Greg. I think it is you who is being a little naive. the police should be patrolling, they are not apparently because they are too ■■■■■■■ with paperwork. 
What paperwork? they are not catching criminals, or attending crimes. Everyone is the same and realise that calling them is a wasted phone call.
The police force are being replaced by powerless civilians and managers.
Im not that old that I cannot remember a copper following a car or van because it “didnt look right,” or being stopped, “just routine sir,” as they checked my van or searched my boot looking for a Trout, brace of Pheasant or a Hare.
These vans touring round haulage yards, lay-bys and industrial estates are the same poachers. It is the police force who have changed & made it easy.
Please explain how i’m being naive, you say they are not patrolling because they have too much paperwork and then say what paperwork? How can you comment or pass judgement when you clearly have no idea what your talking about , by your own admission are unaware of what the police do.
Sorry. I should have explained that the recent news stories on radio and television have been about yet more proposals from this lame government to improve the police service. It has promised yet again to cut paperwork and issue officers with hand held terminals, just like it did 7 years ago if you believe all you read.
To say that they are not catching criminals or attending crimes is quite a sweeping statement that you cannot back up. If people have given up calling the police then don’t moan. I have seen previous posts on here whereby there are several moans about the lack of police officers now.
Just by carrying out an unscientific poll on here shows that the police are not on the roads or streets with many drivers saying they have not been stopped for over 5 years. You know as well as anybody that the police are reluctant to do a “stop and account” as it causes them to record every detail, even about ethnicity, what has that got to do with a routine stop?
There is going to be is’nt there, how do you think that the government can come out and say crime has reduced when we all know it hasn’t. Because people like you don’t bother calling and what do the governmet work off? calls and crimes reported to the police. So the up shot is no one reports anything to the police, crime in reallity increases. However crime through the governments eyes reduces (due to less reports) therefore the government give less money to the police and the police is then reduced.
There is not a reduction in police, there is a reduction of good police officers on the streets, The good police officers with the coppers nose and the local knowledge. The community policemen & the others are all setting new targets in the police station.
Perhaps if you and others like you reported things instead of moaning, then something might actually get done,
In my village which is a small community with leafy lanes and a local bobby who patrols on a motorcycle, we keep him informed, he knows who is who and who is missing from the pub. We have had a spate of motorcycle thefts, he does his best but cannot be everywhere. A few more routine patrols and random checks could discover these thefts before they are listed on Ebay
If you honestly think that it is just the travellers in transits that nick diesel then you are sadly mistaken, Granted they do, but it is not just them, take alook around you local estates?? 
Even truck drivers have been done for theft of diesel you know
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We know some truck drivers will take 25 or 30 litres of fuel for the cars, the boss needs to be on top of his game when checking fuel consumption. Why does Jeffs wagon do less mpg than Toms, maybe it is that new Merc Diesel Geoff bought his wife!
This is organised crime with 1000’s of litres going missing, stop trying to tell me it was nicked by some chav in a Ford Fiesta
