What does it take to get our Keystone Cops to do their jobs?

And then what happened? That sounds just like a system that a Police service would introduce, given complaints are recorded and reiewed by the Ombudsman, unless of course your complaint was drivel and didn’t warrant being recorded. From the response you received I would suspect it was drivel

Nothing. So who gets to decide a complaint is drivel? The Officer’s themselves? Gee, that’s accountability for you.

p.s. I can’t be bothered to check the source of those crime statistics, but shoud I infer from the exclusion of certain categories (e.g. assault and sexual offences) that this means they went up? Is that the police’s fault? It’s the obvious corollary to giving them credit for reductions in the other categories. Unless you work for the police PR department.

I’m a huge fan of police, but I also have very high expectations of them because of the power that society gives them, and because they’re funded by taxpayers, you know, those same people who would prefer police rather than them went through the broken front door in case the perpetrators are still inside. Like all public agencies, they need to be open to scrutiny, and even anecdotal critical claims are of concern. Even if only because they affect public perceptions of and confidence police. One cynical way of reducing crime rates would be to engage in behaviour that makes people less likely to report it.

Also very interested in the parallel post about the number of police resources devoted to a fail to stop on the Federal Highway, which so far turns out to have been a speeding unlicensed teenager from Victoria. Wow. Crime of the century. Maybe the kid thought he was in Victoria, because in the interests of balance, here’s a piece about the possible effects of Victoria Police’s pursuits policy http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-29/police-defend-pursuit-policy/3751850 (although I’m not quite sure the point the journos are making, i.e. whether they think the chases should have continued, or whether they should have been abandoned earlier).

IP

buzz819 said :

Hmmm 10pm Sunday night, do you think this could have been close to shift change?

Good point. Could have been.

Tooks said :

Hmm, you were at the back of Tuggeranong police station and could see through to the muster room. Wonder how you did that (lucky you weren’t a gunman with a grudge – that would be dozens of easy targets). That raises a few questions in my mind. Don’t know how long ago that was, but you would not find dozens of uniformed police in any police station at 10pm on a Sunday night. Ever. You wouldn’t even find two dozen.

What amazes me about our blindingly incompetent and lazy police is the fact they’ve somehow been able to significantly reduce just about every type of crime in the last year.

Robbery down 22%
Burglary down 32%
Vehicle theft down 37%
Property damage down 22%
Other offences against property down 54%

Imagine if we had a decent police force in this city…

The Supreme Court has a backlog of about 2 years. The judges must be pissed at whoever is catching all these crooks for serious offences and putting them before court.

Likewise with the Magistrates Court. They’re so busy they’ve recently added another magistrate. Why is the magistrate’s court so busy? Someone needs to look into it and find out – it’s getting ridiculous.

Bimberi and AMC are near capacity. Someone needs to tell these crooks to stop handing themselves in, before we need to start adding extensions to these facilities.

On a serious note, policing is like any other profession – there are good and bad. I have friends and family in the emergency services (firies, cops, ambos). They are hard working, dedicated people, in it for the right reasons. Of course, there are also bad apples (lazy, incompetent, rude etc). If you have a bad experience with police, or unsatisfactory response/service etc, then make a complaint – it’s easy enough (can do it over the phone). An internet rant may make you feel better, but it does nothing to make the police accountable.

For a bit of balance, I’ve only had interactions with police about a dozen times in my life (not just ACT). Not all of those interactions have been a positive experience, but overall, I think we have it pretty good in Canberra.

So now I’m lying? I was there, I saw them, and I did say they were working on computers and paperwork, so I don’t need to be told that they were by someone who thinks they’re smarter than me. It still seems odd practice for late on a Sunday night, when callers are often told “we don’t have any enough officers on duty”. I don’t know what the muster room is, but if it’s their tea room, that’s where I was, and they weren’t – they were in open plan office spaces, working, not socialising. It was in 2008.

There have been court backlogs for years, they are not new and nothing to do with claimed reductions in crime. Wait until crime goes back up again (it will) and then will you blame the police for that? If not, then don’t be so quick to credit them for reductions. Anyway, reductions in crime mean reductions in arrests, so reductions in court workload and prison places. Criminology 101. You’re implying that crime is down because police have arrested prolific offenders, and that’s an arguable point, but not a simple fact. And it will need to alst more than a few months before you start drawing too many conclusions from it.

IP

noma said :

there’s no need to be so harsh about a person who’s genuinely concerned with the neighbourhood. I think it’s good that the OP has a watchful eye and we need more of such people. The citizens are doing their jobs – it’s up to the police do theirs.

+1……..I’m tired of the apathy of most of the general public.

Instant Mash said :

Just less reason to have faith in the local pigs.

Calling police officers “pigs” is well out of order.. They, like all organisations, are not perfect but they do a pretty good job under difficult circumstances. They are one of the few occupations where they may be killed in the line of duty, and that alone deserves some respect. Even if they’ve stuffed up somewhere, they still deserve civil treatment.

If you were assaulted, mugged, burgled, injured in a crash or whatever, would you call the police who came to help you pigs?

Referring to them as pigs helps nobody. It certainly doesn’t lend credibility to your argument.

Mistake no. 1 – expecting the police to care …
Mistake no 2. – being idealistic enough to think it is worth complaining about.

Violet68 said :

I tried to make a complaint regarding a police officer. Was told that I could state my complaint over the phone, but it would be handled internally and I would not be advised of the outcome. That’s accountability for you……not.

And then what happened? That sounds just like a system that a Police service would introduce, given complaints are recorded and reiewed by the Ombudsman, unless of course your complaint was drivel and didn’t warrant being recorded. From the response you received I would suspect it was drivel.

That’s simply not true. You would be given a time frame (say 28 days) in which you would receive a written response to your concerns. For interest’s sake I googled TAMS. They say they aim to respond to complaints within 10 days. Looks like a supervisor “may” speak to you regarding a complaint against a Police Officer. Hmmmmm, the garbo’s are more accountable than our police
http://www.afp.gov.au/~/media/afp/pdf/m/making-a-complaint-about-the-afp.ashx

Umm it says it will respond to a complaint, it doesn’t say they will tell you the outcome of the complaint.

If a supervisor needs to contact you they probably will…

A planned response within 10 days is far better than a “may” respond. Yeah I suppose a supervisor will make contact….if they feel the need. I’m sure the AFP appointee I was complaining about will be really, really upset when the supervisor brings it to their attention. Said AFP appointee also put me onto another officer to take the complaint because it was about them and refused to give me their details so yeah it was all done according to “policy”….not. When I asked if there was a complaints form that really threw them :0

But I spose it’s better to defend them vehemently than ask for some improvement in this area. Such a defensive lot…..

