One of our Facebook Likers has respectfully request they’re allowed to share their experience… Do you have an experience you’d like us to share? Feel free to get in touch…
You police never do anything!
I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve heard this in 12 years. Sometimes, they’re right. Sometimes, most of the time they have no idea what actually has been done.
I’ve been at court today. By ‘being at court’ I obviously mean sat in a waiting room as lively as a funeral parlour, usually full of the great wannabes of Gangstadom. Today was ‘Youth Court’ where the next generation of ne’er do wells congregate in their finest sportswear with their ‘appropriate’ adults, boasting to their ‘blud’ about their latest offending.
I mean, come on, is it really too much to ask their parents to invest in a pair of shoes, a pair of nice-ish trousers and a shirt?? Tesco DO sell them you know. Every now and then they moved downstairs where they had a smoke, hopefully just tobacco, provided by the aforementioned ‘appropriate adult’.
So, I digress. Why was I at court? I’ll avoid the obvious and numerous “who knows??” jokes. I was there for the case of two of Sandford’s finest ‘yoofs’ plus one (ahem) adult who had allegedly threatened someone with a knife before assaulting him and his friends and racially abusing him.
Or at least I thought I was.
On arrival, I was informed by the prosecutor that the cases against all three for the assaults, racially aggravated public order had been dealt with the previous week. “Yay!” I thought, “Chalk one up for the Criminal Justice System!”
Unfortunately not.
None of the victims or any of the witnesses had turned up. They had also said that they would not turn up today. Now I know they have their reasons. I don’t know what these reasons are and will not criticise. Just for them, for those that say that the police do nothing, this is a brief summary of what we did do. 3 individuals arrested within minutes of the call to police. One of these was chased and detained by a single crewed officer, despite being allegedly armed with a knife. Each individual took 2 officers to transport them to custody. Each individual had their clothing seized, bagged and sealed and booked into property and recorded in the register. Each individual also had swabs taken of their hands to see if the victims DNA was present, tease were bagged up and booked into the property store. 3 further officers searching for weapons for 45 minutes (found ’em!)
The main victim and three further witness statements were taken on the night. The victims also had swabs taken. These were also bagged up etc etc. Two officers completed a detailed handover for the shift coming on the next morning. Then… Various items submitted for forensic examination. Multiple bail returns for all 3, several further interviews. Several hours spent ‘consulting’ with CPS. All 3 eventually charged! Yay! One very large file completed by the OIC – kudos to you sir I wouldn’t have wanted that one!
And then attendance at court.
To find that the very people who needed us on that night hadn’t seen it through. Take a wild guess how much time, money and resources THAT all took.
Yeah, the police never do anything.
Oh, and was I called to give evidence?
What do YOU think…?!