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- #21
I have recently retired from the police after 25 yrs service. The police hate burglars and I can promise you that officers are just as frustrated when a convicted burglar receives a lenient sentence (especially a known repeat offender). What should be made clear is that the police gather the evidence, the Crown Prosecution Service decide whether to charge based on that evidence and the courts then determine the sentence if a conviction is achieved. The police deal with the victims face to face and so quite understandably are often the brunt of victims frustrations. The impact of a burglary upon a victim is massive and should never be under estimated. I speak as a victim of a domestic burglary myself and I know the impact it had on me and my family and that was whilst as a serving officer. The police could and should do more to communicate clearly with victims on a personal level - there is always room for improvement in this area, however, on the whole the police do a good job under very difficult circumstances. I always tried my best and put the victims first as did the vast majority of my colleagues.
What I will say is that I found the evidence that achieved a conviction after the forensics had left.....also I had the impression they were going through the motions. ..