Why are the police obsessed.....

[R1Geezer]

with collecting data from innocents?
http://news.sky.com/s...Details%2C_It_Emerges
and why are people stupid enough to leave their personal details?

[Andyvon]

I was amazed last year. One night I discovered that I'd had the wheel trims stolen from my car. I wasn't going to bother reporting it but I eventually rang the police at 3am.

The only words I said to the policeman who answered were "Good morning. I would like to report the theft of the wheel trims from my car". The policeman then said "Is that Mr. A of my address?" - Yes it was. Then he told me my phone number then asked if the trims had been stolen from my car and gave me all my car's details!

I was amazed how he could record the theft and knew all the relevant details of me and my car from just my phone call and my one sentence!

[Gromit]

Andyvon

He would have been my No.1 suspect.

[The-HouseHusband]

Andyvon, if you phoned from either your home phone or a contract mobile phone the number will display on the computer screen of the operator taking the call, while you are talking the computers are set to bring up your address and details if available making it easier for the emergency services to get help to you if you require it. Some people are in such a panic they cant give their name let alone address, so the system is a great help. Likewise the police have access to the vehicle data base so any vehicle registered to you can be seen quite easily, they use this to keep an eye out for drivers who are uninsured, have no tax or MOT, or are disqualified from driving. People who worry about the police having access to so much info had better stop using computers, credit/debit cards, store loyalty cards or even owning a house and paying utility bills. All of these leave traces of your identity with a multitude of organisations who are a lot less trustworthy than the emergency service response centres.
The innocent having nothing to hide, the guilty want everyone to believe they have nothing to hide!!

[Oneeyedvic]

R1 - refering to your early post about the reporting of anti social behaviour.

Do you think it is a good idea if police know the difference between one person reporting antisocial behaviour three times a day over the space of a month, or 60 different people reporting anti social behaviour over the same period.

[R1Geezer]

no doubt that information is useful vic.