cster

True story
Mon AM - Methodone user takes car keys from handbag in NHS premises and steals car in view of CCTV.
Tues AM -Person is identified by staff and police informed, thereby having crime solved for them with enough evidence for a conviction (I would imagine).
Wed AM - Methodone user arrives at pharmacy and recieves his Methadone prescription.
By this time the police have not bothered to arrest this person, nor acted on information that may have led to revovery of stolen vehicle.
WTF is going on here?

gazza-uk

no point, no job, cant pay the fine, prisons too full.....

Abdabz

The guy's funding his own destruction which will be fairly imminent... Maybe some bleach in his next bottle of green will speed that up and then he is no longer a burden...
That said, the po-lice should still have arrested him and let the car owner have a taser, a bat and 20minutes with him in a cell...

Leslie

There is no justification for doing nothing about it.

Les

fatherpierre

It doesn't work that way for ID procedures.

I presume his address has been passed to police?

The people who recognised would have to provide a statement and then attend an ID parade, picking said person out after he's been arrested.

If police were called when he picked up his script there may not have been any free unit available to attend.

Contrary to what most people think, there are rarely any free police available to sit up and wait for a person who may turn up. It's a constant stream of one job to the next when in uniform.

The initial post doesn't give enough background to how they knew said person was the one taking the car.

cster

The person was identified on CCTV by the staff at the medical centre who have the misfortune of knowing him.
I wouldn't expect the police to pick him up when he visits the pharmacy for various (operational/ethical) reasons.
It is difficult to know what is going on because of lack of communication with the victim.
This is frustrating.
Maybe there is a bigger game going on?
I shall make further report when the matter resolves itself.
Hopefully I will eat some humble pie and the car will be returned.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Why would they attend?
1. There was no-one speeding.
2. It's not motoring related, so they can't just read your number plate and SEND you a fine.
3. There's no money in it for them

Alcazar

Felix.

If absolutely nothing has happened then it is clearly wrong – however consider the following:

Are you sure the person has not been arrested? It may be that he has been bailed for further evidence ID procedures etc or charged and bailed to court.

If he has not been arrested – it could be that he is hard to get hold of. I appreciate that he turned up for his methadone, but is this an exact appointment or is it just a random time. The chemist can not and won’t detain him. Addresses that they give tend to be false.

Was he identified from the CCTV or was it witnessed

Do the witnesses want to be involved or have they refused to provide a statement.

Is he under surveillance to lead them back to the car?

Is the officer who is dealing with the case tied up with another matter – we can’t be at two places at once.

Like I said, if nothing at all has been done then its wrong – but it could be a case that you have not been updated yet.

cster

There is no problem with the ID or witnesses.
It is possible he is not easy to get hold of - he is a junky thief after all.
Maybe the police are following a trail.
We shall have to wait and see.
All I can say for sure is that the victim has been kept totally in the dark and this is unreasonable.
If the guy has been arrested and bailed, I think the victim should be made aware.
If I stole a car, I would in this situation expect an immediate visit from plod.
Maybe there is a bit of a funding crisis, or so much crime that this doesn't appear on the radar. Either way, it is a worry.
Will keep you posted, but so far I am not too impressed.

vindaloo

Why not just refuse to give him his meds? And have enough muscle standing nearby to beat the crap out of him when he kicks off?

"Police, sorry, we've engaged the services of another provider as you failed to meet our quality standards". I.e. We awarded the contract to another organisation.

J.

magepaster

iTrader: (2)

ID parades are a waste of time. I saw a guy break into a car and take some items. I was 20 feet at most from him and noticed his shaven head complete with scar and VERY individual ears. They look as though they had been by a group of pre school kids with those scissors that have wierd shaped blades.
Anyway, I phoned the police and reported him. He was arrested on my description of him and his clothing. Comes the day for the ID parade and am taken into a room with a row of people sitting behind glass. I am told to take my time so as to be certain of my choice. There is no way in a millions years I could pick the guy out! They were all wearing dark coats with collars up and wooly hats pulled down over their ears. I was told I would not be allowed to pick him out by his identifying features.
What is the point of a police force these days? I am not being fascisious here, I really want to know what purpose they serve that is in the publics interest.

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

Talking about "useless" police I just attended a training exercise where I was roleplaying the villan for some trainee police officers. As part of the role I was to assist my accomplice in hiding a stolen DVD inside a property before the officers, who were in pursuit of my friend, could get to it.

The police instructor asked us to NOT hide the DVD somewhere really hard to find as he did not want a large percentage of the exercise time to be wasted just looking for a DVD. The point of the exercise was focusing on what aspects of law they were allowed to use

We agreed and left it in the middle of the floor! Oh how we laughed when they were turning out the inside of the oven, fridge, bins, cupboards, sofa cushions etc etc. One pair of trainees MOVED the DVD (which was in a carrier bag) more than 4 times before they actually twigged that what they were kicking out of the way was what they were after

For the next batch of trainees I dropped the DVD out of the main lounge window, and left the window wide open. The only open window in the property.....I'll let you guess how long it took them to work that one out (in fairness some of them were pretty quick, but several were totally stumped)

Taking part in something like this really does give you some form of incite into just how hard their job is. The amount of permutations to the situation that we could create by just altering minor things made major differences for the officers in question. There are sooooo many rules governing what they can do, and most importantly, in what order they have to be done!

Luan Pra bang

If Police are so busy why are they always free to pick their friends and family up in the Panda car ? I have witnessed many a blue light taxi pickup.
I once gave the police cctv footage of a crime , 4 witnesses and the name and address of the thief. The still would even go to question him. THey still have time to use panda cars like taxis though

fatherpierre

Maybe they were on their way back from the kebab shop and had a spare minute or two.

Felix.

I have never used my car as a taxi - and defo not when blues and twos. Could the people be CID or surveilence.

ID parades are normally called by CPS and not police. They are often not the be all and end all of the investigation and normally are the last port of call in evience gathering. There has to be a distinct difference between identification and mere recognition.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

In fairness, (Alcazar: fair to the police? Shock! Horor!) , we ought to try and draw a line between "The Police" as an institution, and "A Police Officer".

The former are now well past their sell-by date, useless in all but the simplest crimes and really only interested in being bully-boys, enforcers and local tax collectors for Government

Police officers, on the other hand, are generally working to a set of stupid rules, foisted on them by the government, and enforced by brown-nosed senior officers intent on their next promotion.

SOME are useless, bullies, rude, arrogant, yes, but aren't those people represented in all walks of life?

Alcazar

cster

Update time.
Car was spotted (APNR?)parked up on Friday and impounded for forensics etc.
Car is undammaged and had car key left in it.
Owner picked up car today and paid about £100 pound fees.
Insurance status is uncertain (as keys were not secured) so as excess is £100, there will be no insurance claim.
As for Junkie/thief, the police have not informed victim of arrest or any action taken - however the GP surgery staff recieved a request for the clients medication from Belmarsh prison - Hardy ****in Ha
I guess he had a few other issues going on!
Result Staff member is £100 out.
My cash box (with £70 inside) was not recovered.
Junkie is in Belmarsh at considerable expense to all.
Question - How useless are Police?
In this instance, I guess they could try a bit more to communicate with the victims, but other than that, it has all worked out as well as could be expected.
Verdict - Good result - could do better.
(It's as humble as I can get)