Big feet, please go back and read that brochure again – if you’re able. Can you not grasp the concept of comparison? I find your assumptions about my values, beliefs and “world” disgusting. You are quite vicious, bigoted and intolerant of others who may be different or think differently to you. Believe it or not, many people find those traits appalling. Making sh*t up about people you don’t know is “lying” so YOU would be the one guilty of that …….again.

I once reported my house being broken in to and it took several hours for them to arrive. They apologised telling me that because it was raining at the time they were attending a lot of traffic accidents.

I mentioned in an editorial to the Canberra Times that if anyone wanted to commit a crime they had a much better chance of getting away if they did it on a rainy evening.

Next day I received an anonymous phone call stating, ‘Be careful what you say about the Police in the paper or they just might not show up next time you need them’.

Draw your own conclusions.

The Dark said :

Stevian said :

The Dark said :

Also, pretty sure the Guardian Angels are pretty good at taking ‘the law’ into their own hands.

You’re also wrong

Nice comeback, but you misunderstand me, I was calling them wankers, or maybe you knew exactly what I meant, in which case that’s some pretty intimate knowledge on your part….

Personal experience with them perhaps? Been ‘manhandled’ by them yourself? Late night ‘citizens arrest’ in the Kippax car park here and there?

I misunderstood your euphemism. I assumed you were referring illegal vigilantism on the GAs part. Where the GA are active (they are effectively non-existant in Australia) they work with local law enforcement under very specific guidelines. The GA movement is about community engagement, they could be considered one step above neighbourhood watch.

Stevian said :

The Dark said :

Also, pretty sure the Guardian Angels are pretty good at taking ‘the law’ into their own hands.

You’re also wrong

Nice comeback, but you misunderstand me, I was calling them wankers, or maybe you knew exactly what I meant, in which case that’s some pretty intimate knowledge on your part….

Personal experience with them perhaps? Been ‘manhandled’ by them yourself? Late night ‘citizens arrest’ in the Kippax car park here and there?

Violet68 said :

That’s simply not true. You would be given a time frame (say 28 days) in which you would receive a written response to your concerns. For interest’s sake I googled TAMS. They say they aim to respond to complaints within 10 days. Looks like a supervisor “may” speak to you regarding a complaint against a Police Officer. Hmmmmm, the garbo’s are more accountable than our police
http://www.afp.gov.au/~/media/afp/pdf/m/making-a-complaint-about-the-afp.ashx
.

That brochure quite clearly says : “The AFP will ensure that you are kept informed of the progress
and outcome of your complaint.”

Your hatred of police, disgust with law and order and contempt for the concept of community may have blinded you to that part.

Or perhaps you were just lying. Again.

Violet68 said :

buzz819 said :

Violet68 said :

I tried to make a complaint regarding a police officer. Was told that I could state my complaint over the phone, but it would be handled internally and I would not be advised of the outcome. That’s accountability for you……not.

I just had a thought about this some more;

If you put in a complaint about a public servant, milkman, garbage man, store worker, pilot, air hostess, trolley-boy, teacher, fireman, ambulance officer, doctor, nurse, taxi driver, nightclub manager, social worker, court staff, corrections officer or a lawyer, every single time you will be told that you are not going to be advised of the outcome, so what’s the difference?

That’s simply not true. You would be given a time frame (say 28 days) in which you would receive a written response to your concerns. For interest’s sake I googled TAMS. They say they aim to respond to complaints within 10 days. Looks like a supervisor “may” speak to you regarding a complaint against a Police Officer. Hmmmmm, the garbo’s are more accountable than our police
http://www.afp.gov.au/~/media/afp/pdf/m/making-a-complaint-about-the-afp.ashx

….and bigfeet, stop pretending you know what goes on in my world. You really have no idea – presumptuous twit.

Umm it says it will respond to a complaint, it doesn’t say they will tell you the outcome of the complaint.

If a supervisor needs to contact you they probably will…

buzz819 said :

Violet68 said :

I tried to make a complaint regarding a police officer. Was told that I could state my complaint over the phone, but it would be handled internally and I would not be advised of the outcome. That’s accountability for you……not.

I just had a thought about this some more;

If you put in a complaint about a public servant, milkman, garbage man, store worker, pilot, air hostess, trolley-boy, teacher, fireman, ambulance officer, doctor, nurse, taxi driver, nightclub manager, social worker, court staff, corrections officer or a lawyer, every single time you will be told that you are not going to be advised of the outcome, so what’s the difference?

That’s simply not true. You would be given a time frame (say 28 days) in which you would receive a written response to your concerns. For interest’s sake I googled TAMS. They say they aim to respond to complaints within 10 days. Looks like a supervisor “may” speak to you regarding a complaint against a Police Officer. Hmmmmm, the garbo’s are more accountable than our police
http://www.afp.gov.au/~/media/afp/pdf/m/making-a-complaint-about-the-afp.ashx

….and bigfeet, stop pretending you know what goes on in my world. You really have no idea – presumptuous twit.

Violet68 said :

I tried to make a complaint regarding a police officer. Was told that I could state my complaint over the phone, but it would be handled internally and I would not be advised of the outcome. That’s accountability for you……not.

I just had a thought about this some more;

If you put in a complaint about a public servant, milkman, garbage man, store worker, pilot, air hostess, trolley-boy, teacher, fireman, ambulance officer, doctor, nurse, taxi driver, nightclub manager, social worker, court staff, corrections officer or a lawyer, every single time you will be told that you are not going to be advised of the outcome, so what’s the difference?

Violet68 said :

I tried to make a complaint regarding a police officer. Was told that I could state my complaint over the phone, but it would be handled internally and I would not be advised of the outcome. That’s accountability for you……not.

No, that confidentiality for you……….

buzz819 said :

Violet68 said :

I tried to make a complaint regarding a police officer. Was told that I could state my complaint over the phone, but it would be handled internally and I would not be advised of the outcome. That’s accountability for you……not.

Did the Police officer arrest a bad person instead of cuddling them?

In violet’s world the only bad people are police and victims of crime.

She always blames either the victim or the police for every crime. It is never the fault of the criminal.

Violet68 said :

Did the Police officer arrest a bad person instead of cuddling them?

Don’t you like the idea of Police accountability?

I wasn’t talking about that bit of your post, more curious about the cause of the complaint…

Did the Police officer arrest a bad person instead of cuddling them?

Don’t you like the idea of Police accountability?

IrishPete said :

Deckard said :

How many police do you think there are? Do you think at 11pm there are a pack of them sitting out the back of the police station ready to pounce on every picket knocked over, car window smashed, or house break in? They’re usually busy pulling some kid out of a car crash or stopping some meth head smashing up his family home.

If you want a cop ready to act on every minor crime 24/7 the government is going to have to double our rates.

