Difficulties to report a crime and crime statistics

[richw]

I'm just wondering what people's views are on the ease of reporting a crime and if it's worthwhile for a relatively minor incident.

Overnight last night some of my property was damaged. Probably to the tune of a couple hundred quid.
I called the police non emergency number, and in order to log a crime i was told I must attend a police station within 24 hours. Fair enough so far. I advised this wouldn't be possible due to my work commitments due to the limited and reduced hours my local police stations are now open due to funding cuts. I was told categorically this was not a choice and I must do this to have my crime reported.
The station I was told I must attend is a 20 mile drive from work, which will take about 45 minutes each way.
Now with this in mind I'm going to need a good 2 hours unpaid leave from work, plus about 40 miles fuel, so it's quickly becoming a waste of my time.
The main reason for me reporting the incident was to get a reference for the insurers but with the extra costs involved in lost earnings and travel to report the crime it isn't worth it for the low value involved especially when added to my insurance excess. As a victim I should be able to report by phone and an officer come and talk to me if required, I definitely shouldn't be penalised further for being a victim.


My local police force are using a headline about crime being reduced by 2.6% which I now think is not due to less crime but how difficult it is to log a crime so people aren't bothering.

Has anybody else found it highly difficult to report a crime?

 

[455driver]

I tried to report a hit and run, they answered the phone straight away, took some basic details and then put me through to the correct department, after being on hold for 25 minutes I hung up!

It is easy to see why 'reported' crime is going down! :roll:

 

[TheKnightWho]

I tried to report a hit and run, they answered the phone straight away, took some basic details and then put me through to the correct department, after being on hold for 25 minutes I hung up!

It is easy to see why 'reported' crime is going down! :roll:

What they did was completely illegal, if that's what happened, which makes me think it probably isn't normal.

There's this interesting phenomena where every single generation thinks crime is increasing when it reaches middle-age. It's a wonder we aren't in anarchy by now...

 

[Nick W]

I was able to report my mugging and be interviewed straight away, but only because there was someone at the police station even though it was officially shut, but it either hasn't been logged on the police maps, or has been incorrectly logged to a nearby road (most likely).

Definitely disagree with the Government's cuts to policing. Wonder if they've realise that no police at all means no (reported) crime?

 

[deltic1989]

Most times I have had to report a crime, I have always been able to do so on the phone via the 101 service.
The only exception is fairly recently when I found a particularly vicious looking knife in my back garden. I was advised to attend the local Police office and hand the weapon in.
I duly attended, and with a quick exchange of details and handing over the knife, all was completed. It only took about 30 mins of my time, due to the Police office being about 10 mins from my house.
On another occasion in my old flat when a man relieved himself through my letterbox (the temptation to kick the door was overwhelming) and graffitied the door frame, a Police Officer arrived within the hour to take my statement.
I suppose different forces have different procedures for taking crime reports.
My experiences related to the forces of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.

 

[richw]

Most times I have had to report a crime, I have always been able to do so on the phone via the 101 service.
The only exception is fairly recently when I found a particularly vicious looking knife in my back garden. I was advised to attend the local Police office and hand the weapon in.
I duly attended, and with a quick exchange of details and handing over the knife, all was completed. It only took about 30 mins of my time, due to the Police office being about 10 mins from my house.
On another occasion in my old flat when a man relieved himself through my letterbox (the temptation to kick the door was overwhelming) and graffitied the door frame, a Police Officer arrived within the hour to take my statement.
I suppose different forces have different procedures for taking crime reports.
My experiences related to the forces of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.

I called the 101 service, they told me they couldn't action it other than to log a case. They told me if I wanted it formally reported I need to provide a statement to an officer. They told me they'd arrange an officer to come by, but the force called a few minutes later saying they weren't prepared to send an officer out due to protocol and I had to attend the named station within 24 hours. This had a big but the station is only open 9-4 and considerably out of my way. For a couple hundred quid damage it wasn't worth my while, time I took lost earnings,and diesel costs to get to the police station. The officer who phoned me advised me to call back to 101 to close the case when I told him I wasn't wasting my time. 101 was shocked that as a victim I was being to incur further expense and lost earnings, so I assumed from my chats to 101 the problem was no officers available.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

I reported a hit and run recently, had to drive a bit to the nearest police desk but otherwise an easy, painless process.

 

[43074]

I reported my bike had been stolen from the cycle racks at Leicester station on Thursday to the British Transport Police (Leicester station office) that evening (as soon as I discovered it was missing), and gave a statement, some details etc. and left within 45 minutes. The first reporting of the theft was easy.

I went back the following day, with more information and to find out the crime number for the insurance claim, which I hadn't been given the previous day, only to find out that the theft ''wasn't on their records'' - this was despite the fact that I had personally reported it to the BTP office the previous day! I received the crime number by e-mail later that day, although I was a tad shocked the PC couldn't find the data on the system when I had popped in earlier!

It isn't difficult to report crime but I think the biggest problem judging by responses here and my limited experience of reporting crime is actually within the Police force... In my case, why wasn't the theft of my bike recorded in the system and accessible by others in the police force the moment I had left the BTP office at Leicester station on Thursday evening?

 

[Aldaniti]

These days the police will often try to avoid giving crime reference numbers, at least for what they don't consider to be serious crime. It doesn't make their nice, colourful crime maps look good and diverts their attention from proper police work such as filling out forms, managing targets and attending training courses. The first and last time I visited a police station, quite recently, and to follow up a complaint made by a family member which, a week later, had been ignored, the first and most important question was whether I wanted to be addressed as Mister, by my first name or surname. Unless its murder I wouldn't bother. Anyone see Anne Barnes (Kent PCC) and her onion last week?, just about sums it up really. Nurse, nurse..

 

[LowLevel]

I reported my bike had been stolen from the cycle racks at Leicester station on Thursday to the British Transport Police (Leicester station office) that evening (as soon as I discovered it was missing), and gave a statement, some details etc. and left within 45 minutes. The first reporting of the theft was easy.

I went back the following day, with more information and to find out the crime number for the insurance claim, which I hadn't been given the previous day, only to find out that the theft ''wasn't on their records'' - this was despite the fact that I had personally reported it to the BTP office the previous day! I received the crime number by e-mail later that day, although I was a tad shocked the PC couldn't find the data on the system when I had popped in earlier!

It isn't difficult to report crime but I think the biggest problem judging by responses here and my limited experience of reporting crime is actually within the Police force... In my case, why wasn't the theft of my bike recorded in the system and accessible by others in the police force the moment I had left the BTP office at Leicester station on Thursday evening?

Because BTP is the most overstretched force in the UK. Leicester are a very small unit with less than 10 officers and they cover a patch most of the way to St Pancras. Regrettably dropping whatever they were doing at the time to fully log your statement probably wasn't an option - bike theft is a high priority at Leicester I believe but they're never not busy.

That office is not routinely manned so if they're there they've got something to do.

If you'd have telephoned their freephone number it would probably have gone on immediately but any BTP officer themselves is always going to have their hands full.