in the Grove Park/SotG area I'd be worried right now.

Birna Helgadottir ● 1917d

Only way they would not come out in a live theft of a car is if they are tied up on other live jobs and no one is available straight away. "there's nothing we can do unless the owner tells us its stolen" That tells me that the car had already been stolen from the scene and not on the scene being stolen hence reporting it stolen by owners as the responce. Police do have faults but in a live theft and still on the scene no way would that be the responce but is very likely once making off from the scene.

Julian Pavey ● 1917d

Seems odd to me.  Up here in Nottingham, afew weeks back I looked out one of our windows and there were a couple of voung men loitering around the public parking area (we live in a development at the end of a cul-de-sac and there's no reason to be here if you don't live here), dressed in all black, hoodies over their heads (it was a warm evening), smoking weed, averting what little could be seen of their faces when cars drove past and generally looking very dodgy.  I called the police, stressed it wasn't a priority and other than smoking weed I hadn't seen them commit an offence but they did look suspicious, and within 20 minutes a community support car (rather than a 'proper police car') turned up, spoke to these guys, took their details and sent them on their way.

Adam Beamish ● 1917d

The original message also indicates the uselessness of car alarms. Does anyone ever rush out to help when they hear a car alarm going off at 3 in the morning? No, they pull the duvet more tightly over their head, curse the owner of the car and try to get back to sleep. All the alarm does is wake up several hundred people in the vicinity.

Colin Jordan ● 1917d

The point is that the neighbours did not pull their duvets over their heads - they saw what was going on, rang the police and when the police refused to come, filmed the proceedings - I have seen the film. You may be as sceptical as you like and I am sure that it is more comfortable to believe that the police will come if they are called. But I assure you that what I have told you all is an accurate account of what happened.

Birna Helgadottir ● 1917d

Eleven years of police cuts and local station closures.

Paul Scullion ● 1917d

When the police claimed they couldn't intervene "unless the car owner reported it etc", I wonder what their response would have been if the caller reporting it had said he/she was going to get dressed and intervene on behalf o9f his/her neighbour?Something tells me the police would have found someone to attend, pronto.

Richard Cathcart ● 1917d

If the police get to a theft taking place you cannot prove the intention wasto take it, so they get off lightly, if they are found with the goods they can then charge them of the offence.

Janice Evans ● 1917d

I think Birna is right and none of us *wants* to believe that the police won't respond to an emergency but our 999 services are breaking down. I was at a party 10 days ago where a woman passed out and, in falling, audibly cracked her head on a brick step. Obviously we dialled 999 and asked for an ambulance and then found ourselves 'on hold with the ambulance service' for some minutes. Okay, it was Saturday night but only about 8:30 so far from their busiest time.(She was fine, by the way, though she spent the night in hospital).

Susan Kelly ● 1917d

That's rubbish.What has surprised me about this thread is how many people have taken it upon themselves to tell Bima that she is somehow mistaken, or has misunderstood the situation. Bima if I were you I would take this to your MP, or better still suggest the owner of the car takes it up.

David Halliday ● 1916d

Maybe they meant they won't come out unless it's the owner of the car who reports it.  The thinking may be that the car has perhaps broken down in the driveway and the owners may  have got someone to come and collect it and take it to be repaired, so no point attending as it is being taken awaywith the owner's blessing.  Just a thought.

Claire Moran ● 1916d

That's rubbish tooWhat I have said is if a car is in the process of being stolen the police don't tell you to tell the owners to report it stolen. It is in the process of being stolen so if available they will attend. And it's nothing against Bima and her posting. Maybe next door was not accurate in what they said to the police or Bima. I don't know or can't answer that If they did say what is reported then it does need to be taken up. I just can't believe what was said in the police call. Nothing wrong with that.

Julian Pavey ● 1916d

This reminds me of the story, (no doubt apocryphal,) of the farmer who was woken by the noise of his barn being burgled. He called the police who said there was no one available to attend. After arguing he rang off and then called back a few minutes later and said it was no longer urgent as he had just shot the burglars. Shortly after half the counties police force was in the yard arresting the burglars. A somewhat irate officer in charge accosted the farmer and said, “I thought you said you had shot them!” The farmer replied, “I thought you said there was no one available to attend.”