In a previous job, not very many years ago, I once had reason to be in the back of Tuggeranong police station at about 10pm on a Sunday night (and no, I hadn’t been arrested – I was there professionally). Oddly enough, there WERE dozens of uniformed police sitting around working on computers and paperwork. It raised lots of questions in my mind…

IP

Hmmm 10pm Sunday night, do you think this could have been close to shift change?

Violet68 said :

I tried to make a complaint regarding a police officer. Was told that I could state my complaint over the phone, but it would be handled internally and I would not be advised of the outcome. That’s accountability for you……not.

Did the Police officer arrest a bad person instead of cuddling them?

I tried to make a complaint regarding a police officer. Was told that I could state my complaint over the phone, but it would be handled internally and I would not be advised of the outcome. That’s accountability for you……not.

IrishPete said :

Deckard said :

How many police do you think there are? Do you think at 11pm there are a pack of them sitting out the back of the police station ready to pounce on every picket knocked over, car window smashed, or house break in? They’re usually busy pulling some kid out of a car crash or stopping some meth head smashing up his family home.

If you want a cop ready to act on every minor crime 24/7 the government is going to have to double our rates.

In a previous job, not very many years ago, I once had reason to be in the back of Tuggeranong police station at about 10pm on a Sunday night (and no, I hadn’t been arrested – I was there professionally). Oddly enough, there WERE dozens of uniformed police sitting around working on computers and paperwork. It raised lots of questions in my mind…

IP

Hmm, you were at the back of Tuggeranong police station and could see through to the muster room. Wonder how you did that (lucky you weren’t a gunman with a grudge – that would be dozens of easy targets). That raises a few questions in my mind. Don’t know how long ago that was, but you would not find dozens of uniformed police in any police station at 10pm on a Sunday night. Ever. You wouldn’t even find two dozen.

What amazes me about our blindingly incompetent and lazy police is the fact they’ve somehow been able to significantly reduce just about every type of crime in the last year.

Robbery down 22%
Burglary down 32%
Vehicle theft down 37%
Property damage down 22%
Other offences against property down 54%

Imagine if we had a decent police force in this city…

The Supreme Court has a backlog of about 2 years. The judges must be pissed at whoever is catching all these crooks for serious offences and putting them before court.

Likewise with the Magistrates Court. They’re so busy they’ve recently added another magistrate. Why is the magistrate’s court so busy? Someone needs to look into it and find out – it’s getting ridiculous.

Bimberi and AMC are near capacity. Someone needs to tell these crooks to stop handing themselves in, before we need to start adding extensions to these facilities.

On a serious note, policing is like any other profession – there are good and bad. I have friends and family in the emergency services (firies, cops, ambos). They are hard working, dedicated people, in it for the right reasons. Of course, there are also bad apples (lazy, incompetent, rude etc). If you have a bad experience with police, or unsatisfactory response/service etc, then make a complaint – it’s easy enough (can do it over the phone). An internet rant may make you feel better, but it does nothing to make the police accountable.

For a bit of balance, I’ve only had interactions with police about a dozen times in my life (not just ACT). Not all of those interactions have been a positive experience, but overall, I think we have it pretty good in Canberra.

The Dark said :

Also, pretty sure the Guardian Angels are pretty good at taking ‘the law’ into their own hands.

You’re also wrong

IrishPete said :

In a previous job, not very many years ago, I once had reason to be in the back of Tuggeranong police station at about 10pm on a Sunday night (and no, I hadn’t been arrested – I was there professionally). Oddly enough, there WERE dozens of uniformed police sitting around working on computers and paperwork. It raised lots of questions in my mind…

IP, it’s an unfortunate fact that policing also requires a lot of paperwork and “off the road” time. Every job that’s attended requires a report, no matter how small the job. Consider that a two man patrol can potentially attend 10 or 20 jobs a shift, there’s a lot of typing to be done before the officer goes home. It’s an issue that most police forces face worldwide.

Also then consider when someone is being summonsed for an offence, it can take many hours to prepare the summons, gather evidence, interview, take statements from witnesses etc. When a person is arrested it also takes the patrol off the road for potentially a number of hours until the paperwork is complete to send the person to court that day or the next morning. I assure you the police would rather be on the road than typing but it’s the nature of the beast.

and finally…

I was very entertained by this article over Christmas http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/crime-and-law/burglars-beware-acts-csi-agents-on-case/2403341.aspx

“AFP forensics will attend nearly every burglary in the territory”

It must be true, the police said it and the newspaper reported it.

No further comment.

IP

Tooks said :

colourful sydney racing identity said :

Why on earth would you ring 000 over people throwing survey pegs in the lake? Surely you would put up the bat signal in such an emergency…

Exactly. Retards misuse the 000 system all the time. It’s a major problem.

One person’s life-threatening emergency is another person’s nuisance call. I’ve been treated rudely when calling 000 for what I considered to be developing into a life-threatening emergency, and I only rang 000 because there was no answer from the less urgent number. What hadn’t been life-threatening was becoming so as time passed. It is unreasonable to expect a member of the public to be expert at triaging their calls to the cops. [And it’s interesting that the fire authorities ask you to call 000 for ALL fires, no triaging required, it’s only ambulance, police and other emergency services who get upset when the call-centre employee who actually works for Telstra (I think) thinks you’ve got it wrong].

A disturbance involving a large number of youths has lots of serious potential – maybe they should install more 000 lines and call-takers, and stop expecting the public to decide which number to call.

Also, the cops are very keen to pursue (pun intended) car chases, just in case the car is going to be used for a serious crime, but much less willing to attend other incidents which also have the potential to develop into a serious crime.

Another of my criticisms is that even in 2012, the emergency services and phone companies can’t/won’t implement technology that would automatically redirect to 000 any calls made to 999 or 911, so that tourists can quickly call for help too. It’s not like those numbers are already assigned to Dominos or anything. And the same goes for 112 on mobiles – why have a different number? (Before anyone gives me a patronising response, I think I know the difference between 112 and 000, which is something to do with network coverage, but once again technology could easily overcome the need to have a different number.)

IP

Deckard said :

How many police do you think there are? Do you think at 11pm there are a pack of them sitting out the back of the police station ready to pounce on every picket knocked over, car window smashed, or house break in? They’re usually busy pulling some kid out of a car crash or stopping some meth head smashing up his family home.

If you want a cop ready to act on every minor crime 24/7 the government is going to have to double our rates.

In a previous job, not very many years ago, I once had reason to be in the back of Tuggeranong police station at about 10pm on a Sunday night (and no, I hadn’t been arrested – I was there professionally). Oddly enough, there WERE dozens of uniformed police sitting around working on computers and paperwork. It raised lots of questions in my mind…

IP

Also, pretty sure the Guardian Angels are pretty good at taking ‘the law’ into their own hands.

