Unfortunately I was a victim of crime at some point overnight.  

I’d discovered that my Garage door had been Jemmied open and the thieves stole two bikes, a Land Rover Discovery Zamora with mud guards, Shimano Gears, Disc Brakes, LED Lights front and rear, water bottle and cycle pump, the other is a Carrera (Both Mountain Bikes) and kitted out with the same equipment.

So I called the local police using the non-emergency number and spoke to the operator, explained the situation…  It seemed they were more interested in my Date of Birth, Nationality and Ethnicity as opposed to my address, the items stolen and any relevant information.

Eventually, they advised it would be unlikely they will send anyone round to investigate, here’s a crime reference number and good luck!

Has policing gotten that bad over the years they are more interested in speeding motorists?  The lady explained to me that they are unlikely to get finger prints or anything useful so no point in trying….

In 1990/1991 the flat I was living in was broken into over winter, when I returned home at midnight and discovered I’d been burgled, I called the police, within an hour CID turned up on my doorstep, took statements and dusted for fingerprints, within three months I’d received a follow up that they’d caught the burglars and within a year I was sent another follow up saying they’d prosecuted and sentenced the toe rags …  Fast forward to 2016 and crime has become a mere statistics game, no investigation, issue a crime reference number for your insurers and don’t darken our doors again…

Ok, so the items are insured, but now it becomes a balancing act doesn’t it?  Everyone has an excess to pay on the insurance, when you factor that in, the cost of the item and depreciation, along with your premiums going up on renewal and your postcode becoming a crime hotspot, the loser is still … me!

The criminals will probably never get caught with today’s lethargic policing, so the criminals sell the bikes on and profit and continue unhindered their criminal careers…

Muggins here on the other hand, has property stolen, increased insurance costs, the time and hassle of sorting everything out…

So the winners are the Criminals (Free goods), The Insurance Company (Price Hikes) and the Police (don’t bother investigating but can report some lovely annual statistics to insurers).

Who says crime doesn’t pay?