INTRODUCTION
please skip to ‘VEHICLE THEFT’ (below) if this bores you …
In today’s complex and ever-evolving society, the role of police staff has become increasingly challenging, and fraught with pressures that can be overwhelming. The nature of crime has diversified significantly, with officers now encountering a broader spectrum of criminal activity than ever before. From cybercrime and terrorism to mental health crises and domestic violence, the demands on law enforcement have expanded beyond traditional boundaries, requiring them to be not only enforcers of the law but also first responders, mediators, and mental health professionals.
The rapid pace of technological advancement has introduced new forms of crime, such as cyberattacks and online fraud, which require specialized knowledge and resources many struggle to provide. Meanwhile, social issues like homelessness and substance abuse have become more prominent, often placing officers in situations where they must manage delicate, potentially volatile scenarios with limited training and support.
Moreover, the public scrutiny and accountability faced by police officers today are unprecedented. With the rise of social media and the 24-hour news cycle, every action taken by law enforcement is subject to immediate public and media scrutiny, adding another layer of stress to an already demanding job. These pressures, combined with the diverse and unpredictable nature of modern crime, create an environment where police officers are often stretched to their limits, both mentally and physically, as they strive to protect and serve their communities. Mistakes WILL be made, someone WILL jump on these!
I, like many ‘ex-job’, am no longer faced with such a volatile, baffling array of issues … and have not been for some time, thankfully. However, I do not trot out hackneyed platitudes such as ‘it’s not like it was in my day’ or ‘what has the job become?’ … it is what it is; affected by, reflecting, the diversity of the world in which we live.
What baffles me about ‘the job’ is the lack of engagement with those able and willing to help, those who are, in many respects, doing what one may expect an officer to do – investigate.
Sure, we are all subject to performance indicators, priorities and proportionality considerations. Time stops for no man and there is only so much in a day. And so, to an area of my expertise …
VEHICLE THEFT
Handling a report of crime over the phone is practical for many reasons. Popping the VRM on the PNC LoS is necessary and … that is pretty much it (please do not mention ANPR) unless there are obvious indicators that all is not as presented.
But even if there are discrepancies or concerns apparent, do the police have time to address these, to iron out the wrinkles … who will thank them for doing so? Fraud may be at play, and this is complex, time-consuming, distracting …
Insurer or Loss Adjuster to the rescue! Well, not quite; we do not don cape or underwear over spandex tights (and I trust those who know me are not now struggling to get an image out of their head). But we do ask questions, quite a lot of them because we have many facets of the loss to consider – you will get a good idea of the areas we cover at www.cmaclaims.co.uk/help .
These facets of a claim are interwoven. We collate & compare enabling ‘Green-Lighting’ of most. Not all we discover is relevant to the police, much could be. We are discretionary in our approaches.
Loss circumstances are, of course, an important area of our consideration. Even here we do not trouble constabularies with the annoying ‘is the car reported stolen?’. We determine this without troubling police staff … and do more with data as our clients are aware!
Now, I could turn this into a lengthy article detailing all the ways we can assist and how current procedures require review. I may tackle that challenge another day, but for now, a few thoughts I believe could make a difference:
a) Standardise vehicle theft questioning nationwide. Ideally, use a common platform/database – a bit long-term. In the interim, devise pertinent, probing questioning. We are happy to help.
b) Run some simple analysis on a VRM – this will help:
c) ‘Score’ (profile) reports to determine which warrants further attention. We do this, we can assist.
d) If a vehicle is found before, or shortly after, the report of ‘theft’, ask yourselves ‘why?’, more so if:
e) a vehicle is found crashed/damaged? ‘Professional’ (in it for profit) criminals gain nothing if they damage & ditch the proceeds of their crime
f) Do not be quick to jump to ‘it was keyless theft’
g) Conclude your questioning with something like ‘do you consent to us providing a copy of this report to your insurer if they should seek it?’ Be kind to your disclosure departments and potentially a revenue stream!
h) Reword your letters to victims – be imaginative. No one likes to hear the police have closed a crime within minutes/hours because … crooks are professional, organised and the police … nothing we can do!
And, regarding the PNC LoS register, please, ask yourselves whether:
i) the 6-week weeding of stolen reports is relevant, necessary or does more harm than good? Time to stop this labour-intensive weeding process?
j) The 6-year weeding process is damaging. Is it necessary, or beneficial? Would ceasing the process cause an issue?
Did you know … an analysis of vehicle thefts (admittedly 20+ years ago) found that 20% to 30% of reported thefts were tainted by fraud?
How many of your vehicle theft allegations are currently considered compromised or corrupted? Do you know? Can you tell?
Why would the instance of fraud be less now? Imagine the effect this could have on crime statistics!
For those who are not pulling the wool over the eyes of the police (to gain the perceived ‘golden ticket’ crime number and similarly try and dupe an insurer), how do you think victims perceive the failure to disclose police reports to insurers or their representatives? In cases of theft, if the stolen vehicle has not been recovered in its original condition, who is responsible for compensating the victim; why not expedite this process?
I urge police staff of any rank: if you believe more needs to be done about vehicle theft and think I or my team can help, please contact me. As a recent article in Policing Insight rightly stated, “To solve the complex puzzles of modern crime, investigators need to work together seamlessly.”
Today the police, tomorrow …. DVLA, Finance Companies, Manufacturers, Tracking companies …