Henry82 said :

The Dark said :

Personally id rather fight a guy with an asp or mace than a knife

I think you should blindfold yourself and spar with someone. With some background noise i doubt you would get a punch in, let alone win.

The Dark said :

not to mention all the guns that have been stolen from private residences in Canberra over the last few months

A ‘run of the mill’ junkie robbing people for cash isn’t going to have a telescoping baton, mace or a gun. Those are the people you’re most likely to encounter on a late night walk where you might get robbed. Anyone who isn’t organised who has a weapon is probably going to get caught sooner or later, either by police search, or showing it off (likely on facebook).

Krav Maga endorses that, hence why I mentioned it earlier, but regardless, I’d rather fight fist to fist blind than fist to knife in stomach or neck with full visibility.

That’s not what I was saying, I mean these weapons are already present in criminal society, so the argument that innocents shouldn’t have them because criminals will get them is null and void.

I didn’t say that crims currently use them for muggings, that’s why I said knives are the worst thing out, not asp’s or mace, thus innocents getting things to defend themselves with is not going to destroy society via criminals getting their hands on them.

And no, there’s nothing to say that disorganised people will eventually get caught, cops don’t search everyone that they come across, thus you can walk past countless cops with a knife and not get caught, because even if you look like a ‘run of the mill’ junkie it does not constitute reasonable grounds for a stop search. alternatively showing off knives on your facebook might be stupid, but its not illegal, so they wont get caught.

Your pointing out flaws in what I said that aren’t there, I don’t quite get your point.

Angelina said :

Instant Mash said :

Agreed whole-heartedly. I’ll have to keep an eye out for Joey Joe Joe hahaha!

You I don’t like though. You seem like a bit of a dick. For every story I’ve read/heard about the police doing a bad job I’ve read/heard at least one more of the police doing a good job.

I have had 4 occasions in my life to interact with the police in Canberra and on each one they’ve been responsive, polite and helpful, resolving the situation where possible.

If you think it’s such an easy job to do then maybe you should train up and give it a try? My guess is that law enforcement is just like any other industry in that there are good employees and bad employees. It’s just easier to remember the bad ones.

I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to put my opinion forward.

And you may be right in what you’re saying. I’m just going from the personal experience I have.

KB1971 said :

Instant Mash said :

I’ll concede that I got my words mixed up, but that still doesn’t excuse you from sounding like a child.

Hehehehe, it was too good a chance to pass up.

@ matt, Robert G Barrett actually of the Les Norton books fame ( I just finished reading his latest book of short stories & tockley was mentioned).

Although in my younger years in another life as a motor mechanic a Picture magazine was never too far away :).

I will also add that the level of bitching on the Rioatact has been high with so much gold over so many threads over the last few days. It has been quite amusing.

Instant Mash said :

I’ll concede that I got my words mixed up, but that still doesn’t excuse you from sounding like a child.

Hehehehe, it was too good a chance to pass up.

@ matt, Robert G Barrett actually of the Les Norton books fame ( I just finished reading his latest book of short stories & tockley was mentioned).

Although in my younger years in another life as a motor mechanic a Picture magazine was never too far away :).

Instant Mash said :

Agreed whole-heartedly. I’ll have to keep an eye out for Joey Joe Joe hahaha!

You I don’t like though. You seem like a bit of a dick. For every story I’ve read/heard about the police doing a bad job I’ve read/heard at least one more of the police doing a good job.

I have had 4 occasions in my life to interact with the police in Canberra and on each one they’ve been responsive, polite and helpful, resolving the situation where possible.

If you think it’s such an easy job to do then maybe you should train up and give it a try? My guess is that law enforcement is just like any other industry in that there are good employees and bad employees. It’s just easier to remember the bad ones.

Agreed whole-heartedly. I’ll have to keep an eye out for Joey Joe Joe hahaha!

Can I just say I am loving the Simpsons references today. There’s “dig up, stupid” above, a Ralph Wiggum call on another thread and someone with the screen name Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo. Fantastic!

Heavs said :

Instant Mash said :

Here’s a question: Who do you complain to when you’re disgusted by the lack of police activity?

And for the record, I refer to them as pigs as real police do police work. Of all the times I’ve had to call them for any reason, I’ve had them show up ONCE. And even that was 45 minutes later.

Dig up stupid.

Cheers, Wiggy.

Instant Mash said :

Here’s a question: Who do you complain to when you’re disgusted by the lack of police activity?

And for the record, I refer to them as pigs as real police do police work. Of all the times I’ve had to call them for any reason, I’ve had them show up ONCE. And even that was 45 minutes later.

Dig up stupid.

Here’s a question: Who do you complain to when you’re disgusted by the lack of police activity?

And for the record, I refer to them as pigs as real police do police work. Of all the times I’ve had to call them for any reason, I’ve had them show up ONCE. And even that was 45 minutes later.

The Dark said :

Personally id rather fight a guy with an asp or mace than a knife

I think you should blindfold yourself and spar with someone. With some background noise i doubt you would get a punch in, let alone win.

The Dark said :

not to mention all the guns that have been stolen from private residences in Canberra over the last few months

A ‘run of the mill’ junkie robbing people for cash isn’t going to have a telescoping baton, mace or a gun. Those are the people you’re most likely to encounter on a late night walk where you might get robbed. Anyone who isn’t organised who has a weapon is probably going to get caught sooner or later, either by police search, or showing it off (likely on facebook).

KB1971 said :

Tooks said :

Instant Mash said :

And Tooks, with a comeback like that, one would no doubt assume that you were a cop.

Yes, assumptions – something morons use when they’ve got no idea.

A tip for you: When you use that old coward’s catchcry (‘pigs’), then you mangle the old adage “take the law into your own hands”, you make yourself sound pretty stupid.

You got it wrong Tooks, it was taking CRIME into his own hands. I wonder what he has been doing with his tockley to give it the name Crime?

Ha ha you called a penis a ‘Tockley’! You can always spot a ‘The Picture’ reader a mile away!

& @ Henry, crims unfortunately seem to be able to get all the things I mentioned already. Most of the opportunist crims don’t carry that stuff when they commit crimes though. Legalize all that stuff for law abiding people I say. The Dark is right, a good old knife is the seconds worst weapon you want to be confronted with.

KB1971 said :

Tooks said :

Instant Mash said :

And Tooks, with a comeback like that, one would no doubt assume that you were a cop.

Yes, assumptions – something morons use when they’ve got no idea.

A tip for you: When you use that old coward’s catchcry (‘pigs’), then you mangle the old adage “take the law into your own hands”, you make yourself sound pretty stupid.

You got it wrong Tooks, it was taking CRIME into his own hands. I wonder what he has been doing with his tockley to give it the name Crime?

Maybe because if you hang around with it long enough you go to jail?

I’ll concede that I got my words mixed up, but that still doesn’t excuse you from sounding like a child.

