An internal police investigation is under way after officers "abandoned" two young children with a stranger following the arrest of their mum.
Liza Butler, of Old Lodge Lane, Purley, was left to care for the toddlers, aged just one and three, despite repeatedly stressing she did not know them or their mother, who is her neighbour.She is, as neighbours often are these days, a stranger. That didn't seem to matter much to the police:
Miss Butler said: "They asked me to watch the babies while they spoke to the mum and then asked me if I could carry on looking after them when they took her away.
"I kept saying to them I cannot keep these children, I don't know them and I don't know this woman.
"I think I've said good morning to her once. I don't know how long she's lived there, I don't know her name, she doesn't know mine. I don't know her.
"No one was taking a blind bit of notice to me. They did not take my name. No social services came. The children were just abandoned in my care. "And so Miss Butler decided that what's sauce for the goose...
Miss Butler left the toddlers with another neighbour, Natasha Brown, while she went to pick her own children up from school. The arrested woman's 18-year-old son collected them two hours later.*speechless*
Miss Brown, 27, said: "We were asking what we should do with the kids because they didn't know us and the policeman just said that wasn't their problem.
"I don't really know them so I thought it was wrong, but I felt obligated to watch them.
"It seemed like the police didn't really care about the kids, only about getting the people they wanted in the van."I guess there's no tickbox for 'ensuring the kids are safe'. Or, if there is, just about any stranger will fit the criteria to allow them to tick it!
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "We can confirm we have received a complaint in respect of a warrant executed in Old Lodge Lane, Purley on September 30.
"This is now subject to a local complaint investigation and as such it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage."The usual refrain. We'll see.
And yet, doesn't it also illustrate how fragmented we've become as a society? Once, this police action would have been as normal as can be, because the woman's neighbours would have known her, would have had a common bond, a shared identity in 'their community', and there would have been no issues with this practice. But then came the permissive society, and multiculturalism, and transitory culture, and a whole host of things designed to improve our lot.
Progress. They really should find another word for it.
6 comments:
Taking this at face value it also illustrates the sad state of front line policing. Thanks to equality/diversity driven recruitment and training policies police officers no longer receive a traditional, proper residential based initial training - police academy if you like. Here basic police law, procedure, practical testing, preparation for giving evidence, being able to SWIM (important as we've seen so many times), competent first aiders, instilling teamwork, loyalty (the good sort) and the ability to present themselves as proper police officers would be provided. Further 'on the job' training and testing was provided during a two year probationary period. All gone, no more, replaced by ludicrous family (minority) friendly, college/university based theory courses after an initial self funded access correspondence course. Then we have the spectre of 3 year inspectors and direct entry superintendents - which will be abused in the name of diversity I am sure. At least old graduate entry supervisors had the help of an enormous pool of knowledgable, experienced and capable PCs, Sgts and Insps - again, this NCO class is alos diminishing - the blind leading the blind. The British Police Service - a once great institution in terminal decline
Very true post from Anon 1140.He/she must be a police officer to have such an insight.
Jaded
There is also the loss of the common sense gained whilst being in the forces. The number of ex forces recruits rapidly diminishing.
I would guess, that the good coppers out there are ALL ex forces.
The idiots, by now most of them, by the looks of it, are straight from school, never having worked a day in their lives.
I do agree to some extent FT except for the fact that I am not ex-forces.....!!
They are very well disciplined and follow orders,keep their kit clean etc but some lack imagination as they are not used to working alone and using their initiative.Generally we work alone or in pairs and are unsupervised for large parts of the shift and have to decide for ourselves what to do.
Jaded.
Aye Jaded. I have done both.
Strangely, I went to the police first, and THEN to the military (Police) And
A MAJOR part of the modern forces IS "Own initiative."
This "rule" goes back as far as the Preußen arms reforms of Scharnhorst/Gneissenau/Blücher/etc (After 1807). And was taken up by the U.S army around 1812 under Von Steuben, who was, along with von Clausewitz, a great proponent of the army reforms.
The British army were late.... possibly in the 50s, but THEY are the generation I was trained by at Bruche. (No1 PTC, WHEN they still had such.)
Afterwards, as the "conscription generation" came to retirement, the whole thing has gone pear shaped.
"All gone, no more, replaced by ludicrous family (minority) friendly, college/university based theory courses after an initial self funded access correspondence course."
And we're so much better for it... /sarc
As FT points out, the 'old' method of recruiting heavily from the forces has gone by the wayside.
We now have the police force the progressives wanted.
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