Monday 14 March 2011

Make Up Your Minds!

A lot of fathers would prefer to be anywhere rather than accompanying a son to the police station so he could be quizzed for burglary. The shame, the inconvenience, the risk of arrest yourself…

Wait. What?
The unnamed 46-year-old had accompanied his son to Bromley police station, South London, after the boy was arrested for a break-in.

But when officers started to detail what the boy is said to have done - the man lost his temper and cuffed his son's face.

Officers then stopped the interview and arrested the father for assault.
Great! A two’fer! That’ll boost the figures, won’t it?
The Metropolitan police today confirmed that the father had been given a caution, a condition of which is that the offender admits the crime.
More fool him for accepting one….
'It was not a vicious blow but it did amount to assault,' a source told the Sun.

'The dad was dumbfounded when the police nicked him'
Sad to say, I’m not.
Critics have accused the police of taking a heavy-handed approach - but said it was right to arrest him and make sure there were no domestic violence problems at home.
Talk about having your cake and eating it!

6 comments:

Ranter said...

More fool him indeed.

So many people have accepted cautions not realizing that if they said 'no' the great majority would never go near a mags court - the CPS would not recommend prosecution.

Remember the police and CPS have 'to prove' a person's guilt - people don't have to prove their innocence.

Another sad and silly story underpinning the loss of individual officer's discretion and the growth of paranoia and mistrust among colleagues.

James Higham said...

Just why the police cannot seem to get a sense of proportion is a key point in knowing who's to blame for our mess.

Anonymouslemming said...

And the police wonder why they are losing the trust of the public.

Or do they, really?

dr cromarty said...

I was cautioned for shoplifting aged 12. I got the hiding of my life from my old Mum. Repeated blows for what seemed like a lifetime.

I did not offend again, kept away from wrong 'uns and applied myself to my books having learned the lesson.

My accomplice's ex-Grenadier Guardsman father gave him a similar pounding. My fellow wrongdoer is now a police inspector with a reputation for hard pursuit of villains.

Good on the father. Shame on the cops.

Ms Chips said...

Spare a thought for the teachers who face this child in the classroom, now that he knows anyone who attempts to discipline him (I doubt he is discerning enough at 13 to discriminate between levels of punishment) will be vulnerable to prosecution.

JuliaM said...

"So many people have accepted cautions not realizing that if they said 'no' the great majority would never go near a mags court - the CPS would not recommend prosecution. "

There's no way I'd ever accept one. Make them work for it every step of the way, that's my motto!

"Just why the police cannot seem to get a sense of proportion is a key point in knowing who's to blame for our mess."

Cannot, or deliberately WILL not?

"Good on the father. Shame on the cops."

My thoughts exactly.

"Spare a thought for the teachers who face this child in the classroom..."

Indeed!