What do Police prioritise?

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tardtasticx

3050 posts

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#150636 29-Jul-2014 01:43

So a few months ago, there was a domestic a few houses down from us. People got the crap beaten out of them in the street with wood and bats and stuff, huge yelling matches ensued, then a dog got a beating too. Rang the Police many many times. No one showed up. Got a call a few hours later asking if everything was all fine and nothing since.

Tonight, the dairy over the road was being hit by some kids. 3 cars turned up, they jumped some fences, tried to get in etc. They stole some clothes from a clothing donation bin outside and we yelled and told them to get out and got some photos of their cars and plates. Rang the police 3 times. First 2 times were about what they were doing as it escalated, then we called once we found out the kids had driven to the next street and were hanging around there still. Was told "Oh sorry we had a shift change and it got cancelled, then we rebooked it and they got sent to a higher priority instead". At least 3 hours since that last call and not a peep.

It then reminded me of years and years ago at a friends party, some gang members tried to crash it and wouldn't take no for an answer. They went ballistic. Heaps of us rang and rang and rang, no one showed up. We were so lucky no one got seriously hurt that night. I couldn't believe it.

Now I understand that they do get busy and what not, but really, like the seriousness of two of these occasions obviously doesn't matter. So other than saying "HES GOT A GUN!" and screaming and leaving the phone off the hook, what would make them actually turn up? I really am worried that one day I'm going to need it and I'm going to be left dead somewhere.

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#1097590 29-Jul-2014 04:42

How is Remuera these days?

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andrewNZ

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#1097602 29-Jul-2014 07:11

In the north, eff all! Say "I think I saw a knife" if you need them.
I've called the police in Hamilton I think three times, they turned up to one burglary three days later.
My brother called because the person he was following was an accident waiting to happen, they refused to send someone till the accident happened. No one died, so that's something, but they were going to let the driver continue to drive in a clearly impaired state.

In Dunedin, I've called the police twice, they've turned up fast both times. Once to someone on the railway tracks who looked like he was waiting for a train to jump under, and once to a drunk driver. The police even called me on Friday to tell me the drunk driver had been through the courts and what the result was!

profrink

257 posts

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#1097636 29-Jul-2014 08:25

Based on the description of the events you have experienced, I'm picking the Police in your area have their hands full unfortunately.

MikeB4

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#1097639 29-Jul-2014 08:31

The short answer as to "why do the police prioritise" simple, resources or lack there of.

SpookyAwol

597 posts

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#1097644 29-Jul-2014 08:46

Like any business, if you cut the budget, reduce staff and expect more with less you will generally get a poorer service......

Virgil

Dangerous Chocolate
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#1097670 29-Jul-2014 09:11

Too busy ticketing cars doing 105 km/hr in a 100 zone perhaps?

Lurking ...

cr250bromo

222 posts

Master Geek

#1097684 29-Jul-2014 09:18

Some of the police funding is ringfenced for traffic enforcement from when the MOT traffic officers got merged with the police. So if you think the police shouldn't be ticketing people for doing 105kph in a 100kph area, your complaint is with the government for the way they fund the police, not the police themselves.

MikeB4

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#1097692 29-Jul-2014 09:28

many More people die on the roads annually than from other crime so it is logical triage that resources be applied to reduce those deaths.

Coil

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#1097693 29-Jul-2014 09:28

I had them round my house very quickly each time they were called by the neighbors.
One was excessive noise. (5 people around for drinks with slight back ground music) Other was a suspected domestic. (Yelling at sister when trying to move a bed cause it had a mesh bottom and would rattle quite loudly.)

kenkeniff

628 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1097695 29-Jul-2014 09:31

What do Police prioritise?

It's subjective but mostly common-sense;

Any job with imminent threat to life or property will get attention however that's obviously subject to staff actually being available to attend.

There are national priorities like "Family Violence" which all things being equal will trump "Disorder" jobs (like the incident's you've described).

Jobs are prioritised from P1 (urgent) to P7 (not attending).

e.g. Most Family Violence jobs will be coded P1 (as opposed to Disorder usually P2-P3) however Police will rarely drop everything in the middle of one job (a P2 or P3) to attend a higher priority job (P1) so it's not uncommon for P1 jobs even to have to wait 30-60min+ until cops are free to attend.

Again, obviously if weapons are involved etc it can influence the priority and Police response. Along with the number of independent calls to Police, manner of the caller etc.

e.g. If you called to report 20 people fighting in the street, and there were no other calls Police would be suspicious (as they would expect 3-4 calls at least) and may wait to hear if there are any further calls before sending units (may be a hoax or over-reaction).

