Here We Go Again.........
Saturday evening and having just finished work, Diane, my daughter, reversed her car onto the drive, closed the gates and came into the house. About 30 minutes later she went to the local pub to meet her friends. About 20 minutes later somebody put a large piece of concrete through the car's windscreen.
Of course no police officers were available and a crime number was issued over the phone. This enables the victim to make a claim on their insurance. The windsceen couldn't be replaced until Monday afternoon so the car was unuseable until then. After several 'phone calls, Diane managed to get a promise of a visit by a S.O.C.O. (Scene Of Crime Officer) so that a largely intact glass bottle that was also thrown at the car could be forensically examined.
The windscreen was replaced on Monday afternoon and also the S.O.C.O. took the bottle away for examination, although, if truth be told, he didn't seem at all hopeful. Within an hour somebody, perhaps the same person/s, perhaps not, had thrown 2 eggs. 1 just missed the lounge window, the other just missed the new windscreen and hit the car roof.
We rang the police. We got a visit this time but not by police officers but by the Community Support Officers. These are volunteers who dress like the police, have police radios and look the part. Unfortunately they have no powers of arrest and are not even allowed to take statements. They did however have a ride around, on their pushbikes, to see if they could spot anybody who might have thrown the eggs.
Diane was in bed later when her phone rang. It was our police station. Diane had to give her statement, over the 'phone! So we still haven't seen a genuine police officer. I suppose that this is a rant about the shortcomings of the Greater Manchester police force but also an exercise in headshaking, for we have no idea WHO did these things, but no idea WHY they should do them either.
What a country...........
posted by Eddie @ 9:03 pm
3 Comments:
I bet no-one is ever arrested!
Hi Mark.
In the last, say, 10 years or so, the family, i.e. Diane's car, my car and the house have suffered the following damages;
(1)My car boot forced open and tools stolen.
(2My car front and rear screens smashed simultaneously.
(3)Diane's car windscreen smashed and 2 tyres slashed simultaneously.
(4) Diane's car windscreen smashed again.
(5)Double glazed lounge window broken by ballbearing.
(6)Small window in front door shot out by youth with air rifle.
(7) Same window broken by stone.
(8) Stones thrown damaging roof slates and breaking same lounge window.
(9) Diane's car windscreen smashed again.
We've had to pay out somewhere in the region of £500 and NOBODY has ever been arrested nor charged, despite the fact that names have been given to the police.
I don't know if we suffer more than others but at times it certainly seems that way!
hey Eddie...thanks for stopping by my blog.
with regards to your comment: i've found that maps are not so helpful in the dark on country roads that are not well labeled. i do miss living in a real city :-).
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