The Off Topic Topic

[Josquius]

In Switzerland it's pretty regular to see cops on bikes. Can't think of having seen that in the UK. It does seem to be a best of both worlds situation in giving some of the mobility of cars but with the street prescense of foot patrols.

[Syt]

Don't recall seeing bike cops in Vienna, though they apparently exist.
https://bmi.gv.at/magazin/2022_07_08/01_Uniformierter_Fahrraddienst.aspx





The article says there's 164 in Vienna (status summer last year).

[garbon]

In Switzerland it's pretty regular to see cops on bikes. Can't think of having seen that in the UK. It does seem to be a best of both worlds situation in giving some of the mobility of cars but with the street prescense of foot patrols.

But, of course, you would support bike use.

[mongers]

Seems to be becoming a bit of a thing here:

How many times did the coppers borrow one of your bikes? 

In reality they'd have an accident within a kilometre, as someof my bikes are somewhat oddly set up.

[DGuller]

What's really jarring to me is cops bothering to deal with theft, burglary, and shoplifting.

[crazy canuck]

Why is that jarring for you?  Seems a basic function of police.

[HVC]

Why is that jarring for you?  Seems a basic function of police.

That's a very classist view for you to hold.


Pretty sure dguller was being facetious,  as am I

[Jacob]

Anecdotally, the police is too busy and overstretched to deal with "minor crimes" like theft, burglary, and shoplifting. It's something you see complaints about online fairly regularly.

[HVC]

Don't know if it s a thing in Canada yet, but there are a lot of news from the states (perhaps exaggerated) how zero dollar bail releases and ignoring theft under certain dollar amounts. You get those crazy videos of flash mob looting of stores and stores just closing shop due to theft loses.

[crazy canuck]

Another example of anecdotal informal being terribly inaccurate.

There was a report released last week on VPD response times.  The main concern is that response times to burglary and theft calls has increased from 7 to 10 minutes over the last 20 years.

It is inaccurate to claim there is no response at all.

[Josquius]

Another example of anecdotal informal being terribly inaccurate.

There was a report released last week on VPD response times.  The main concern is that response times to burglary and theft calls has increased from 7 to 10 minutes over the last 20 years.

It is inaccurate to claim there is no response at all.

Depends where you're talking about.
In the UK its a pretty well known issue in current politics that the police don't bother with low level crime.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-wasnt-the-police-investigating-every-theft/

[crazy canuck]

Another example of anecdotal informal being terribly inaccurate.

There was a report released last week on VPD response times.  The main concern is that response times to burglary and theft calls has increased from 7 to 10 minutes over the last 20 years.

It is inaccurate to claim there is no response at all.

Depends where you're talking about.
In the UK its a pretty well known issue in current politics that the police don't bother with low level crime.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-wasnt-the-police-investigating-every-theft/

I think I was pretty clear that I was referring to what happens in Vancouver in response to Jacob's anecdotal information.

If things don't work as well in other jurisdictions, then that is a problem.  I am not sure the victims of burglary and theft view it as a low level crime.

[Jacob]

Fair enough for the VPD - my anecdote was about the apparent perception in other jurisdictions.

[Syt]

What's really jarring to me is cops bothering to deal with theft, burglary, and shoplifting.

A few years ago police in Germany randomly uncovered a country wide network of shoplifters. Thieves would lift one or two packs of baby formula from shops here and there, trying not to raise too much alarm, even when caught. Eventually one of them slipped up after being caught multiple times in different parts of the country IIRC, and it led to a Romanian baby formula smuggling ring that was "procuring" the product in Germany and then smuggled it to China, making millions of Euros in profit. Surely an outlier. It's unfortunately true that unless there's a number of related incidents or they catch the perp in the act, police will rarely be able to do anything about petty thefts.

[DGuller]

Whatever the reasons, there is definitely a perception of a gradual breakdown of order where I live.  I feel like it's a slowly brewing situation where law abiding citizens feel increasingly unsafe and powerless.  Scared and powerless people are what right wing voters are made of, and frankly it's hard to blame them when left wing local governments abdicate the very basic responsibility all governments have.