Christopher Shea ● 1916d

Oh you're in the police force are you Julian? Or perhaps you somehow picked up the telephone conversations that night? Nah...Bima is just a silly woman who has got confused...that mist be it!

David Halliday ● 1916d

I have lost faith in coppers for a long time now. Thugs in uniform.

Elle Jones ● 1916d

I agree with you, David. It's become far too common on this forum for men to tell women that they've misunderstood something. Thanks for taking the opposite position.

Susan Kelly ● 1916d

Perhaps if they’d reported them as hating Jews, the outcome might have been different? @ CM

Stewart Jones ● 1916d

  What are you on about. I said no such thing about Bima   Get a grip

Julian Pavey ● 1916d

Doesn't seem right to me. I recently called 101 for a guy who looked dead or very drunk bent backwards over a box. The Police called back soon and were on the scene with an ambulance soon after. He turned out to be a drunk who had managed to stagger away before they got there, but the Police were excellent and even hung around to look for him.

Lalo Smith ● 1916d

It might help if you two got her name right - it's Birna, not Bima.

Richard Greenhough ● 1916d

Good news Boris has a new plan. League tables for 999 calls response times. More CCTV and more stop and search. It is to be announced soon. We can all relax!

Nicholas Beard ● 1916d

We had a bit of an 'incident' here last week, a 999 call was made and we had a police van and three area cars and eight coppers arrive. Panned out to be complete overkill as it happened.

Vanessa Smith ● 1916d

Several of us went to the demo organised by Wyke Green and Osterley Residents Assn. to support their opposition against the Tesco/Homebase development last Friday outside the Holiday Inn, Brentford. Inside there was a jolly going on for the council, chamber of commerce and developers, and guess what? The police were there - not because of any raucous behaviour you understand. I would think most people there were north of 40 years old - but of course the great and the good were inside, and we all know how important they are. God forbid, these people might engage with the local residents.

Vanessa Smith ● 1916d

Im sure that if the crime had been repoorted as someone shouting hurty words out there;d have been a police chopper on the scene in no time..joking aside, I think the answer is pretty clearly, that they have ...

Tim Garfoot ● 1915d

So the general consensus appear to be that theMetropolitan Police should should mobilise allavailable units at 5.30 a.m if there's any danger that the owner of a white Range Roverwho hasn't taken out extra cover is in danger of losing their no claims bonus. And assuming its not covered by their insuranceof having to fork out for a taxi to get to work for a couple of days. I'm no apologist for the police for which I could countless examples - https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jul/17/it-was-humiliating-police-apologise-for-handcuffing-undressed-student-in-raidbut I do believe there are limits to what might reasonably be expected, given that manpower needs to be kept in reserve for genuine emergencies more especially at 5.30 a.m.michael adams

Michael Adams ● 1914d

"Eleven years of police cuts and local station closures."The situation is more complicated than that. Met Police numbers fell from 33,367 in 2010 to 30,398 in 2013. Since then police numbers have either been roughly the same year on year or rising. In 2020 the Met Police employed 32,958 and additional funding for police officers was promised by the Mayor in 2021 (1,300 more officer?) Surprisingly, in the year with lowest number of police officers the rate of crime per head of the London population was at its lowest in the last eleven years (77.5 crimes per 1,000 Londoners). Since 2015/16 the number of crimes per head of population has been rising steadily - despite the number of policemen either rising or staying roughly the same. There is no direct correlation between the overall crime rate and the number of police officers. However, over the same eleven years the population of London has increased and the number of police officer per 1,000 Londoners has declined significantly from 4.1 police officers per 1,000 Londoners to 3.1. The closure of police stations began under Mayor Boris and has continued under Mayor Sadiq. This is an emotive issue and any discussion of the merits of such closures needs to be conducted calmly and rationally. I well understand that the existence of a large building in the heart of the community with a big blue police sign on it is psychological comforting but in reality what additional security or protection to bricks and mortar provide?As senior police officers confirmed at the two pre-covid public meetings held to discuss local policing (organised by local councillors) police response times to serious incidents had actually improved slightly since the Tri-Borough policing arrangement had been introduced and the front desk at Chiswick Police Station closed.Community police need to be out and visible in our wards and not sitting in a police station waiting for something to happen. Rapid Response teams need to be on the road during evenings and early mornings - patrolling areas where intelligence sources tell them they need to be.One of the benefits of the closure of police stations is that officers are equipped with electronic tablets and can complete their reports almost anywhere. There are other operational efficiencies that have been made - some no doubt painful but as some officers have confided in me most were long over due.  The comment that one contributor has made on this thread about the police all being thugs (or something like that) hardly deserves a response but .... I suspect he does not know any police officers personally. I know two police officers personally. One is a fine young man who grew up in Chiswick and is helping police London. He is someone any parent could be proud of. The other is of course Cllr John Todd a retired member of the City of London Police. Most would say one of Hounslow's consistently most hard working and conscientious councillors.    Please let no one attack me for saying that "everything in the garden is rosy". I know that policing London is not easy and that new problems emerge every week to challenge all of us and those who work so hard to protect us - the police.Data Source - see link belowhttps://www.statista.com/statistics/864928/officer-numbers-of-the-metropolitan-police/

