Sister's ex stole furniture and assaulted her, police refuse to act

angeljs

My sister and her previous live-in partner broke up months ago, she's now with someone else. Today, her ex came back and started removing stuff from a lock up at the bottom of the garden, which he'd broken into previously, so the lock was broken. He took a load of stuff that belonged to my sister, repeatedly pushing her over as she tried to prevent him.

The police were called but they said there's nothing they can do as the theft was a civil matter, and the assault was her word against his. How long after a break up would this actually be considered criminal?

Momanns

Theft is a criminal matter. It could be that who owns the items is a matter of debate with the ex claiming the items are his which would potentially fall into a civil matter.

Assault and theft are both criminal, I would recommend your sister attending their local Police station outlining the circumstances and providing the evidence. She needs to register what has happened and ensure it is recorded against the address in case it happens again. 

tacpot12

Is the 'load of stuff' that he took actually worth anything? Can she prove that she owns what he has taken?

elsien

Were any of the items by any chance joint ones that they had when they were together that each are now claiming?

Scorpio33

If the lock was broken and its a place that used to be his, not sure how it can be theft, as he hasn't broken into anywhere? He also could argue that it is his property he was getting back from somewhere he had access to. There would be no way to prove he broke the lock previously. 

The assult as the police have said is her word against his. With no evidence, nothing can be done.

DullGreyGuy

Theft is always criminal but I would imagine your saying the stuff is yours, he's saying the stuff is his and so potentially its a dispute on how to divide up the assets post a breakup rather than clear cut theft. 

What is the stuff? When did she buy it relative to her prior relationship? 

TBagpuss

The assault is criminals and it may be worth her contacting the police gain and asking to speak to a more senior officer. Of course, if it is her word against his then there may be insufficient evidence for them to arrest or charge him, but if that's the case they should have explained things more clearly.

The items are more difficult as as if they are both claiming they belong to them, the police don't have any way to know what is correct and as they used to be togther, even if should produce receipts he might argue they had been gifted to him.

She might do better looking into getting n injunction to keep him away from her home 

Malthusian

Scorpio33 said:

If the lock was broken and its a place that used to be his, not sure how it can be theft, as he hasn't broken into anywhere? 

Theft has no requirement to "break in". If someone leaves a bike in their front garden and I take it, it's still theft. If I slept with the owner once, it's still theft. But...

He also could argue that it is his property he was getting back from somewhere he had access to. 

...The bit in bold is the crucial element that allows the police to deploy the "civil matter madam, move along" anti-work shield.
Leaving stuff in an unlocked shed isn't a great idea because it probably kiboshes any chance of claiming it on insurance and increases the chance of it being nicked in the first place, but it doesn't matter from a criminal law perspective.
Taking items of disputed ownership can be a civil matter, assault never is. She can report the theft and assault to the police and make a complaint if it isn't taken seriously. The priority should be protecting herself and stopping him from coming back; the furniture is almost certainly gone and any compensation is unlikely. Who owned the furniture and whether she can prove it is almost certainly a red herring. Even if the ex did get a slap on the wrist from a judge for theft (extremely unlikely) it's not going to make a difference to her life; an injunction keeping him away from her would.
There is an argument that if the ex has got "his stuff" (in his eyes) and bugged off having got what he wanted, there would be no point in the sister escalating the conflict. Impossible to say from the security of an Internet forum. However, the fact that they broke up months ago and he still feels entitled to enter her property and assault her goes against that interpretation. This isn't a case of an ex vindictively taking away what he can grab in the heat of the breakup.

pickledonionspaceraider

The police are disgusting, sorry but they are.
My small nephew had an attempted abduction five days ago, and the police haven't even been to take a statement

powerful_Rogue

pickledonionspaceraider said:

The police are disgusting, sorry but they are.
My small nephew had an attempted abduction five days ago, and the police haven't even been to take a statement

All 150,000 of them?

Malthusian

powerful_Rogue said:

pickledonionspaceraider said:

The police are disgusting, sorry but they are.
My small nephew had an attempted abduction five days ago, and the police haven't even been to take a statement

All 150,000 of them?

I don't think Pickled is expecting all 150,000 of them to turn up, their beef is that not even one of those 150,000 can be bothered to take a statement about the serious crime that was committed.