If 20 people were actually fighting Police may also have to wait down the road for more units before entering the scene or leave the job for "Team Policing" (aka riot squad) when they're free.

Police are also human;

Calls near a shift changeover are going to take a while to get to as staff don't want to do overtime (i.e. 0630-0730, 1600-1700, 2100-2200 etc - varies)
Idiots fighting with themselves (parties, drunks etc) are going to get less of a priority than jobs involving clearly innocent victims
Exciting / unusual / fun jobs can get a bit of attention
Burglaries etc where where the offender is long gone are probably no point turning up to
Pain in the arse jobs (civil disputes etc) and jobs involving a lot of paperwork are avoided if it's likely to not be worth the paperwork (domestic disputes, burglary, sometimes theft)

Different Police sections also have different responsibilities, priorities and resources. e.g. There may be 10 patrol cars assigned to your neighborhood but only 1 is equipped to deal with P1 jobs (as they're the only car with two officers, taser, firearms etc).

It's not unusual for "comms" (dispatch) to ask if there are any free units to attend XYZ (boring job) and for no-one to answer, then next minute there's 5 free cars to attend a pursuit or damsel in distress.

cnor152

72 posts

Master Geek

#1097819 29-Jul-2014 12:15

kenkeniff:
What do Police prioritise?

Police are also human;

Calls near a shift changeover are going to take a while to get to as staff don't want to do overtime (i.e. 0630-0730, 1600-1700, 2100-2200 etc - varies)
Idiots fighting with themselves (parties, drunks etc) are going to get less of a priority than jobs involving clearly innocent victims
Exciting / unusual / fun jobs can get a bit of attention
Burglaries etc where where the offender is long gone are probably no point turning up to
Pain in the arse jobs (civil disputes etc) and jobs involving a lot of paperwork are avoided if it's likely to not be worth the paperwork (domestic disputes, burglary, sometimes theft)

Different Police sections also have different responsibilities, priorities and resources. e.g. There may be 10 patrol cars assigned to your neighborhood but only 1 is equipped to deal with P1 jobs (as they're the only car with two officers, taser, firearms etc).

It's not unusual for "comms" (dispatch) to ask if there are any free units to attend XYZ (boring job) and for no-one to answer, then next minute there's 5 free cars to attend a pursuit or damsel in distress.

Isn't that pretty bad? I mean it is understandable, but all of that is their job so you expect them to do it. Surely they have systems to prevent that kind of behavior?

I think they are pretty stretched though. To this day people still say to call the fire service if you have a home invader, because they will be there faster. Even some of their procedures seem a bit frustrating. When they go to a call on TV about a gun, you see them having to stop down the road for quite a while sorting out their own guns and reading rules about shooting people.

cr250bromo

222 posts

Master Geek

#1097826 29-Jul-2014 12:32

cnor152: When they go to a call on TV about a gun, you see them having to stop down the road for quite a while sorting out their own guns and reading rules about shooting people.

If they don't do everything 100% by the book, they know it will be trial by media for months if not years...

kenkeniff

628 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1097827 29-Jul-2014 12:32

cnor152:

Isn't that pretty bad? I mean it is understandable, but all of that is their job so you expect them to do it. Surely they have systems to prevent that kind of behavior?

I think they are pretty stretched though. To this day people still say to call the fire service if you have a home invader, because they will be there faster. Even some of their procedures seem a bit frustrating. When they go to a call on TV about a gun, you see them having to stop down the road for quite a while sorting out their own guns and reading rules about shooting people.

Yeah it's not great but just telling it like it is, and I'm sure it's the same in a lot of organisations where humans are involved and left to make decisions for themselves.

Media hysteria and courts have a lot to answer for though; as the more criticism, scrutiny, PC'ness and risk of prosecution to Police themselves get put under the more they are constrained from exercising common-sense and the more they are concerned with "CYA" (cover your ass).

This means;

More paperwork (less enthusiasm about attending / dealing with jobs properly)
More overtime
More time wasted reciting rules / regulations at armed cordons
More reluctance to pursue cars, confront offenders at the scene, be put in a position where force may need to be used

tardtasticx

3050 posts

Uber Geek

#1097840 29-Jul-2014 12:50

kiwitrc: How is Remuera these days?

Hmm, I imagine they're fine but can't really speak on behalf of the residents there considering I live over 20KM away in Manurewa (South Auckland).

kenkeniff

628 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1097844 29-Jul-2014 12:52

tardtasticx:
kiwitrc: How is Remuera these days?

Hmm, I imagine they're fine but can't really speak on behalf of the residents there considering I live over 20KM away in Manurewa (South Auckland).

Oh damn, lol..

There's your problem... busiest station in the country..

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