Police 'steal' from unlocked cars

news.bbc.co.uk...

Officers in Richmond, south-west London, are entering unlocked cars to remove valuables, like handbags and laptops, leaving a note for the driver.

Supt Jim Davis admitted, "technically we are entering the vehicle" but he denied breaching any law.

But a leading lawyer said police could face civil proceedings for trespass if any items taken by them were damaged.

Richmond Council said it backed the scheme.

Yep - The police and the government know what is best for us. Once again we are being treated like children.

Opinions???

reply to post by mr-lizard



' Kill all the lawyers

Kill 'em tonight '


who said that, was it the Eagles ?

I agree with them



And if the police rescued valuables which I had stupidly left in an unlocked car

I'd be grateful

and it would save the police from having to do all the paperwork and go searching for the crims when I dashed into the police station crying that 'my car was broken into .. fix it now .. find my stuff '

reply to post by mr-lizard


Well, I have heard of terrorists dressed like cops, so, it shouldn't be much of a stretch to think someone else is doing this to rob cars.

[edit on 25-8-2009 by aleon1018]

England needs help.

England needs alot of help; I feel sorry for you guys.

Were it me, when I went to the station to retrieve my belongings, my list of stuff that was taken would most likely be longer than their list of stuff they took.

"Here's your property, Mr. X"

"But, where's my Monet? and my Stradivarius? and my sack of gold coins?"

"We don't have anything like that, Mr. X"

"You'll be hearing from my attourney"

reply to post by subject x



Are you half serious ?

Would you pull something like that ?

Originally posted by St Vaast
reply to post by mr-lizard

 

And if the police rescued valuables which I had stupidly left in an unlocked car

I'd be grateful

and it would save the police from having to do all the paperwork and go searching for the crims when I dashed into the police station crying that 'my car was broken into .. fix it now .. find my stuff '

So due to your irresponsibility citizens should give up there right to privacy?

Do you really think the police give a crap about an iPod and cellphone laying on the front seat of someones BMW?

There is almost always an ulterior motive with cops, I'm sure they are hoping to find illegal goodies when 'securing' peoples cars so they can a%% pat each other for a job well done back at the station.

reply to post by St Vaast

If they decided to take it upon themselves to take my property from my private vehicle without permission?

Absolutely.

Originally posted by lucentenigmaThere is almost always an ulterior motive with cops, I'm sure they are hoping to find illegal goodies when 'securing' peoples cars so they can a%% pat each other for a job well done back at the station.

And that, my friends, is exactly what this is all about.

Good call, Lucent.

reply to post by lucentenigma



I've said it once. What don't you understand ?

I'd be grateful if the police rescued my valuables from a car I'd left unlocked

simple. Non conspiratorial

Others feel differently, their prerogative

reply to post by subject x




How many of you are stupid enough to leave 'illegal goodies' in your unlocked vehicle ?

And you want to blame the cops for that ?

reply to post by lucentenigma


You've got that right. Beware of wolves in sheeps' clothing. Scratch the surface of any cop and you find an authoritarian thug just waiting for an opening. Sorry, Morse!!

Taking someone's private property from someones private property is called "Theft" and "Invasion of Privacy". It's also called "Illegal Search and Siezure".


[edit on 25-8-2009 by RussianScientists]

Originally posted by subject x
reply to post by St Vaast

 

If they decided to take it upon themselves to take my property from my private vehicle without permission?

Absolutely.

Okay then

If you prefer for crims to take your property from your vehicle

hope you write a note to that effect and leave it where it can be clearly seen on your unlocked vehicle

Originally posted by CosmicEgg
reply to post by lucentenigma

 

You've got that right. Beware of wolves in sheeps' clothing. Scratch the surface of any cop and you find an authoritarian thug just waiting for an opening. Sorry, Morse!!

I don't agree

there are some damn good cops


And when they save your backside, you'll be on your knees thanking them

Until then, it's kewl to talk tough in forums

So it's perfectly acceptable for the police to break the law and invade our privacy if it's "for our own good" now. I wonder if I could drive around the country looking for unlocked doors on politician's homes and have a good snoop around for the interests of the public? I mean, they wouldn't be up to anything - especially after all that expenses fiddling...

... failing to find anything incriminating I suppose I could just take their TVs, jewellery and anything else that takes my fancy - it's OK if I leave a note informing them of my thievery with a phone number on.

reply to post by St Vaast

Yes, it would be very stupid to leave illegal goodies in your vehicle, locked or not.

However, the point is that they have no right to be poking around in my car in the first place. That would definitely come under the heading of "illegal search and seizure". Where's the probable cause? They would be breaking more than one law just opening my car and taking my stuff.

And the "what if's could just go on forever. What if I keep my pet python in my car and the cop freaks and kills it? Or gets himself bit? Who's responsible? What if my car happened to burst into flames (it's been known to happen) as the cop was pilfering through it? Who's responsible? What if the cop happens to be deathly allergic to the air freshener I use in there, and dies? Who's responsible? What if I come out of a store at night, see someone in the dark rooting through my stuff, run up and club or shoot him? Who's responsible?

There are just way to many ways this can end badly.

the police should not be even touching your car.

if you are stupid enough to leave your iPhone or your laptop sitting on the seat in plain view, let alone with the car unlocked, you dont deserve to have such items. plain and simple. so what happens when you leave your house unlocked, the police should beable to go inside and take your computer, your tv, your mini-safe, just because it may get stolen?

that is the most #ed up thing ever.
you can argue it all you want, but the police shouldnt be even looking in cars, what the #.


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Yeah its true, there are SOME good police officers, but all the ones ive met are only police officers because thats all they had in life.
I swear this is the question student councellors are asking.

Did you do well in phsyical education, and can do simple math? Well I have the carrier for you, join the police force!

Any police officer ive ever delt with are liars, i was arrested 3 months ago and charged with graffiti charges, in the disclosure i could read all the police statements, 80% of it was made up / didnt happen, or if it did happen, it wasnt what actually happened.



[edit on 25-8-2009 by epitaph.one]

For pity's sake! It's laughable that for some guys the police can't do anything right. If you get burgled, it's their fault. When you report the crime, you criticize them if they don't get the stuff back. If they arrest the thief, you'll suspect a fit-up or police brutality. If it was your car and your stuff got robbed...who's fault is it? Of course, it's the police' fault! There's not enough of them on the streets...there's too many on the street etc.

I'm sorry to spoil the dream, but not all UK police are bad people. A few members do nothing but whine about the police. Every other post I see, they squeeze in a dumbass comment. Life's hard when you keep getting pulled in your dad's car with a spliff? The odd s*** human in a uniform doesn't mean they all are.

One problem with this also. If they "take/steal"..call it what you will, a item from your unlocked car and then leave you a note. Whats not to stop someone walking down the street opening the same car and collecting the object described on the note and pretending to be you?
What else are the cops going to do? Stand there until you show up to the vehicle and show proof your the legal driver before they let you go? thats a bit of a waste on Cop resources and time they could be spent searching for REAL criminals.