I've lost my faith in our pen-pushing police force

Progress is being made on the big crimes such as murder and corporate fraud. What I'm talking about are the little thefts and break-ins, the kind of things that eat away at our quality of life.

Last spring, I witnessed the failings in our crime detection system at first hand when a light-fingered Telewest courier swiped a computer from our house in Angel.

I'd left the room to get a piece of equipment he'd come to collect, and when I returned he was stuffing something in his bag. It struck me as odd, particularly when he left without taking a remote control he'd insisted I find.

A few hours later, my partner went to turn on his laptop and realised it had gone. All the pieces fell into place and I knew, with crystal clarity, that our courier had robbed us.

He'd left his signature on a form. And Telewest knew who he was. So I phoned them immediately. The person I spoke to had been trained in obstruction. She wouldn't give me his name or take any action unless I made an official complaint. She advised me not to call the police.

My next call was to the police. "Don't make an official complaint," I was told. "They'll tip him off and we'll never catch him."

Initially I was impressed. Two officers turned up and took statements. A few days later, two more arrived and took fingerprints. A week passed. A policeman phoned. He'd called Telewest and they wouldn't play ball.

Despite the fact Telewest knew precisely who they'd sent to our home, the police were powerless to discover that information. Especially since they hadn't found fingerprint evidence.

This sort of thing happens all the time, we were told. Of course, they would have pressed on had they deemed the crime more serious. But as far as the police were concerned , the problem could be solved with an insurance claim.

So they dragged their feet for a few more weeks, before calling to ask us if we really wanted them to take it further. They implied it wasn't worth it.

By that time, the computer was long gone so we gave in. The insurance company coughed up and now we have another laptop.

But what we've lost is of far greater value. There were hundreds of photos, a novel my partner was writing, personal emails and bank account numbers. All gone, along with my assumption that the presence of strangers in my house is benign. No one was harmed, but Telewest might still be sending that courier into hundreds of other Londoners' homes. And the police aren't prepared to act on this.

The incident is minor, but it changed my views. Now I think the police are more interested in a quiet life than making sure the public feel well served. Which could explain the Met's pathetically low clear-up rate of petty offences such as burglary and car crimes.

In terms of dealing with the type of crime that makes a daily difference to our sense of what London is like as a place to live, the police are failing us. And that's the real crime.