Tooks said :

Instant Mash said :

And Tooks, with a comeback like that, one would no doubt assume that you were a cop.

Yes, assumptions – something morons use when they’ve got no idea.

A tip for you: When you use that old coward’s catchcry (‘pigs’), then you mangle the old adage “take the law into your own hands”, you make yourself sound pretty stupid.

You got it wrong Tooks, it was taking CRIME into his own hands. I wonder what he has been doing with his tockley to give it the name Crime?

Instant Mash said :

And Tooks, with a comeback like that, one would no doubt assume that you were a cop.

Yes, assumptions – something morons use when they’ve got no idea.

A tip for you: When you use that old coward’s catchcry (‘pigs’), then you mangle the old adage “take the law into your own hands”, you make yourself sound pretty stupid.

Instant Mash said :

You people have never heard the expression before?

It means to essentially go after the crims yourself.

Because its not an expression. I think what you were going for was “taking the law into your own hands”. Think about it 😉

And Tooks, with a comeback like that, one would no doubt assume that you were a cop.

You people have never heard the expression before?

It means to essentially go after the crims yourself.

Instant Mash said :

Just less reason to have faith in the local pigs.

I wonder how they would take it if we were to tell them that we’re gonna start taking crime into our own hands… Bet that’s a quick way to get disciplined.

Take crime into your own hands, eh? Have fun sexually assaulting yourself. Something at which you are no doubt adebt.

Instant Mash said :

Just less reason to have faith in the local pigs.

I wonder how they would take it if we were to tell them that we’re gonna start taking crime into our own hands… Bet that’s a quick way to get disciplined.

Take crime into our own hands? So we rob ourselves before someone else does?

Just less reason to have faith in the local pigs.

I wonder how they would take it if we were to tell them that we’re gonna start taking crime into our own hands… Bet that’s a quick way to get disciplined.

matt31221 said :

Sounds like from all the comments the Police are a bit short staffed but that isn’t their fault. The ACT government should create some more jobs and hire some more cops no problems.

Don’t blame the current serving members though – they get little thanks and recognition for the frequent good that they do, they should be honored.

The government have promised all citizens protection from criminals, and if they can’t keep their promise because they don’t want to hire more police than they should grant the people more freedoms so that they can defend themselves –

ie

Legalize – all civilian Tazers that are legal in the US, legalize them for citizens here (I believe they are contact only and do not fire the darts).
Legalize – civilian CS spray.
Legalize – extendable batons for civilian use.
Legalize – bullet proof & stab proof vests – which for some godforsaken reason (prob Ned Kelly) they are banned in Australia! Except for the PM she is allowed one because she is better than you.

Worried about criminals buying them – make a system so that you need to give a simple police check to the retailer to buy one, and only people without criminal record can – record the buyers on a gov register. Simple.

More cops or more freedoms. Do others agree?

Awesome….just awesome…

“Guns dont kill people. Apes with guns kill people.” Charlton Heston

whitelaughter said :

Eppo said :

Sounds like you attract your fair share of trouble. Innocent people don’t have these sorts of problems…

Because it’s always the victim’s fault, of course: it’s the fault of 6 year olds that they get molested, of teenage girls that they get raped and of ordinary citizens that they get mugged. You useless tool.

Oh, for the semi-literates who seem to be the default posters here: if you ever learn to read you’ll find that I specifically said that *no* I wasn’t going to ring 000 – and *because* the berks on the other end didn’t care about a house with door kicked in: finding out whether I still had thugs inside my own home was my problem, not theirs.
Condolences to the posters with worse stories than mine 🙁
Gerry-built – thanks for the constructive suggestion!

You once rang 000 to report a burglary (thankfully most people aren’t that stupid). You didn’t know where the Belco police station was (been there 30 odd years). You didn’t know how to find the service button once you did find the police station. You want a redirect for 000 because you’re too incompetent to remember 131444 (or directory assistance). To be fair, you may not be an idiot, but the evidence is stacking up.

So to summarise, you saw a minor incident of anti-social behaviour (I’m sure the developers would’ve been glad to spend 30mins making a statement over a few bucks worth of survey pegs), and ended up being too incompetent to actually report it, then you come here and have a whinge. Love your work.

“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.”
– A.Einstein

The Dark said :

. Personally id rather fight a guy with an asp…than a knife.

A snake is always my weapon of choice.

Thanks for the support Violet, I thought everyone here had a much darker opinion of me since the Elliot Fleet thread… haha

Henry82 said :

matt31221 said :

Worried about criminals buying them – make a system so that you need to give a simple police check to the retailer to buy one, and only people without criminal record can-

because in america the gun register keeps weapons out of the hands of felons right?”

Unfortunately all those weapons you mentioned can be misused, and will be used by the thugs. In reality, i’d rather take my chances running from a knife wielding attacker, than being peppery sprayed, then knifed.

Whats even more unfortunate is that these things already get used by criminals, perhaps because its alot easier to get them if you are that way inclined as opposed to the regular people. I’ve had mates find pepper spray laying around on the ground after cops have been brawling with people, knew a junkie that used to try selling shotguns and hunting rifles he’d stolen from farms in the middle of civic, also seen asp’s (telescopic batons) on sale right next to handcuffs in certain right-inclined stores (no id required), not to mention all the guns that have been stolen from private residences in Canberra over the last few months or the commercial business’s in Sydney that have been robbed for security issue pistols over the last year…

Worst thing of all is knives are so much more accessible in Australia than any other ‘street’ weapon, (cheapest I’ve seen is 2 bucks) and they are alot more dangerous than most weapons that are completely outlawed. Personally id rather fight a guy with an asp or mace than a knife. Thankfully though knife defence is now much more widely taught in self defence/street defence programs, sad that it had to get to that point though.

matt31221 said :

Worried about criminals buying them – make a system so that you need to give a simple police check to the retailer to buy one, and only people without criminal record can-

because in america the gun register keeps weapons out of the hands of felons right?”

Unfortunately all those weapons you mentioned can be misused, and will be used by the thugs. In reality, i’d rather take my chances running from a knife wielding attacker, than being peppery sprayed, then knifed.

There is an election coming up. If you are fair dinkum why not raise your concerns with aspiring assembly candidates when they set up their card tables at your local shopping centre? By the way, the spirit of the concerns expressed here and elsewhere is entirely valid.

Sounds like from all the comments the Police are a bit short staffed but that isn’t their fault. The ACT government should create some more jobs and hire some more cops no problems.

Don’t blame the current serving members though – they get little thanks and recognition for the frequent good that they do, they should be honored.