Cllr Sam Hearn ● 1914d

Hey, that's the attitude Michael!A white Range Rover! Bloody show offs! Owner deserves to have it nicked.He/she probably even thinks that because they are good citizens who pay their taxes etc they are entitled to expect the police to come when neighbours report their car is being stolen! Cor what plonkers eh?I expect your house and contents are fully insured so I'm sure you wouldn't want the police to be called out if neighbours saw it being burgled. Only fair innit?

David Halliday ● 1914d

David Halliday explained"Hey, that's the attitude Michael!A white Range Rover! Bloody show offs! Owner deserves to have it nicked."David, when you yourself or someone you knowfinally get to own a car, you may bbe surprised to find  find that its a legal requirement for the owner to insure the vehicle before putting it on the road. Thus limiting any possible loss in the event of its being stolen.    He went on to say" He/she probably even thinks that because they are good citizens who pay their taxes etc"That "etc" of course including car insurance.So why should people have to insure their carsagainst being stolen* if 24 hour cover can be provided by the police to prevent any possibilityof such thing happening ? Why should they have topay twice ?Hint: with the police theoretically you get additionalbenefits; with car insurance that's it. That's all itdoes. *Third party only insurance, excluding theft is actually more expensive, owing to a statistical quirk.He then suggested " I expect your house and contents are fully insured so I'm sure you wouldn't want the police to be called out if neighbours saw it being burgled. 4 points 1 Unlike car insurance household contents insurance isn't a legal requirement.2 Identical replacements cars were and are being churned out in their thousands from factories every day, in the event of theft - unlike irreplaceable family heirlooms 3. Car thieves don't cause potential distress by ransacking people's homes, their drawers and cupboards4. It will presumably come as some consolation to you to know, that the reason why the police may not be able to immediately come to your assistance in the event of assault or a burglary at 5.a.m, is because they're all fully tied up preventing a white Range Rover from being stolen a few miles away.  He then went on to ask - " Only fair innit?"That's your choice. I'd prefer them to be on hand totackle more serious crime should the need arise at 5.a.m. "Prioritising limited resources".Which like "compulsory car insurance", seems tobe an alien concept to many people.michael adams

Michael Adams ● 1914d

David Halliday suggested" if I were you I would take this to your MP"Not forgetting to add at the bottom of your letter...In furtherance of this I personally would be more than willing pay any extra Income Tax, Council Tax and any other taxes which would be required to bring the police force up to full strength - even at 5.30 a.m. Thus allowing owners of white Range Rovers (and theirneighbours) to sleep soundly in their bedsFurthermore I believe the only answer to this, is longer sentences to act as a deterrent. (Assuming the intending thieves don't simply run away at the sight of an approaching police car. Ooops!) And I would be only too willing to pay even more tax to keep these lowlifes locked up for as long as possible, even if it does cost 50 thousand pounds a year to do so."Oh and don't forget to sign your letter on the bottom, along with your address. Or maybe you'd like to stand for election yourself promoting a policy of raising taxation all round ?If so, good luck with that one. michael adams ...

