http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/8595004.stm


Dare I suggest that it is to train for alternative employment if they find they need more money?

I heard this on the radio earlier today, I think the idea behind it is sound but implementation was stupid. Its not the physical things being stolen that people are upset about (it's obviously not good) but it's the invasion of your home that is the killer. The police of all people should know this.

So not only did the Police commit trespass, but they put everything valuable into bags labelled "swag" to make it even easier for real burglars to steal it.

Perhaps a knock at the door and a quick comment about the importance of locking doors would have been wiser.

Agree on both points. Badly handled by the police.

'badly handled'? They broke the law! It was trespass at best, breaking & entering at worst. The person who thought this idiotic scheme deserves to be publicly named, then sacked.

And whoever sanctioned going ahead with the notion

Technically trespass isn't a crime.

Lucky nobody caught them while they were at it, a lot of people would have given them a kicking first and asked questions later.

Am I the only one who feels unease at the casualness with which the police entered a private property without a warrant?

It's not as if they even used the old "Can you smell gas?" trick either.

This is an unforgivable human rights infringement IMO

Quite right. It is however, a tort, and one that every "victim" would be perfectly entitled to sue the officer(s) involved for.

No but breaking and entry is a criminal act.

In this instance, they were quite clearly in the wrong.

However, I do think it would be a good idea if the police were able to, once in a fair while, obtain a court order as they would for a genuine warrant, to run such exercises. The point they make is a very valid one, and for a lot of people it simply will not hit home until something like this happens, whether for real or staged.

What the justice system should be doing is catching, punishing and deterring criminals so we can leave doors and windows open.

You want the Police to have the ability to obtain warrants to break into people's houses for no good reason? Remind me to never vote for you.

I wonder...
They appear to have targeted student flats.
The students aren't really in a position to upgrade the security of the flat - that's the responsibility of the landlord.
So all that's happened is that some students have had a bad experience from the cops, and the landlords (in my experience) will shrug their shoulders and say something like 'Improve security? That'll be £50 more a month. Fire alarms too? You're having a laugh.'

Perhaps I'm the only one, but I don't mind the original premise. I'd much rather learn that my home security isn't up to scratch by having the Police stage a mock-break in, rather than going through the devasation I've seen in people who have been properly burgled. Crime prevention is far better than cure IMO, but I would like to see them be able to get warrants for it though and have camera police in attendance.