The government have promised all citizens protection from criminals, and if they can’t keep their promise because they don’t want to hire more police than they should grant the people more freedoms so that they can defend themselves –

ie

Legalize – all civilian Tazers that are legal in the US, legalize them for citizens here (I believe they are contact only and do not fire the darts).
Legalize – civilian CS spray.
Legalize – extendable batons for civilian use.
Legalize – bullet proof & stab proof vests – which for some godforsaken reason (prob Ned Kelly) they are banned in Australia! Except for the PM she is allowed one because she is better than you.

Worried about criminals buying them – make a system so that you need to give a simple police check to the retailer to buy one, and only people without criminal record can – record the buyers on a gov register. Simple.

More cops or more freedoms. Do others agree?

whitelaughter said :

Because it’s always the victim’s fault, of course: it’s the fault of 6 year olds that they get molested, of teenage girls that they get raped and of ordinary citizens that they get mugged. You useless tool.

Oh, for the semi-literates who seem to be the default posters here: if you ever learn to read you’ll find that I specifically said that *no* I wasn’t going to ring 000 – and *because* the berks on the other end didn’t care about a house with door kicked in: finding out whether I still had thugs inside my own home was my problem, not theirs.
Condolences to the posters with worse stories than mine 🙁
Gerry-built – thanks for the constructive suggestion!

I suggest a user name change to white noise, cause that’s all I’m hearing

Eppo said :

Sounds like you attract your fair share of trouble. Innocent people don’t have these sorts of problems…

Because it’s always the victim’s fault, of course: it’s the fault of 6 year olds that they get molested, of teenage girls that they get raped and of ordinary citizens that they get mugged. You useless tool.

Oh, for the semi-literates who seem to be the default posters here: if you ever learn to read you’ll find that I specifically said that *no* I wasn’t going to ring 000 – and *because* the berks on the other end didn’t care about a house with door kicked in: finding out whether I still had thugs inside my own home was my problem, not theirs.
Condolences to the posters with worse stories than mine 🙁
Gerry-built – thanks for the constructive suggestion!

Violet68 said :

The Dark, I remember one of your other posts where you described the way you look and lifestyle etc. Unfortunately, people do seem to seek out and hurt others they don’t understand or approve of. I hear ya.

Violet, are you referring to people who may have had green fluffy hair (once)? Hahahaha! 😉

The Dark said :

Eppo said :

The Dark said :

Point being, Learn to protect yourself, your family, your possessions, your neighbours (if your that way inclined)… because in reality, who else will? (yes i know that’s what the police are there for, but face it, they can’t be everywhere).

Sounds like you attract your fair share of trouble. Innocent people don’t have these sorts of problems…

Yes they do, especially if they look different, black clothes and piercings and all that tends to attract attention, people don’t like it, plus I’m a sociable young person, so i know ALOT of people, combine these with Canberra being a very small place and your bound to come across people that don’t like you, that unfortunately you will see again, sooner or later, or worse, if they decide to come looking for you, you’re easier to find.

Sad but true.

The Dark, I remember one of your other posts where you described the way you look and lifestyle etc. Unfortunately, people do seem to seek out and hurt others they don’t understand or approve of. I hear ya.

Eppo said :

The Dark said :

Point being, Learn to protect yourself, your family, your possessions, your neighbours (if your that way inclined)… because in reality, who else will? (yes i know that’s what the police are there for, but face it, they can’t be everywhere).

Sounds like you attract your fair share of trouble. Innocent people don’t have these sorts of problems…

Yes they do, especially if they look different, black clothes and piercings and all that tends to attract attention, people don’t like it, plus I’m a sociable young person, so i know ALOT of people, combine these with Canberra being a very small place and your bound to come across people that don’t like you, that unfortunately you will see again, sooner or later, or worse, if they decide to come looking for you, you’re easier to find.

Sad but true.

Eppo said :

The Dark said :

Point being, Learn to protect yourself, your family, your possessions, your neighbours (if your that way inclined)… because in reality, who else will? (yes i know that’s what the police are there for, but face it, they can’t be everywhere).

Sounds like you attract your fair share of trouble. Innocent people don’t have these sorts of problems…

I was gonna say the same thing – it seems odd that random groups of people want to hurt you alot….Just sayin

colourful sydney racing identity said :

Why on earth would you ring 000 over people throwing survey pegs in the lake? Surely you would put up the bat signal in such an emergency…

Exactly. Retards misuse the 000 system all the time. It’s a major problem.

The Dark said :

Point being, Learn to protect yourself, your family, your possessions, your neighbours (if your that way inclined)… because in reality, who else will? (yes i know that’s what the police are there for, but face it, they can’t be everywhere).

Sounds like you attract your fair share of trouble. Innocent people don’t have these sorts of problems…

curlylocks said :

I too have had bad dealings with ringing the police over a matter, was about 10 years ago now, I rang to report suspicious activity in a house across the road from me (flashlight been used in house eldlerly lady lived there alone) I had to children at the time aged 18 months and a newborn, I was advised that there was noone to attend at the moment, can you go across and see if everthing is okay??????

Ummmmmmm NOOOOOOOOO that is why I am ringing you I am not going to go across the road and knock on the neighbours door to be confronted by god knows what.

Have rung Crimestoppers before as well to report the young tennants up the road from us dealing from the house cars going in and out of the driveway all the time (stopping for 5 minutes and then leaving) Nothing has ever been done thankgod they moved out of my street. Numerous other people in the street also reported to the police re the activities going on, we all knew what was going on we are not stupid. They asked one person to keep a diary of the rego numbers of the cars that dropped in!!!! By all means come and pop a camera at my house and get evidence, nope nothing not even a drive around ever!!!!!!!!!!!11

So much for looking after the people that need help.

I think we may live in the same street. Did you enjoy the antics at said house on the nihgt of the 27th?

fabforty said :

The problem is, we just don’t have enough police to go around. The ACT has always been badly understaffed in general duties police. Given those odds, they have to prioritise jobs. If someone’s life is in danger then they will push jobs like “kids turning over wheelie bins” to the end of the queue.

Let the bears pay the bear tax. I pay the homer tax.

The problem is, we just don’t have enough police to go around. The ACT has always been badly understaffed in general duties police. Given those odds, they have to prioritise jobs. If someone’s life is in danger then they will push jobs like “kids turning over wheelie bins” to the end of the queue.

Whatever happened to those Guardian Angels blokes? Isn’t this what they’re all about? Vigilante sack beatings of minor offenders that the police don’t deem worth they’re time?