Michael Adams ● 1914d

So under the Adams' logic, when you call 999 to report that your house is being burgled, the first question they should ask is, 'Are you insured' ? If you answer 'Yes' then they may be inclined to put you at the end of the list for action. A car is just as important a possession as most household contents, and to suggest that it is possible to easily and quickly find an exact replacement (with the same mileage, service history, tyre wear, optional extras, etc) shows a failure to properly grasp the situation.

Richard Greenhough ● 1914d

Richard Greenhough suggested" So under the Adams' logic, when you call 999 to report that your house is being burgled, the first question they should ask is, 'Are you insured' ? If you answer 'Yes' then they may be inclined to put you at the end of the list for action."Er no. I gave four reasons why burglaries are clearly more serious ans should be prioritised over potential car  thefts*. Four. Which I repeat below. The fact thatyou're seemingly unable to count past is hardly my fault, now is it ?To repeatquote:1 Unlike car insurance household contents insurance isn't a legal requirement. (At which point confusion and bewilderment appears to have set in) 2 Identical replacements cars were and are being churned out in their thousands from factories every day, in the event of theft - unlike irreplaceable family heirlooms3. Car thieves don't cause potential distress by ransacking people's homes, their drawers and cupboards4. It will presumably come as some consolation to you to know, that the reason why the police may not be able to immediately come to your assistance in the event of assault or a burglary at 5.a.m, is because they're all fully tied up preventing a white Range Rover from being stolen a few miles away.    So that's four reasons. There are probably more. But as you're clearly having trouble getting past one I'll leave it at thatmichael adams* What nobody appears to have addressed is the problem of what exactly the police are supposed to do if the intended thieves simply run off in all directions. If they're wearing gloves and discard any tools during the chase, what evidence exactly can the police produce in order to charge them with any offence ?

Michael Adams ● 1914d

MichaelYour replies to Richard and I are so completely bonkers I'm not even going to try to address them.But here's another point for you to consider. I assume you agree with the general principle that criminals should be apprehended and that people should not make a living out of crime. But you seem to take the view that car thieves should just be left to get on with it. Really?Btw, I can afford a car and Richard I'm sure can count beyond 4. Don't be childish.

David Halliday ● 1914d

It's a legal requirement to have third party insurance on a car, not to have theft cover for it. So Michael, your argument doesn't hold. Of course the police should prioritise responses based on factors like personal injury trumping property theft. But if the police's response in this instance was really 'we'll only come if the owner reports it' then that's plain wrong. I suspect misspeaking or misunderstanding on one side of the phone call to blame. Hope the stolen car wasn't used for other illegal activities, cloned, damaged other cars, used for a ram raid, used as get away vehicle for a burglary or a mugging etc. Criminals often have more than 1 string to their bow.

Rob Reynolds ● 1914d

Sigh. I addressed your points 1, 2 & 3, but you don't seem to have grasped the replies - and your point 4 is so silly it hardly seemed worth responding to. So, to repeat -  "So under the Adams' logic, when you call 999 to report that your house is being burgled, the first question they should ask is, 'Are you insured' ? If you answer 'Yes' then they may be inclined to put you at the end of the list for action. (point 1)A car is just as important a possession as most household contents and finding it stolen causes distress (point 3), and to suggest that it is possible to easily and quickly find an exact replacement (with the same mileage, service history, tyre wear, optional extras, etc) shows a failure to properly grasp the situation. (point 2)"And if we must address point 4 - hopefully the police have sufficient manpower to both attend a car theft and a burglary at the same time, and I doubt if it is much consolation to the car owner if they are fully tied up attending a burglary a few miles away.

Richard Greenhough ● 1914d

David Halliday explained" Your replies to Richard and I are so completely bonkers I'm not even going to try to address them."The remaining four lines of David Halliday's "not trying to address anything" snipped.My replies are only "bonkers" to those like yourself,and Richard Greenhough on whose behalf it appears you're now authorised to speak, who appear to suffer from the delusion that there are unlimited resources available; and that thus there is no need to prioritise on how those limited resources are best utilised.Basically in none of your posts is there any acknowledgement of two basic facts  a) Police resources are limitedb) In terms of the severity and impact of various crimeson the public, and public consciousness generally, the theft of cars from the street comes very low down the list. As against crimes of violence, burglary, muggingschool children for mobile phones etc , drug dealinggeneral hooliganism even things like fly tipping. Car theft rightly or wrongly is perceived as mainly affecting those who can best afford it, who are insured in any case, and is usually committed away from the public eye.And it's on such perceptions that operational policy - which ultimately answers to public opinion is based.The fact that neither of these facts happens to suit your own particular prejudices is maybe unfortunate, but that's about it, I'm afraid,michael adams

