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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/oct/17/burglaries-linked-to-carelessness-should-not-be-investigated-police-chief-suggests
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| Burglaries where window left open should not be investigated, police chief suggests | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| A senior police officer has been criticised for suggesting some burglaries should not be investigated if doors and windows have been left open. | A senior police officer has been criticised for suggesting some burglaries should not be investigated if doors and windows have been left open. |
| Phil Kay, assistant chief constable of Leicestershire police, said he would “far rather” officers focus on preventing crime and protecting the public than investigate break-ins where carelessness may have played a role. | Phil Kay, assistant chief constable of Leicestershire police, said he would “far rather” officers focus on preventing crime and protecting the public than investigate break-ins where carelessness may have played a role. |
| The senior officer posed the question while discussing a high rate of burglaries at properties occupied by students at Loughborough University. | The senior officer posed the question while discussing a high rate of burglaries at properties occupied by students at Loughborough University. |
| In order to get students to “take notice”, Kay suggested police could employ similar methods to NHS services when providing treatment for the clinically obese. | In order to get students to “take notice”, Kay suggested police could employ similar methods to NHS services when providing treatment for the clinically obese. |
| “What the National Health Service will say is ‘we are not going to operate on you because your body mass is too high’. They have not helped themselves to prevent an illness,” he told the Loughborough Echo. | “What the National Health Service will say is ‘we are not going to operate on you because your body mass is too high’. They have not helped themselves to prevent an illness,” he told the Loughborough Echo. |
| “Yet if people leave doors or windows open there is an expectation the police will investigate. | “Yet if people leave doors or windows open there is an expectation the police will investigate. |
| “I would far rather my officers were spending their time preventing crime, protecting the public and focusing on other stuff than things that are preventable.” | “I would far rather my officers were spending their time preventing crime, protecting the public and focusing on other stuff than things that are preventable.” |
| Under a long-running operation Leicestershire police have attempted to tackle the problem by raising awareness among students. | Under a long-running operation Leicestershire police have attempted to tackle the problem by raising awareness among students. |
| “It is right that we try and stop it but it is right that people take responsibility,” Kay said. | “It is right that we try and stop it but it is right that people take responsibility,” Kay said. |
| Kay said he was not suggesting Leicestershire police had any plans to change their practices, adding: “I pose that as a question.” | Kay said he was not suggesting Leicestershire police had any plans to change their practices, adding: “I pose that as a question.” |
| However the suggestion was met with criticism. | However the suggestion was met with criticism. |
| Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, who represents north-west Leicestershire, said: “I would like to hope that the force are putting this out there as a way of reminding the public of the importance of not leaving doors or windows open. | Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, who represents north-west Leicestershire, said: “I would like to hope that the force are putting this out there as a way of reminding the public of the importance of not leaving doors or windows open. |
| “But it is their job to detect and investigate such crimes, not to penalise law-abiding citizens who may have made a mistake.” | “But it is their job to detect and investigate such crimes, not to penalise law-abiding citizens who may have made a mistake.” |
| Sandie Forrest, a local councillor, said she was “astounded” the question had been posed. “I think the comparison that the police are making with the NHS is a poor one because at the end of the day the NHS will intervene at some stage,” she said. | Sandie Forrest, a local councillor, said she was “astounded” the question had been posed. “I think the comparison that the police are making with the NHS is a poor one because at the end of the day the NHS will intervene at some stage,” she said. |
| “I appreciate that the police have an enormously difficult job to do, but this would be extremely unpopular with the public,” she told the Echo. | “I appreciate that the police have an enormously difficult job to do, but this would be extremely unpopular with the public,” she told the Echo. |