On a more serious not, have had plenty of incidents where the Police have either not shown up to a reported incident, whether its threats and property damage from neighbours, fights/muggings in broad daylight, B&E in progress, etc…

But a couple of times they have just really shone brightly as a beacon of safety, one being when I was a 15/16 yr old at lyneham high and a group of dickson locals started showing up at the school looking for me with trolley poles, after the 3rd day they found me and as i was leaving with some friends, managed to avoid a fight, but the police were called by the school and 2 of them were arrested when the ran, police didn’t stop to talk to anyone about what happened, just grabbed them, it was fantastic police work, ‘cept when my mother and i went to the police station the next day to ask if they were pursuing anything or needed a statement or whatever… I was promptly told by the first officer that had been on the scene that there was no case as they threw they’re weapons and that it was in fact one of my friends that could be charged with ‘prohibited weapon in public place’ or whatever, because of his crutches (broken ankle), thus i shouldn’t pursue anything and just cop a smashing next time it came up, oh, or get an AVO and call the cops…. haha yeaaaaah.

Within about a year of that incident I had some more less than pleasant dealings with the cops, when at 4:30 in the afternoon out the front of Redpath and the suit shop in the middle of civic a mate of mine lost 2 teeth and needed several grand worth of dental work when him, another mate and myself were surrounded by a group of 30 odd thug ”gangstas” ranging from 14 to mid 20’s. We were surrounded for about 20 minutes in full view of half of civic, shop keepers and passers by called the police numerous times, but they still didn’t show up until about 5 minutes after the lovely Ambo lady told my mate to piss off to the hospital because it wasn’t her job to deal with missing teeth, disregarding the amount of blood pouring onto the pavement from his face or potential concussion, but whatever. When the cops finally showed up, they asked a few onlookers what happened, even got the name of the particular guy that busted the teeth along with a few others. No case was ever pursued.

This later incident arose because the police thought another friend of mine was joking when he called to report that he had just been mugged by 6 out of the group of guys, thus didn’t respond or ask for the offenders names or details.

Point being, Learn to protect yourself, your family, your possessions, your neighbours (if your that way inclined)… because in reality, who else will? (yes i know that’s what the police are there for, but face it, they can’t be everywhere)

Prevention is better than the Cure (Krav Maga is pretty good too)

Thus concluding another late night rant.

SupaSal said :

I have called 131 444 a few times lately with great response!

+1

@ whitelaughter
1. Congrats on learning what constitues a 000 call and what doesn’t, pretty sure those times you called 000 incorrectly, you would have been told the correct number to call is 131444. Your fault for not remembering or recording it.
2. The Belconnen Police Station on the corner of Lathlain and Cohen Streets has been the Belconnen Police Station for the last 30 years. Um, your fault again.
3. Last time I was at The Belconnen Police Station I saw a door bell button on the wall, it was next to a sign that said something like: Please wait at least 5 minutes before pushing the button. How long did you wait (before and or after pushing the button) before you gave up?? Your fault for not being patient.
4. Someone was behind the glass? Most certainly, but who knows what they were doing? You don’t and if they didn’t jump up to talk to you in the first 20 seconds, they were probably doing something important. I’ve always been seen to pretty quickly at that Station.
5. What does it take? You need to report it, you failed, your fault, you’re an idiot!

@Deckhard, no I just want them to act period.

I would love to see that apology for putting myself and my children at risk but the reality is: they dropped the ball, allowing a dangerous person to act out again.

IF the police dealt with that properly (in the Tuggeranong area) then there wouldn’t be as many issues. The numerous times I have personally been there, I have witnessed nonchalant regard for people who have been assaulted, have been threatened with assault told to go home and then assaulted or my favourite – telling the couple to go home and that the man threatening them will just calm down…only for them to return 30 mins later with more threats and the man trespassing to get to them.

How many police do you think there are? Do you think at 11pm there are a pack of them sitting out the back of the police station ready to pounce on every picket knocked over, car window smashed, or house break in? They’re usually busy pulling some kid out of a car crash or stopping some meth head smashing up his family home.

If you want a cop ready to act on every minor crime 24/7 the government is going to have to double our rates.

@whitelaughter, iIf you do not know the difference between 000 and 131444 there won’t be a lot of sympathy coming your way, however, on the other hand it is pleasing that you cared enough to report the matter, many wouldn’t and would still whinge about nothing being done.

there’s no need to be so harsh about a person who’s genuinely concerned with the neighbourhood. I think it’s good that the OP has a watchful eye and we need more of such people. The citizens are doing their jobs – it’s up to the police do theirs.

I have called 131 444 a few times lately with great response – One when my collegues and I were being abused and threatened with assult and the other when bogan kids where kicking down bins – the first the Cops turned up and sorted out the problem quickly, the second as soon as I hung up lights and sirens could be heard – make the liittle bogans pick up the rubbish too! Loved it!

Considering what some people ring 000 for, I think that Whitelaughter’s intentions were at least in the right place. Stop abusing them for wanting to report a crime in progress FFS… Sure, there is a more correct contact number, but the national call centre should be able to forward the call to a more appropriate number or advise to ring crimestoppers… Leave the abuse for the cockheads that vandalised the site…

Whitelaughter: I would be heading down to the worksite and leaving some details and contact info with a foreman… If they pursue it with the Police, they are probably going to want to speak to you…

All that it takes for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing, afterall…

I too have had bad dealings with ringing the police over a matter, was about 10 years ago now, I rang to report suspicious activity in a house across the road from me (flashlight been used in house eldlerly lady lived there alone) I had to children at the time aged 18 months and a newborn, I was advised that there was noone to attend at the moment, can you go across and see if everthing is okay??????

Ummmmmmm NOOOOOOOOO that is why I am ringing you I am not going to go across the road and knock on the neighbours door to be confronted by god knows what.

Have rung Crimestoppers before as well to report the young tennants up the road from us dealing from the house cars going in and out of the driveway all the time (stopping for 5 minutes and then leaving) Nothing has ever been done thankgod they moved out of my street. Numerous other people in the street also reported to the police re the activities going on, we all knew what was going on we are not stupid. They asked one person to keep a diary of the rego numbers of the cars that dropped in!!!! By all means come and pop a camera at my house and get evidence, nope nothing not even a drive around ever!!!!!!!!!!!11

So much for looking after the people that need help.

Nothing gets the Police involved faster and more enthusiastically than the threat of a vigilante undermining their existence.

Nevermind 131 444, just ring crimestoppers from a public phone and report a caped superhero beating the sh!t out of naughty kids.

obediah said :

The manner of police answering 131444 or station numbers at night is really one of “what are you bothering me for?”

You can’t ring stations direct, phone numbers aren’t listed. 131444 is a communications centre (or call 62567777 for the AFP switchboard) where the call taker is a trained civilian who logs the call on the computer system and decides whether it warrants despatching a police patrol to attend or not based on operational priorities etc.

The only time 131444 wouldn’t be answered immediately would be if it was an extremely busy time and all call takers were already fielding calls.

Genie ” I kinda agree with the OP that the ACT police don’t appear the care lately. “

Sure they do. They have got themselves heap of new toys and “legislations” to protect “police officers”, this year. They care a great deal about their own protection and power. It’s what you would expect of gunmen.

