To all the string 'em up by their goolies and the police are crap etc
The idea of a police force is that a relatively small number of enforcement officers are able to control the behaviour of tens of their number of joe public.
The "police" idea can only work whilst joe public is willing to help and unfortunately after 4 decades of promoted greed, corruption and apathy at all levels of society, the result is the UK you see around you, don't pass the book because we all stood by and allowed it to happen.
If you want the police idea to work then you have to report every offender and make certain that the crime is punished rather than just saying "it isnt my job" then bitching about police effectiveness.
The police can only be a deterent whilst criminals feel there is a good chance that they will get caught and the resulting penalty is both obvious and frightening enough. So with the uniformed police numbers decreasing and you unwilling to do your part there is no deterent,.
Yes we can make the punishments more severe but that is only a small part of the criminal risk equation, the largest part is joe public not being disenfrancied and apathetic.
In summary, if you dont like what you see around you then fix it because only you can. You dont have to be a vigilante you just have to make your coppers work for you before some criminals steal them.