Useless Police re attempted bike thefts

[FinBak 12]

3 hours ago, FuriousGeorg said:

Yesterday afternoon had someone try and rob my bike off the drive in S10/crookes area, I'd only had it unlocked for 10 minutes and I was right there washing my other bike.  He dropped it and ran off when he saw me, got on the back of a scooter with two other kids and sped off.  Presume they were riding around looking for bikes and got very lucky, I hadn't seen anyone watching the house.

 

Stay vigilant, other bikers! Keep it locked up even if it feels safe!

 

Police were absolutely uninterested, didn't bother doing anything. Took 35 minutes just to get through to someone on 101.  Actually asked me to look for fingerprints and CCTV!

 

 

Horrible that this has happened.

 

I have 2 Motorbikes and 2 cars. I live in  s6.....

 

I keep my motorbikes 'INSIDE' the house...It's a bluddy pain...Having  Motorcycles in your living room and Kitchen..

 

But i have piece of mind.!

 

 

[FuriousGeorg 10]

Off Cross Lane.  (Obviously not posting exact location on here! Bad enough these three assholes know where it lives now..) About 2:30 if anyone saw a moped 3-up flying about...

 

Definitely not allowed a bike in the kitchen! Have a garage for the winter though

[Pyrotequila 402]

5 hours ago, FuriousGeorg said:

Police were absolutely uninterested, didn't bother doing anything. Took 35 minutes just to get through to someone on 101.  Actually asked me to look for fingerprints and CCTV!

 

 

But we know what the reaction would have been if they were making off with your bike and you punched one of them to stop the crime.

[stewybill 10]

In fairness it has to be said that the Police hardly ever get to hear about stuff like this, it’s the call handlers who block stuff. I once had film of a very drunk driver who delivered to my house,, I phoned 999 and got my ear burned, then told there was an 18 minute wait on 101,, that drunk driver drove off into the night, the footage was never viewed.

why bother eh ?

[Janus 28]

@stewybill

 

It can be confusing. The police say call 999 if it is an emergency OR there is a crime in progress.

 

It sounds like there are different interpretations of what we should actually do when a crime is in progress. Could it be that call handlers are not following procedure? 

[FuriousGeorg 10]

Yeah I called 999 first and they asked if the crime was in progress, I said it was like a few minutes ago and they just said you'll have to call 101. 

[Rosie Parker 0]

Sounds like the same kids who at one this afternoon tried to steel oh bike at Hillsborough luckily neighbours saw what was going off  but they managed to get through his chains before they left. When questioned by our neighbour there reply was "What the <removed> has it got to do with you". Bet there parents are so proud. Police was quick on the seen but didn't catch them.

Edited September 16, 2019 by nikki-red

[FuriousGeorg 10]

@mods please return my thread to its own thread, the subject was intended to raise awareness of the fact that there are bike thief gangs in the area, now it's buried in a thread of arguments about whether or not the police are useless...

 

Also it was an attempted theft, not a 'potential' theft.

Edited September 16, 2019 by FuriousGeorg

[ECCOnoob 1,041]

On 15/09/2019 at 14:14, FuriousGeorg said:

Yesterday afternoon had someone try and rob my bike off the drive in S10/crookes area, I'd only had it unlocked for 10 minutes and I was right there washing my other bike.  He dropped it and ran off when he saw me, got on the back of a scooter with two other kids and sped off.  Presume they were riding around looking for bikes and got very lucky, I hadn't seen anyone watching the house.

 

Stay vigilant, other bikers! Keep it locked up even if it feels safe!

 

Police were absolutely uninterested, didn't bother doing anything. Took 35 minutes just to get through to someone on 101.  Actually asked me to look for fingerprints and CCTV!

 

 

Didn't bother to do anything? OR  really the case that they couldn't do anything?

 

Let's just break a few things down.

 

An item was attempted to be stolen according to you but in the end wasn't.

 

So there is no actual stolen property to be recovered and nothing that can be formally identified as being in the possession of someone who shouldn't have  it.

 

So, what does that leave other than allegations of an attempted theft by a single witness.   That alleged culprit needs to be sufficiently identified and the allegedly other presumably other unidentified gang.   Did you give the police identification? Any description? Do we know where they came from? Do we know where they went? Do we have any independent evidence of the attempted theft? Do we have any camera footage of the acts being committed?

 

If the answer is no. Then quite frankly what exactly are the police supposed to do.   I do sometimes wonder exactly what people think their powers are when it comes to arrest and particularly for charges being brought.

 

I am well aware that the police force has a lot of problems and they are not great at everything but sometimes you after wonder whether all this constant criticism is deserved.

 

They can only act upon information they are provided with.  they cannot go around arresting people on a whim based of someone's opinion that they "look dodgy".  They cannot go around arresting people for crimes that have not been committed. They cannot waste their already stretched resources going round on wild goose chases looking for people they cannot identify. 

 

Frustrating as  it is when things like this happen, that is the reality of the limitations of the police force and judiciary.

Edited September 16, 2019 by ECCOnoob

[FuriousGeorg 10]

Ok so now this is a thread for arguing about whether the police are useless or not, ok fine.  

 

My original point was for people in this area to be aware of the type of crime being committed around here, because it is unusual for the area, afaik.

 

As for crime, in the end it was criminal damage, as I now have a chunky repair bill.  Also, riding a moped with three people on it, with no numberplate, and I would hazard a guess no insurance.

 

Yeah, they had not much to go on, but it wouldn't have been hard to spot kids on mopeds, it would be illegal to carry one pillion if they didn't have a full licence, which I doubt. If they'd at least come round and shown their faces I'd have been happy, at least I'd have known cops on the street were around and aware and I wasn't just a statistic. Yeah they probably couldn't have arrested anyone, but if they don't even show up these people know they have free reign to do this type of crime, which is why it's so prevalent right now.

 

But yeah, I'm crazy for expecting the police to investigate a crime 🙄

edit: If this thread must be combined, at least make the title Motorbikes and not just bikes...

Edited September 16, 2019 by FuriousGeorg

[lazarus 68]

I'm at a loss to understand just what the police decide is urgent and what isn't, only yesterday two officers arrived on Spotswood Close after the owner of a car reported that his car had been scratched by kids, from the car getting damaged to the police arriving  only ten minutes elapsed, a scratch on a car just isn't urgent.

Also on Spotswood Close the police and Ambulance visit the house of two alcoholics at least twice a week, one day they attended twice, just how much is this costing? yet they ignore thefts of cars and motor bikes.

[Daven 10]

Again and again it has been explained to those who will just not listen that there just aren't enough police personnel out there to attend every event and alleged event immediately.

Much depends upon what else is happening in the community to how quickly they attend - sometimes if they can attend at all.

The number of police personnel in the community at any given time is so scarce that it would shock most people.

They don't 'ignore' anything - there just aren't enough of them.

 

 

Edited September 17, 2019 by Daven