Michael Adams ● 1914d

Rob Reynolds"It's a legal requirement to have third party insurance on a car, not to have theft cover for it. So Michael, your argument doesn't hold."Except as I took pains to explain in my post*Third party only insurance, excluding theft is actually more expensive, owing to a statistical quirk."michael adams...

Michael Adams ● 1914d

Richard Greehough claimed" A car is just as important a possession as most household contents"Except that burglars aren't interested in "most"household contents - sofas, curtains, dining tables. They're mainly interested in stealing items paintings silver jewellery family heirlooms which most definitely *are* more important than a car sitting out in the street which will be replaced after a few yearsin any case.    michael adams...

Michael Adams ● 1914d

Rob Reynolds explained" But if the police's response in this instance was really 'we'll only come if the owner reports it' then that's plain wrong. I suspect misspeaking or misunderstanding on one side of the phone call to blame."Let's look at the practicalities of this.According to the OP the car alarm was being set offat regular intervals between 4.00 a.m and 5.30 when the thieves drove the car away.Now bearing in mind that its possible to set off a car alarm accidentally, with no actual intention to steal - maybe by drunks or simply people deliberately making a nuisance of themselves - how often I wonder have the police been called out in the middle of the night for no other reason than members of the public complaining about a car alarm being set off and waking them up and demanding they do something about it ?I myself don't know the answer to that question, but whatever it is it possibly influences policy.There is also the question of why the owner themselves didn't report it. Realistically they may live streets away but possibly police procedures haven't yet caughtup.Furthermore, if criminals knew they could generate a guaranteed response from the police then setting off car alarms might be a very cheap and efficient way of creating a decoy and diverting scarce police resources away from an actual  crime being committed miles away.michael adams...

Michael Adams ● 1914d

You obviously know a lot about the mindset of burglars. I wonder how ?

Richard Greenhough ● 1914d

Michael Adams wrote:"They're mainly interested in stealing items paintings silver jewellery family heirlooms which most definitely *are* more important than a car sitting out in the street which will be replaced after a few yearsin any case. "Nonsense!They don't want your Great Uncle Fred's carriage clock or your as yet to be discovered Van Gogh. What 'they' want is cash, iPads, phones and laptops. aka anything they can flog quickly and easily. All possessions that are at least as transient as a car, and most often less valuable than a car. Just sayin'Robert Reynolds.

Rob Reynolds ● 1914d

I would have been inclined to agree with you, Rob, but I'm sure we must bow to Michael's greater insight into the criminal mind.

Richard Greenhough ● 1914d

Richard Greenhough explained to his new best friendRob..." I would have been inclined to agree with you,Rob,but I'm sure we must bow to Michael's greater insight into the criminal mind. "It doesn't take any knowledge of the criminal mind - nor any mind capable of basic arithmetic in fact - to recognise that its probably not the best use of tax payers money to have squads of policeman hanging around at 4.am. On the off-chance someone may set off a car alarm or be seen to be acting suspiciously. (Only to run off once they're approached)While you don't exactly need to be Albert Einsten to work out that if the police did happen to be particularly short-handed at any particular time say at 4.00 a.m on this particular morning, or were already out on another job, they're hardly likely to be broadcasting that fact to any member of the public who just happened to phone them up at that particular moment.michael adams...

Michael Adams ● 1914d

"..its probably not the best use of tax payers money to have squads of policeman hanging around at 4.am"If that is when crimes are being committed, then that is the time the police ought to be on standby. I note that you did not disagree with Rob's point about the sort of items that burglars are likely to go for, which effectively refuted your point about car theft being less distressing than house theft ? And who is this Einsten bloke ?

Richard Greenhough ● 1914d

Richard Greenhough pointed out " I note that you did not disagree with Rob's point about the sort of items that burglars are likely to go for, "Do make your mind up. In your previous post you claimedthat..." You obviously know a lot about the mindset of burglars. I wonder how ?"So which is it ?michael adams...