Bloke ring the cops, to report 2 guys breaking into the house next door. Person answering the phone says “Sorry we don’t have anyone in the area that the moment”.

The bloke calls back 5 minutes later and says
“I called a minute ago, about 2 guys breaking into the house next door, well don’t worry about it, I have shot and killed them”

Minutes later his house and the house next door are surrounded by police vehicles and police, who catch the 2 crooks red handed.

The lead officer says “I thought you said you killed them”

The bloke replys “I thought you said you had no one in the area”

Last time I rang 000 it was to report a car on fire at the Cnr of Luxton and Lathlain st at Belconnen. Got hung up on twice when they tried to connect me. In the end I drove 200m to the fire station to get their attention.

Last couple times I’ve called 131444 no one has answered.

When I had a car accident several years back I reported to the Belconnen station to file a report. Had to wait for the rather overweight uniformed person to finish her game of solitare before they would give me the paperwork. (I only mention the weight coz I’m curious as to why they weren’t in better shape for a police officer)

I kinda agree with the OP that the ACT police don’t appear the care lately.

It’s not his fault he may of not known the police assistance number, or had a phone with a camera or knew which building in Belconnen is the actual station now.

Vandalism definitely shouldn’t go to 000. However, when I called 131444 for vandalism in progress (kids keying a car in the street) I was told the number was only for emergencies too. Officer gave me another number which kept me hanging on for 5 minutes without answer (at 2 AM you just end up hanging up). Phone book and police website does a REALLY poor job at directing you to appropriate phone numbers for non-emergency calls. After 000 and 131444 its really hard to decide what number to call after that especially if there is a non-emergency but time-critical call to be made.

I regularly see things that seem worth reporting but only if you can/could get the information through very quickly. Examples include, hoons doing doughnuts at the local traffic lights, kids wrecking garbage bins on a summer night, large group of drunks moving through the hood breaking stuff. All these things don’t warrant calling an emergency number but the police don’t care one iota if this kind of information is 10 minutes old (which it will be if you call other numbers). I understand that these sorts of events will not rate a police response on a busy night but on most nights one supposes that there must be police nearby who’d appreciate an exact location and time for some general policing duties. Timely information must be THE MAIN factor in police being able to find and possibly convict perpetrators of minor crimes but there seems to be NO NUMBER to call to get an adequate response.

The manner of police answering 131444 or station numbers at night is really one of “what are you bothering me for?” but one is sure that the police would be around if you said, “There are drunk kids lifting postboxes on my street NOW, I’ll give you 2 minutes to send a car round or I’m heading out with my baseball bat!”

You are incorrect in almost everything you posted. 000 is for life threatening emergencies only.

The new Belconnen police station on Benjamin Way is not yet open, opens at the end of the month or so. I don’t know how you could mistake the Winchester Centre for a police station and the building across the road from it (opposite Shell) which is used by the AFP has no signage to indicate what it is so I’m not sure how you mistake that for a police station either.

If you’d called 131444 at the time you saw this occur then depending on other priorities the police could have caught them in the act or in the area.

You want action from gthe police?
1. Buy some pop gun ammunition from Belco mall.
2. Attempt to buy a donut.
3. After the 6th cop shows up, say “No, really, that’s not necessary, I’ve already got all the help I need.”

http://the-riotact.com/explosion-at-belconnen-mall/62169

Are you taking the piss, or are you just dense?

000 is for life-threatening emergencies. The wifebasher incident may qualify (more information needed) but someone having kicked in your front door and some kids vandalising and damaging property definitely do not.

Like harvyk1 said, if you need police attendance, but no-one is at risk of death, call 131444.

And maybe stop ranting about police incompetence until you learn that.

You rang 000 because your flat was broken into and you think the cops are the twerps??!!

Time to wake up to yourself. No wonder they can’t respond to the important cases when they have people like you wasting their time.

I am too lazy to programme the police number in my phone. I don’t know where the police station is located. Someone elses fault. Derp derp.

Oh I can certainly “top” that…sadly.

Probation violated, by an idiot, on parole (who pled guilty to assault on a minor). Same idiot then tried to run me over with his car. This was less than 6 months after the same situation in Wanniassa where the man was killed. I relayed that to the police when they tried to tell me that I could be charged with damage to private property for hitting the window to distract the driver so I could get free. Nothing happened so I went for a DVO thinking stupidly that police would enforce any breaches.

DVO violated. Cops called immediately (131444). Told “no one is in Tuggeranong to deal with it”. Two hours later called to make a statement by said ‘cop shop’.

The next morning I enquire as to what happened as I was HIGHLY concerned for the wellbeing of myself and my children. The response – NOTHING. This is despite the person confirming to police that he breached it and then told police that he had had a second person stalk us (myself and kids) for several weeks, also in violation of the DVO.

Several weeks and a Commonwealth Ombudsman investigation later, it was proven the cops DIDN’T investigate it properly and yes he should have been arrested and breached for the DVO. Cops were told to apologise, but it will be a cold day in hell before I get that.

Triple Zero is for life-threatening or immediate-danger emergencies only.
(Hence the “Do you require police, fire, or ambulance?” question when you call…)

Call 131 444 for police attendance in all other instances.

The 000 phone lines are reserved for life threatening emergencies. Whilst it is terrible that someone would enter your home you were in no immediate danger. But someone else in the ACT may be while you’re on that line.

In regards to attending the station, how do you know what the officer was doing behind one way glass. I’d guarantee he/she wasn’t sitting there with their feet up.

It isn’t that difficult to remember six numbers (131444). Nor is it too difficult to be patient. The world doesn’t revolve around you.

Well if a blowjob is off the table youve really painted yourself into a corner…

Why on earth would you ring 000 over people throwing survey pegs in the lake? Surely you would put up the bat signal in such an emergency…

I notice your story does not have any pictures. I think you may have been lazy. Does your phone have a camera? If its a minor incident don’t bother seeking help from the gunmen. Take photos and post them with your story. Bearing witness and sharing the information may get better results. Which begs the question …What result did you want?

If I have ever needed to contact Tuggers police I just call 12456 (or is it 12455) or look it up on the internet using my phone – came up straightaway last week and the person who answered was actually able to put me through to canberra Connect as they determined that I needed to speak with Animal Services about a fierce looking stray dog that had just wandered past – in my defence it was a public holiday and didn’t know if Animal Services would be available.

On the actual subject matter – I do agree though that the police seem to come across as a little negative when reporting minor incidents, but suppose that they need to get across that they are not going to prioritise such t hings over something more urgent.

If I was you I would inform Belco police of your experience.

Rather than addressing each point, I’ll just blanket the issue.

You’re an idiot.

Whilst I’ll agree with you about how lazy some coppers are, the 000 number is not the contact number to use. 131444 is the correct number when you need the coppers, but without the flashing lights.