What's going on with Staffordshire Police?

Dancing Queen

Active Member
I was interested to read that Staffordshire Police was opening the doors of it headquarters on 8 September for an 'Open Day'. What a shame that they aren't keeping more of their local stations open.

We found a stolen handbag the other day. Tried to phone the non-emergency line - was on hold for 20 minutes and gave up! My hubby ended up grabbing a PCSO in Stafford town centre only to be told that she didn't normally deal with "that sort of thing".

What are your recent experiences?
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
I am not in Brexitland at the moment and I became aware of an incident in @ATJ's hometown the other night. The guards found someone walking home after a night of excessive entertainment, up the main road out of town, and using a lawnmower that he had found in a front garden as a walking aid. So, they took him home, to avoid him getting run over and all the paperwork that would cause, with the unidentified mower on the back of the car , put the mower in his shed for the night and came back for it the next day, when the owner had noticed it gone and asked them if they might know where it was...

This was this morning's nationwide alert from the same force in the capital - https://twitter.com/gardainfo/status/1140537940667510784

A lot of the difference is a cultural issue.


I have had quite a few interactions with Stafford's coppers and found them to be generally OK about the more serious matters.
 

Dancing Queen

Active Member
I think the issue is access to the service at the moment. Like every other public service they are trying to do more (or as much) with less. However, they are in the main a reactive service and if you can't walk into a police station (because they close the front desks) and you can't call them where is the accessibility?
 
I have a lot of praise for our police service. When my car was stolen from a public car park in January, within 20 minutes of being alerted they had located car and thieves. Sadly the thieves wrote the car off but police caught them and they are now both serving 18 months for it. Budget restrictions and the application of the law itself is the biggest barrier but my experience is that there are some very dedicated and hard working officers out there who put their lives at risk to keep others safe.
 

Dancing Queen

Active Member
I have a lot of praise for our police service. When my car was stolen from a public car park in January, within 20 minutes of being alerted they had located car and thieves. Sadly the thieves wrote the car off but police caught them and they are now both serving 18 months for it. Budget restrictions and the application of the law itself is the biggest barrier but my experience is that there are some very dedicated and hard working officers out there who put their lives at risk to keep others safe.
I would agree - there are lots of great bobbies and police staff trying to do their best under difficult circumstances. But as a member of the public, how do you access the service if you can't get them on the phone?
 

Lucy

Well-Known Forumite
I think the issue is access to the service at the moment. Like every other public service they are trying to do more (or as much) with less. However, they are in the main a reactive service and if you can't walk into a police station (because they close the front desks) and you can't call them where is the accessibility?
I refer to my earlier post. It's not going to get any better.
 

Studio Tan

Well-Known Forumite
I would agree - there are lots of great bobbies and police staff trying to do their best under difficult circumstances. But as a member of the public, how do you access the service if you can't get them on the phone?

Police Commissioner Gordon - sorry, Ellis - suggests this method:

Batsignal.jpg
 

ATJ

Well-Known Forumite
I am not in Brexitland at the moment and I became aware of an incident in @ATJ's hometown the other night. The guards found someone walking home after a night of excessive entertainment, up the main road out of town, and using a lawnmower that he had found in a front garden as a walking aid. So, they took him home, to avoid him getting run over and all the paperwork that would cause, with the unidentified mower on the back of the car , put the mower in his shed for the night and came back for it the next day, when the owner had noticed it gone and asked them if they might know where it was...

This was this morning's nationwide alert from the same force in the capital - https://twitter.com/gardainfo/status/1140537940667510784

A lot of the difference is a cultural issue.


I have had quite a few interactions with Stafford's coppers and found them to be generally OK about the more serious matters.

You have no idea how relieved I am to be able to say that definitely wasn't an immediate relative of mine, as they happen to be visiting me here at the moment!
 

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
Probably not a budget rising in line with the demands placed upon it.

Luckily some of that budget is now focused on a PCC and his office, that can now waste a lot of that money in doing nothing of any use to anyone whatsoever.

Which is pretty f**ked up.

But we all enjoy voting for a Crime Commissioner every four years, so we've got that going for us.

Which is nice.
 

DoggedWalker

Well-Known Forumite
Officially crap.


Yeh, a pretty damming report really! Although they have a new Chief Constable now who has already made changes to the structure, with more local response bases etc, presumably that is a plan to make things a (little?) better.

There’s a National issue with this kind of stuff though. Almost as if cutting tens of thousands of police officer and staff roles, closing police stations and taking away support in other sectors didn’t really work!
 
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