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Police 'Steal' From Unlocked Cars

Robadob writes "Police in south-west London have started to remove items from unlocked cars to protect motorists from thieves. From the article, 'Supt Jim Davis said no law was being breached but admitted: "Technically we are entering the vehicle." But a leading lawyer said police could face civil proceedings for trespass if any items taken by them were damaged.'"

4 of 38 comments (clear)

  1. I'm seeing a trend... by SOdhner · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So, first we have a story about reverse-pickpockets, and now reverse-policing.

    Oh no... watch out for the fire department!

  2. Why not lock the car? by mrdogi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Subject really says it all.

    A minor addition would be 'hide the valuable item under the seat' or some such.

  3. Re:No freedom anymore... by PrimaryConsult · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The problem with the freedom to be stupid is that it usually leads to someone else having to clean up after your mistake. The police have to work a lot harder to track down someone who actually stole your laptop than to just hand it back to you. Not to say that they're right in this regard, but at the very least they're saving taxpayer money by reducing the amount of work they have to do.

  4. Re:No freedom anymore... by RobVB · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The police have to work a lot harder to track down someone who actually stole your laptop

    ... but they usually don't.

    --
    I'd rather you rationally disagree than irrationally agree.