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    The families paying £1,500 for 'private bobbies' to police their homes
    United Kingdom

    The families paying £1,500 for ‘private bobbies’ to police their homes

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    1. AintMilkBrilliant on

      Sensational headline is sensational.

      People with money hire private security. /end

    2. homeruleforneasden on

      And yet if you suggested that they increase taxes by £1500 so we could all have an effective police force they would throw a tantrum.

    3. WiseBelt8935 on

      >Her neighbours held a meeting; about 40 households decided to subscribe to a private firm. Each pays £1,500 per year

      hmm doesn’t sound like a bad deal

    4. deprevino on

      >According to some customers who spoke to the BBC, this fills a gap left by the real police, who they claim they no longer trust to turn up promptly to a 999 call in their villages.

      I can trust the police to turn up during a 999 or even 101 call eventually. My distrust comes from the lack of effective follow-up – I’ve been a victim of crimes that had eyewitnesses, video evidence, and physical evidence, but the known perpetrators were never charged or as far as I know even talked to.

      One time I gave the police an address and they said the person wasn’t there when they visited so the case was closed. That’s the current level things are operating at.

      I guess these guys create a more visible ‘police’ presence and that’s something but I’m not sure it’s worth a grand and a half. They’re not going to be able to push through the lack of resources or political will or whatever else that’s stopping crimes from being processed and resulting in real action being taken.

    5. shoogliestpeg on

      UK becomes even more exactly like the US with the surge in mercenary adoption to protect the assets of the super rich as the world order collapses into crisis after crisis.

      E: For anyone objecting to my use of “Mercenaries”, Blueline advertise they have ex forces and SAS troopers on staff.

    6. Lower_Performer_3365 on

      I imagine we’ll see more of this moving forward, especially as ethnic-centred riots pick up

    7. insomnimax_99 on

      Why do the media keep referring to them as “private police” and “private bobbies”?

      They’re not private police, they’re private security.

    8. Possible_Pace_9448 on

      I’ve never understood why a different police force hasn’t already been formed.

    9. abracadabrabeef on

      When these “police” encounter a crime in progress, what do they do? Phone the police?

    11. philipwhiuk on

      For other Battenberg impersonators see also Canary Wharf private security and Shomrim.

    12. SmartPriceCola on

      I remember telling people a few years ago that this sort of thing would arrive in Britain eventually.

      I didn’t think it would be so soon, I was thinking like year 2040 or something.

    13. Objective_Frosting58 on

      As inequality continues to grow there’s going to be more and more of this. But its the people that are currently subscribed to the right wing ideology that’s causing these problems that should be most concenred, because these will be the middle class folks that can’t quite afford to keep the have nots on the otherside of the razor wire

    14. Celestial__Peach on

      “But Robert – who wears a bullet-proof vest and carries a pair of handcuffs – is careful to point out that he is not a real policeman.

      “The more keen eye will realise that this isn’t a police car,” he says as he flicks his indicator. He points out that they follow the regulations on vehicle markings designed to distinguish police cars from other cars.

      “But it looks similar enough where criminality will see it at a distance and think, ‘Let’s maybe not go there’.””

      Sounds like …being a copper..

      Followed by ..However, private guards have no more power than a member of the public. The aim for many is not to catch or restrain criminals but to act as a deterrent.

      What a waste of money

    15. i-am-a-passenger on

      I’ve often wondered this myself. If everyone in my village paid around £15 a month, we could cover the cost of 24 hour police presence that could respond to all crimes within 5 mins.

      But then again, we already pay far more than this in council tax, and apparently we can’t even afford a police station in the nearest town of 150,000+ people.

    16. Darkgreenbirdofprey on

      If people want to fork out £1500 for peace of mind in a wealthy area, theyre too paranoid.

    17. CSM110 on

      All the people who say that mimicking the police is illegal, etc.:

      Who’s going to enforce the law, the police? The absent police that people are paying for a replacement (on top of taxes) for? Those police?

    19. Glittering_Copy8907 on

      My only real sticking point with this lot, behind the somewhat “pushing it” style they’ve adopted, is the carrying of handcuffs.

      Tbh, I don’t think they should be legal to be carried in public. Police spend days learning how to use them properly and appropriately, and generally do so on the basis of their statutory powers.

      Yes, they have citizens arrest, yes they can detain in principle but cuffs are a use of force, risk injury, positional asphyxia and need training to be used safely. I frankly, don’t think a security guard should be entrusted with them

      Beyond that, if somebody wants to pay a Tesco security guard to gander about, well, that’s up to them.

    20. wrchj on

      And yet people cheer on the austerity cuts to policing that, since 2010, save a whopping £30 per taxpayer per year.