Why are the police so bad at stopping crime?

Question

There are some police who are great at catching terrorists and drug dealers, but then there are the small time cops who are c**p. They take details and dont catch the criminals. People get away with stuff. And it takes the police soo long. Why are they soo slow. They also think they are great for catching somebody doing 2 mph over the limit and they cant even catch and stop vandals. Have they got their prioroties wrong. What do you think?

Answer 1

I think sometimes cops are just burned out, not from doing what they want to do, but from sitting around when they could be doing real work while filling 'quotas', attending meetings, and just being directed to do whatever while in the back of their mind they just want to do their job.  People always say "why are you giving me a ticket while there is real crime going on".  It's because he doesn't have that option, trust me, he'd rather.  The other side to your question is that most cops pull people over not so much for the speeding ticket, but out of curiosity that they might find something else going one (drunk driving, drugs, outstanding warrant).  So in a way, even when cops are forced to do something like traffic, they are really still trying to fix serious crime.  And traffic stops have solved some pretty big crimes!

Answer 2

Police can't do anything without solid, reliable information from the more comprehensive federal agencies.  Despite the efforts to promote intelligence gathering and sharing after 9/11, there is still little fluidity in the way info is shared between agencies like the FBI, CIA, DEA, NSA, etc.  

Also, it's harder than you might think... Think about it.  It's likely that most terrorists have no criminal history.  The police are forced to practically wait until something bad happens.

Answer 3

I think your assuming the ratio of police out there is 1 for every citizen.

You might want to recalculate.

Answer 4

Its a lot harder then you think. I take it your uneducated that why you posted such a stupid question!

Police arnt the ones who catch terroirists most of the time....!

Answer 5

I THINK YOUR AN IDIOT.

Answer 6

I don't think you should be criticizing people's spelling and grammar when you have several mistakes of your own in your question.

As for "small time cops". I'm not sure what you mean by that. If you are talking about small town officers...Usually they are at a disadvantage as far as a support system, training, equipment and experience. And sometimes, officers in a small town are not the best and the brightest. Small towns can not afford to pay what bigger cities/suburbs can, so they do not attract the best officers.

Also, unless they catch a vandal in the act, have several eyewitnesses/video or fingerprint evidence...It may be a while before they are caught.

Answer 7

I think that is because police are not allowed to make an arrest without having evidence that a person is going to commit a crime or have probable cause. Police aren't allowed to make an arrest because they think maybe a person might commit a crime. That would be unconstitutional. They don't necessarily think that they are "great" for catching someone speeding 2 mph over, it's just that is one of the easiest crimes to show proof of.

Answer 8

and how might you do it better?

Answer 9

I think the police in my area are doing a fine job.  You may quote me on this.

Answer 10

The problem as I see it is that people who are not and never will be police officers watch to much TV. They think because they watch NYPD Blue or some other form of entertainment that purports to show real police work, that they then know how to solve a crime. On TV cases are resolved in no more than one hour, often with a quick trip to the "crime lab" that of course is in the basement of the Police Department. CSI has people out doing things that a "Crime Scene Investigator" would never do in real life.

You don't see the endless calls for service regardless of how many cases you are working. As for the small town cops you mention. In small towns officers actually have to do more than counterparts in a larger city. Your "small town" Officer will often do the "CSI" work, write and serve search warrants, answer calls for service, investigate major crimes, take a stolen bicycle report all while trying to investigate offenses that occurred weeks and months ago. It is not uncommon for civilians to leave property in their unlocked car, have it stolen and then blame the local Law Enforcement for not catching the person that did it. Of course through the use of some sophisticated crime scene finger print system. It is very easy to sit back and compare police work to your TV experience, it's not however real.

Answer 11

Because you need to catch people in the act of committing the crime, or have someone identify the criminal, or some other evidence.

I'm just glad that most criminals are stupid enough to get caught eventually.

Answer 12

Criminals do not wait outside their door for the police to show up an arrest them.

You must build a case, and that case must have enough evidence to convict the person. Most victims, especially in property crimes, do not have a suspect.

The agencies arresting terrorists have a large amount of resources, and there may be 100s of investigators assigned to the case. Smaller towns do not have those resources.