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Wasting Police Time: The Crazy World of the War on Crime

Author: David Copperfield
Publisher: Monday Books
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

99 reviews
Sales Rank: 1125

Media: Paperback
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.9

ISBN: 0955285410
EAN: 9780955285417
ASIN: 0955285410

Publication Date: October 9, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new books, maps and cd's available immediately from a reputable and well rated UK bookseller - not sent from the USA; despatched promptly and reliably worldwide by Royal Mail; some very heavy items may go surface but we email first

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Customer Reviews: Read 94 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

Wasting the worlds paper June 16, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful

Although this is an interesting book, with very salient points and views contained within, and it does provide an insight people need to know about, it is essentially the "best of" collection of an online blog by the same author. Therefore there is nothing new to read.

2 out of 5 stars

More a set of blogs than a book February 20, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful

I hadn't seen the blogs when I bought this, and if I had then maybe I would have simply read them instead. It's revealing and disturbing about the state of Britain today, of course, but that doesn't make it a particularly interesting read. It could be half the length; there's not much in the second half of the book you haven't already read in the first. You soon get the message: the police have too much paperwork to do to have time to catch criminals and the courts are soft on those they do catch. As for being funny, it's a bit like listening to someone tell you the same joke ad nauseum when it was only mildly amusing the first time. The fact that The Daily Mail finds it hilarious speaks volumes. I have a suspicion Mr Copperfield would have us live in the Wild West, each with his gun and the fastest prevail. His fondness for US style policing (no crime there, is there?) is almost as disturbing as the state of our own nation. In all, a bit of a depressing read.

5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant read - and one thing that all the negative reviewers missed out on... February 13, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Firstly, what a great book! It delivers everything it promises. It is Humorous, witty, sarcastic, shocking, depressing, scary, and above all, very humane. It does shed light on what does go on in the life of an ordinary bobby, and I've no reason to doubt that the vast majority of it is as honest and truthful as the author intended.

Now, I noticed that a lot of the negative reviews have focussed on PC Copperfield's political leanings (Right Wing, middle class, lock-away-the-key mentality), and to be honest, I don't ascribe to this mentality at all...but then again, I do not have the privilege of sharing PC Copperfield's experiences in his job.

Besides, the personal opinions of PC Copperfield are not, and should not be the focus of the true intention of the book. The purpose of the book is to show that the state of the Police Force in the UK is rapidly becoming a minefield of beauracracy, where forms need to be filled in & filed, where conducting 'risk assessements' become more important than saving lives, and where the statistics on "Crime" are adjusted and massaged to show a more beneficial result. - Whether PC Copperfield is conservative or liberal in his outlook is a moot point. The issues he raises are still the same, even if readers don't always see eye to eye on his policitcal opinions.

In actual fact, the book benefits from his refreshing 'Speak my mind, and to hell with the usual Political Correctness brigade'. PC Copperfield isn't racist, homophobic or prejudiced in any way, but he's not someone who seems to be too worried about watching how he phrases things to appease the out-of-touch powers that implement this tripe.

Finally, it does give a brutally honest view of Britain's underclass, and the state that it's in. I may not be a police officer, but I've seen, experienced, lived amongst and even came from a part of it, and it's getting worse. It's one thing to be working class, but this new 'Chav culture' seems to be predominantly a non-working class, and worse still they seem to be happy with their lot, of claiming dole and benefits, then leaving their kids with babysitters while they go out partying. - Again, in this book, PC Copperfield does not vent out against them, but he does tell some truly horrific stories, and reflects how depressed and how disappointed he is with these people. And frankly, whether you're a staunch Daily Mail reading Tory, or a Liberal, your reactions if you were placed in PC Copperfield's situation would probably match his.

5 out of 5 stars

Inner London coppers view February 9, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I've been working in central London for a few years having moved from an outer force, I've read 'wasting police time' a couple of times now, each time making me laugh like an idiot and sink into my chair feeling nearly as depressed of many people I deal with. Despite what that cretin Tony McNulty said - this book, and the blog for that matter, are as far from fiction as one could hope.

Or dread, depending on your point of view.

As response officers, the guys and girls on my team have to deal with anything and everything that comes over the radio or what happens in front of us, we have no remit and the results are exactly as DC has written. Domestics, drunks, suicides, cries for help, petty shoplifting and minor drug dealing are the bread and butter of what we deal with, no matter where in the country you work. And as for the issue of racism in the force... I personally have never seen it in any of my colleagues and yet we see it every day directly from members of the public - black, white, Chinese, Asian, Arab, eastern European. Everyone.

This book is about as close to the despair that every one of us feel every time we go to work and I urge you to read it, along with 'Diaries of an On-Call girl' which is also excellent.

5 out of 5 stars

Excellent book February 1, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

Very realistic and a worthwhile read for any potential recruit! Also written in an amusing style.