STrange - I'm not having a go at the police 'on the ground', I'm blaming the system, which insists on meeting targets. Everything is geared towards gaining 'quick clear-ups' to meet the government imposed targets, so easy stuff like pulling a motorist or doing a kid for 'racial harrassment' (in reality a playground fight) is top of the list, but actually getting out and looking for a criminal comes last.
This little scrote could have been caught in posession of tools etc if the police had turned out and had a good look around, but it would have been a 'hard work' job and probably not worth the points.