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Devon police stage mock burglaries to show lax security
http://www.x404.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=7424		 Page 1 of 3
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Tue Mar 30, 2010 8:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Devon police stage mock burglaries to show lax security
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/8595004.stm

Quote:
Police officers in Devon have staged mock burglaries by sneaking into homes to flag up lax security.
After entering homes in student areas of Exeter, officers gathered items of value and left them in bags there.

Dare I suggest that it is to train for alternative employment if they find they need more money? ;)
Author:  DaftFunk [ Tue Mar 30, 2010 8:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Devon police stage mock burglaries to show lax security
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.
Author:  Linux_User [ Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Devon police stage mock burglaries to show lax security
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. :?
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Devon police stage mock burglaries to show lax security
Linux_User wrote:
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.
Author:  jonbwfc [ Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Devon police stage mock burglaries to show lax security
'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.
Author:  pcernie [ Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Devon police stage mock burglaries to show lax security
jonbwfc wrote:
'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 :oops:
Author:  l3v1ck [ Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Devon police stage mock burglaries to show lax security
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.
Author:  rustybucket [ Tue Mar 30, 2010 11:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Devon police stage mock burglaries to show lax security
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
Author:  Linux_User [ Tue Mar 30, 2010 11:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Devon police stage mock burglaries to show lax security
l3v1ck wrote:
Technically trespass isn't a crime.


Quite right. It is however, a tort, and one that every "victim" would be perfectly entitled to sue the officer(s) involved for.
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Tue Mar 30, 2010 11:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Devon police stage mock burglaries to show lax security
l3v1ck wrote:
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.

No but breaking and entry is a criminal act.
Author:  jonlumb [ Wed Mar 31, 2010 6:33 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Devon police stage mock burglaries to show lax security
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.
Author:  belchingmatt [ Wed Mar 31, 2010 7:22 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Devon police stage mock burglaries to show lax security
What the justice system should be doing is catching, punishing and deterring criminals so we can leave doors and windows open.
Author:  Linux_User [ Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:53 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Devon police stage mock burglaries to show lax security
jonlumb wrote:
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.


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. :shock:
Author:  ProfessorF [ Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:57 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Devon police stage mock burglaries to show lax security
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.'
Author:  Zippy [ Wed Mar 31, 2010 11:00 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Devon police stage mock burglaries to show lax security
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.
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