It may have occurred to you that the police force is irrelevant. Why spend billions of dollars or pounds on the police if they achieve nothing? They may be so corrupt that they add to the crime rate. That's certainly true of some countries.
Shoplifting up by Michael Broad
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Put it this way: there is no direct correlation with the presence of police and less crime or the lack of presence of police and more crime. It is a very difficult area of discussion. Below are the thoughts of Google's Gemini there artificial intelligence computer. They make the point that there might not be more crime without police which is a very troubling thought.
However, what got me thinking about this is the news today about shoplifting at a record high in the UK as thieves operate without fear. This has been an ongoing problem in the UK for many years. It's got worse and worse over the years as thieves have come to recognise the fact that the police do not attend shoplifting crimes. They have publicly declared to the world that they will not deal with shoplifting.
And because of that, thieves know that they can commit these crimes with impunity. This, then, confirms that the presence of police deters crime. And it confirms in at least one way that there would be more crime without police. Because in the UK there are no police, in effect, when it comes to shoplifting.
It is rampant. Personally, I see people next to me on self-service machines stealing food in supermarkets. It's quite commonplace. This forces up the prices so people like me have to pay the miscreant behaviour of ordinary citizens.
And the report today is that "Shoplifting has reached its highest level since records began more than 20 years ago as thieves operate without fear."
The number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales is up 30% compared with last year.
Police forces logged 443,995 shoplifting offences in the year to last March. This is the highest since records began in 2003. Overall fraud incidents rose by 8% or 1.2 million offences compared to last year. There's been a surge in offences. The public is concerned. The public is mystified as to why the police have allowed this to happen.
What's worse is that the data probably represents a tiny fraction of what is actually happening. The true levels of theft is much higher. It causes apprehension in citizens.
Burglaries are also hardly ever attended by the police. There are almost no arrests of burglars in the UK. That has been the state of play for a long time. The police have completely abandoned the British public with respect to these offences.
Even when they investigate separate figures show that proportion of crime investigations recorded in the year to March which were closed without a suspect rose to 40.2% from 39.3% in the previous year.
Finally, I can't ignore the theft of companion animals. It's all part and parcel of the same problem. There are more thefts of companion animals nowadays than before. This causes huge distress in caregivers. I don't think the police fully recognise this. They don't recognise the emotional context. The police are asleep basically and have been for years in my view.
Knife crime
The Times also has an article about "Children seriously hurt by knives up 50% in a decade". The report goes on to state that "The number of young people suffering serious injuries from knife crime has risen almost 50% in a decade, with black children six times more likely to be murdered than other children, a landmark report reveals."
This is just another aspect of crime generally in the UK. It's frankly shocking. And it is undermining the well-being of Britain's citizens. It might even be linked to the fact that a far too high a proportion of working people in the UK are not working. Some experts put it down to mental health issues. It might be because they're just lazy but perhaps they simply have given up on integrating with society because what they see in the newspapers is too bad.
Livestock crime
The police are also impotent in stopping livestock crime in the UK. A sheep farmer returned from his father's funeral to discover an organised crime gang had stolen 300 ewes and lambs from his field. The farmer believes that the lambs and mountain ewes were taken away in an unmarked lorry by somebody who knew about the funeral. The cost of livestock theft of farmers has reached a four-year high in 2023 with £2.7 million worth of cattle, sheep and pig stolen often by organised gangs according to a Times report. Another example of how a lack of police presence encourages crime. This supports the view that without police there would be more crime. It depends upon the community of course and whether they are predisposed to committing crime or not!
Gemini's response to the question
Whether or not there would be more crime without police is a complex question with no easy answer. Here's a breakdown of some key points to consider:
Arguments for More Crime:
- Deterrence: Police act as a deterrent, with the threat of arrest and punishment discouraging some potential criminals.
- Investigation and Apprehension: Police investigate crimes and attempt to apprehend offenders, removing them from the streets.
- Maintaining Order: Police presence can help maintain public order and prevent situations from escalating into crime.
Arguments for Less Crime:
- Over-Policing: Excessive policing, particularly in marginalized communities, can lead to overcriminalization and erode trust between communities and law enforcement.
- Ineffective Policing: Not all policing strategies are equally effective in reducing crime. Some approaches may even lead to increased crime.
- Root Causes: Many crimes are driven by underlying social issues like poverty, inequality, and lack of opportunity. Addressing these root causes could have a greater impact on crime rates than simply increasing police presence.
The Bottom Line:
There's no definitive answer to this question. The relationship between police and crime is complex and varies depending on numerous factors. It's important to consider the potential consequences of both maintaining the status quo and reforming or abolishing the police.
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