'Don't complain at the police - complain at the politicians who cut their budgets!' - Reader reaction to Police no longer dealing with lost property

All 43 forces will now only accept certain items, including mobile phones and tablets which may hold personal data.

Officers receiving phones will try to trace the owners, while any bank cards handed over will be destroyed in order to prevent them being used fraudulently. Missing bank cards should be reported to the appropriate bank and a lost mobile phone should be reported to the service provider. Lost foreign identity documents must still be reported in person at a police enquiry desk, but anyone who has lost a British identity card or British passport must instead report it to the Passport Office.

The DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) must be notified about lost driving licenses. Forces will still accept items that may be linked to a crime, alongside firearms, weapons and ammunition, passports, drugs, pornography and items where the owner is identifiable.

They find it hard to deal with crime - someone reported someone for theft and after six weeks said it was not a crime, they are a jokeDawn Burns

This feels like half a story. What if I find a wallet on the street - who do I take it to? The police station was always the local point that everyone knew as first port of call. Of course the owner should have cancelled cards etc. but how does the owner get the wallet back? Do the police then notify all the ‘Report your loss’ agencies that they have it so the owner can get it back?Andrew Parkinson

The police are far too busy to deal with lost property, think of all those heinous crimes commited by motorists going 35mph in a 30 zone - that’s far more important.Bryn Rees

So what are we supposed to do when we find lost property?Glenys Harley

I’ve lost a valuables and not even thought of going to the police having heard the mantra “nothing we can do” so often.William D Swift

Thats it... start with the privatisation of something trivial, test the waters, get the public gently used to the idea. It’s so transparent its not even funny anymore!!Peter Nicolson

Cuts and more cuts yet people still vote for more of the same. You get what you vote for. Change it at the ballot box.Jim Edgar

Too busy with all his ‘hate crime’.Johannes Christian Von Voges

What do the police actually do nowadays?Chris Jones

Cuts have consequences! Some police forces are so stretched that they’re not even able to deal with all crimes any more. It’s sad but they have to prioritise. All the people moaning on here would be ever more more mad if police didn’t turn up at crime scenesBrenda Docker

Don’t complain at the police - complain at the politicians who cut their budgets!John Niven

It might not be a top priority but dealing with lost property is part of communnity policing. In my day the local bobby was the first port of call for loads of things that weren’t strictly a crime, but it made him an important part of the community.Neil Docking