OllyK

Nipped in to Nottingham and parked the car up for 10 minutes while I nipped in to Staples. Came back out to find the passengers window smashed, glove box and other storage areas open, PDA (TomTom) and Road Angel gone. Reported to the Police immediately, they'll get back in touch in 24 hours.

So who reckons they will actually send anybody round to check for finger prints on the glove box handle etc? My betting I get a call, a crime number and a sympathy letter a couple of days later and no further action.

sociophobe

Felix says

they will soon have them bang to rights with CCTV

bootsy

i think you've got it spot on all ready

pslewis

Pulled into a New Forest car Park yesterday - an elderly couple had just returned to their car to find passenger window smashed in ....... all I need to do is catch one of these scumbags doing it to my car and I will deliver my own justice and it may not be pretty!!

sociophobe

elderly? as in even older than you? why would an old person (as you claim to be) call someone 'elderly'? really, what a dicksplash you are lewis

Iwan

Ahh, dicksplash, now there's a word I need to start using again.

robby

I read somewhere in the past week or so (autoexpress, newspaper?) that if you want them to fingerprint your car you have to pay £125 - this includes the car being taken to a storage compound

It seems if there's little chance of catching criminals easily then they don't want the hassle so just give out a crime number

Robin Mullan

Just don't leave anything on show in your car, anything at all. , even though it does not mean the thieving scumbags won't break into it your car, it just lowers the probability of them doing it.

swifty74

iTrader: (1)

police working haha dont me laugh !!

sorry to the good but rare cops what do work for us....... . ;-)

fatherpierre

You should get some prints taken, but it depends on the force that takes the report.

If you're burgled in Surrey you have a very poor chance of anything being done.

If burgled in a Met area you get a 90% chance of a SOCO attending.

Car crime, like all crime is judged on figures - if it's a priority, then you get helped. If not, you get zero service.

Post what happens.

Tidgy

police in nottingham responding to anything but speeding or a shooting? yeah righto

might as forget any sort of action from them, there a waste of space


(p.s. if i sound bitter its cos i had a similar thing last christmas and they didn't even bother to take a statment of check cctv fotage they just gave me a crime number and that was it)

falkster

The police wont do anything but look at it realistically, even though you were only gone a few minutes you should have hidden them really as you are inviting robbing t**ts to take your stuff.

Doesnt make it right but dont give them the opportunity to do it.

OllyK

I thought "storage areas open, items gone" was an indication that said items were hidden. I suspect the big sucker marks on the windscreen were sufficient for them to consider exploring.

Felix.

Unless your glove box is made of smooth plastic or glass, you won’t get fingerprints off it. You can’t get fingerprints of door handles as you can not lift prints off prints. And if they have smashed the glass, you can’t get fingerprints off that. Glass shatters, so their will be no DNA, if there are no witnesses or suspects, then your only hope will be CCTV

MJW

Sounds about right - the police these days seem to be more geared to turning over a profit and making figures look pretty than actually helping people. I wonder if they've started calling criminals 'customers' yet.
Having said all that, leaving lots of expensive gadgetry in your car is not a wise move in this day and age so it might be time to invest in an in-car safe like this one

Leslie

Sorry to hear about the break-in Olly. I had a similar thing happen and al they did was to send me a form to appy for criminal compensation! Refused to look at the car!

Keep us posted please.

Les

Jaybird-UK

You know if caught they will get a 6 week course in car mechanics and driving gocarts to rehibilitate them....

OllyK

The car doors wern't opened anyway and yes the glove box handles are glossy plastic so prints shouldn't be a problem, I still doubt plod will turn up though.

Felix.

Olly

We can't lift prints off prints - so the handles will be no good unfortunately

OllyK

Glad to see the excuses still flow freely Felix. Rather than finding reasons not to do your job, why don't you suggest somebody actually checks to see if there may be a clear print rather than assuming there isn't?

SteveScooby

iTrader: (2)

Maybe if you'd been a bit more security conscious you wouldn't of had your stuff nicked in the first place.

Tidgy

<------runs off to break into car


o hang on shan't bother they'll never catch me so wont get the 5 star treatment

OllyK

In what respect?

OllyK

Well Notts Plod was certainly more switched on than Felix, rather than trying to find ways to avoid sending out SOCO, he was on the phone to me while I was down with the car, asking me to describe what I could see etc. We determined that the extension box that had the cables in must have been handled as that was still in the car but that the cables had been unplugged and taken from it. With it being a plastic case he seems confident that there may be prints on it if they weren't wearing gloves so he's going to get somebody over to check it out.

StickyMicky

result

Felix.

Good, but you never mentioned that before. It was just 'they must have touched the glove box handle.....'

OllyK

In my opening post it was "glove box handle etc." Thankfully the policeman on the phone explored the etc, including stuff I hadn't thought of, rather than taking your "nothing we can do attitude". I have to say it was refreshing to talk to a policeman that was actually interested in trying to help.

SteveScooby

iTrader: (2)

In the respect that police advise is to remove all valuables from your car when you leave it unattended, if you'd done that then your gear wouldn;t of been stolen.

Good to hear you've got a decent response from Notts

Felix.

I am interested in trying to help Olly, and if you had spoken to me I would have asked all the questions about what they had touched etc etc

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

Notts police were good when I reported a break in...they send a dog van round and let the "cute little puppy out for walk". I was hoping to hear screams, but there were none The little beggars were just too quick and got into another car at the end of the industrial estate