Michael Adams ● 1914d

This thread is great, we need more of this. Next time I hear a car alarm going off I'm going to dial 999 and alert the Police that there may be a crime being carried out somewhere else.

Carl Wynne ● 1914d

"I wonder how ?"Waiting for you to reply to the question. "Do make your mind up"So, do you stand by your previous claim or not ?

Richard Greenhough ● 1913d

Richard. I'd  give up if I were you. I have.Michael has argued himself into a indefensible corner and is now trapped.As they might say in Eastenders.. "leave it Rich.. 'ee ain't werf it!"

David Halliday ● 1913d

Richard Greenhough asked"So, do you stand by your previous claim or not ?"Here is what Rob Reynolds actually posted" Nonsense!They don't want your Great Uncle Fred's carriage clock or your as yet to be discovered Van Gogh. What 'they' want is cash,..."So purely as a matter of interest how much "cash"do you imagine the average person has lying aboutat home, or hidden way, such as might interest a burglar ?And maybe more to the point, what are you suggesting they actually need it for ? These large sums of money they keep ready to hand ?Nowadays what with credit and debit cards and internet banking I'd imagine most people only ever need cash to pay parking machines in unfamiliar locations. Or maybe you know different ?Or maybe like your mate, you've been watching rather too much of the "Sopranos".michael adams

Michael Adams ● 1913d

There are different kinds of thief, some just take enough to earn a tennerfor a fix, will take a coat from a car if they need one etc., then you havethe serious thief who wants greater things and probably would not bothermost of us.

Janice Evans ● 1913d

Re Cars, sometimes they just want a part from a vehicle so take it thentake what they want from it and dump it.  or they might want it to do a jobelsewhere. I could have seem too many movies though ......

Janice Evans ● 1913d

Some very selective editing there Michael. What Rob actually said was:"Nonsense!They don't want your Great Uncle Fred's carriage clock or your as yet to be discovered Van Gogh. What 'they' want is cash, iPads, phones and laptops. aka anything they can flog quickly and easily. All possessions that are at least as transient as a car, and most often less valuable than a car."

Carl Wynne ● 1913d

Michael knows he has lost the argument, but won't admit it.

Richard Greenhough ● 1913d

Michael Adams opined:“In furtherance of this I personally would be more than willing pay any extra Income Tax, Council Tax and any other taxes which would be required to bring the police force up to full strength - even at 5.30 a.m.”I agree Michael. Good on you. Rob Reynolds.

Rob Reynolds ● 1913d

Carl Wynne suggested" Some very selective editing there Michael."There was no selective editing at all. "Cash" was the first item on Rob's list, which I followed with three dots "...".If you'd actually followed this thread, you'd know thatI listed four different reasons why a burglary might represent a greater priority for the police, than would a car theft. To repeat - four reasons.In answering that post, Richard Greenhough appeared to become confused; as he only responded to point one,and totally ignored points 2, 3, and 4    So, so as not to cause Richard Greenhough any further confusion, I was intending to take Rob's list of suggestions "in the order in which he posted them"one by one - starting with cash.Then once Richard Greehough has satisfactorily explained why anyone would have large sums of cash in their house, sufficient to interest burglars, we could then move on to the other items on the list.Something which I might add, he has conspicuously failed to do.For fairly obvious reasons.michael adams  

Michael Adams ● 1913d

Oh I followed the thread Michael. You didn't come out of it at all well.

Carl Wynne ● 1913d

I don't think anyone on this thread has mentioned the enormous cost of getting a bobby on the street.I recall reading some 20 years ago that the figure was something like £200 per hour...taking into account:training costs,uniforms,holidays,overtime, special allowances,sick leave, pensions from the age of 55/60/65...including widows where appropriate, accommodation in some cases...and so on.What must be the hourly cost these days.I believe that when our Governments in the past sunk more money into Policing..much of it disappeared away from "being on the beat" activities.I sympathize much for the Police having to face today's challenges... and also for the OP's plight..Criminals cost us a bomb to keep track of.

Jim Lawes ● 1912d

Perhaps if you read through the thread, Michael, you would see the error of your ways.

Richard Greenhough ● 1912d