For Once, I Doubt It's The Police Letting Women Down...

Women who report men filming up their skirts are having their ordeals ‘minimised’ by police as figures reveal less than one in six cases result in a criminal charge.

The police don't charge, they just arrest and gather evidence - that's the purview of the CPS.  

Analysis of so-called ‘upskirting’ in the past two years shows police logged almost 800 allegations, yet just 118 ended up in court. Despite new laws being introduced in 2019 to better protect women, critics fear many victims are still failing to secure justice.

Then point the finger at the right culprits.  

Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said police were still failing to take women seriously over the issue, adding: ‘Upskirting is a traumatic violation in its own right, and can form part of a wider pattern of offending that includes rape and other forms of sexual violence. 

‘We’ve long called for non-contact sexual offences to be taken more seriously. However, the reality is that they are often minimised when reported, with police frequently failing to investigate them properly or recognise patterns of offending. 

‘This leads to missed opportunities to prevent further abuse. Upskirting has been a specific criminal offence since 2019, but the low number of prosecutions shows that criminalisation alone is not the solution.’

Oh good grief. Way to paint women as unserious hysterical exaggerators, Andrea! Thanks for that... 🙄

Home Office figures show that in the past two years police logged 772 upskirting offences, of which 118 saw somebody charged and taken to court, while 11 accepted a caution. In 265 cases a prime suspect was identified, but problems gaining evidence meant they were not charged. Another 201 cases were shelved as officers could not track down a suspect, with 17 cases closed after a community resolution was reached, often an apology from the offender.

The police's hands are tied by the need to gather enough evidence to suit the CPS who will only prosecute if it's a slam dunk (or is it's something Starmer is politically interested in). 

Sounds Like You Skipped A Vital Part Of Lessons To Me

Kelly Ghaisar never thought to teach her son, Bijan, to fear the police. She didn’t see the need.

I never thought that Bijan, a young man of colour, would need to know what to do if he encountered the police. We taught him they were there to protect him, not that he would ever have to protect himself from them.”

Pity you didn't teeach him that when the police pull you over, you stop. I mean, there are even instructional videos on this stuff.

After the accident, Bijan didn’t stop – Kelly doesn’t know why – and the passenger inside the Uber called 911 to report the incident and said that Bijan had fled the scene. The 911 dispatcher put out a call identifying his vehicle and he was spotted by Lucas Vinyard and Alejandro Amaya, two DC park police (a federal law enforcement agency) officers, who started a pursuit. They were joined by a police car from Fairfax county, Virginia, which recorded what followed. The park police officers pulled Bijan’s car over, got out of their vehicle and approached him, their guns raised and pointing into his car.

I guess Bijan didn't watch much Chris Rock, because he immediatel floored it! 

In the video footage of the encounter, which Fairfax county police released a few months after Bijan’s death, you can see Bijan’s Jeep driving away and then stopping a second time and Amaya running to the vehicle with his gun drawn, banging it against the window. Bijan drives off again and there is a short chase before he pulls over again and the park police stop in front of his Jeep.

And this being the US, the police promptly fired into the car. I'm sure they wouldn't have done that sort of thing in your ancestral homeland of Iran, eh?

In the seven and a half years since Bijan’s death, Kelly and her family have relentlessly fought the US government for accountability. She says that at every turn it has been denied. “When you are fighting the federal government and they close ranks, there is nowhere to go,” she says. “The park police are federal police. The FBI is a federal department. The courts are there to protect the federal government. There is no way to get justice if the justice department is against you.”

I really doubt Iran's justice system is much better.  I note she's not so disappointed in America that she's chosen to return.

They Aren't Superhuman....

A mother has vowed to fight for justice for her 15-year-old daughter who was electrocuted on railway tracks, as the coroner says police failings may be to blame. A jury will decide whether the actions of police officers led to the death of Roxy Phillips, who died on the railway tracks in Weymouth, Dorset.

So, how did this happen? Did they stand by and do nothing? No, Reader, they did what they could: 

Senior Coroner Rachel Griffin said there was reason to suspect the actions of police officers could have caused Roxy's death, which requires a jury inquest to be held. Mrs Griffin said:

'CCTV captured Roxy at Weymouth train station at around 12.57am and showed her walking onto the tracks.

'A minute later a member of the public called Dorset Police to report a person on the railway line.

'Dorset Police notified Network Rail of a member of the public on the line and requested the electricity to be switched off. 'Officers from Dorset Police were called to investigate the report of trespassers and arrived at the scene at 1.15am.

'At 1.17am officers reported that they could not see anyone on the tracks. They thought there was no point going onto the tracks as there is multiple places that people can leave the tracks.

'Dorset Police stood down and handed the incident over to British Transport Police (BTP). 'In line with Network Rail procedures, the emergency switch off was lifted after no trespassers were found.

'At 2.06am paramedics were called to Roxy's aid, but she died at the scene.

They turned up. looked for her, couldn't find her and stood down. What else were they supposed to do, lock out an entire train line until she was located? 

"'...you would think with all those people they would be able to manage it without tying her down.'"

Spoken like someone who has absolutely no experience of dealing with someone in the throes of dementia. Lucky person...

The Met police had been called to the block of flats on May 9 following disruption between the woman and her carer.

Presumably she got aggressive or violent and the carer either wasn't trained to cope, or it was so bad she had no other choice but to call police.  

The elderly woman, described as thin and small, is said to have panicked and began ranting at police. She also threw cups of coffee at officers, the paper reported. She was later handcuffed with a hood chucked over her head...

Being spat on is utterly disgusting, whether it's an urban yoof resisting arrest, or a demented woman. Should the police have just put up with it? 

Former Met commander John O'Connor said that the treatment of the old woman by the officers was 'beyond comprehension' and said it should have been dealt with my (sic) medical professionals 'who knew what they were doing'.

Excellent answer, John! Now, do tell me the number police should call to get these 'medical professionals' to come out and deal with it instead?

John...?

You've gone a bit quiet, John. Is it because you know that no such team or service currently exists? 

I wonder if you were paid for your time shitting on your former colleagues, Maybe instead of answering the questions, you should have asked a few, instead? 

Like who else, other than police, existed to take this role on when the carer called for help? 

Or why a 91 year old with florid dementia wasn't in a care home (I can guess - they are expensive, and councils would rather not spend the money if they can get away with not spending it)?

Another 'Just A Regular Family Man'...

Asked if she thinks it would have been different if Mr Hall had been white, Ms Dyer said: 'Yes. I believed it. I believe he was judged on that. I really do.'

She added: 'All they see is a black man, as they've done in court, they've mentioned his size.

'They tried to make him out to be a big black man, that they're all scared of. He was just a regular guy, he was a family man.'

..finds himself unaccountably in a struggle with police. What could possibly have lead to this? 

Mr Hall, from Dalton, was originally taken to the hospital in September 2016 after consuming a large amount of alcohol and prescribed drugs, the inquest heard.

But he was arrested and taken to the police station after slapping a nurse during a medical examination.

Assistant coroner Oliver Longstaff told the jury at the opening of the inquest that Mr Hall was initially co-operative in the cells but, after a nurse began assessing his condition, a 'violent struggle' ensued, with a number of officers attempting to restrain him.

Ah.  

Mr Hall was eventually double-handcuffed and put in leg restraints before being taken back to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, where he was examined lying face down on a trolley, restrained by several police.

The coroner told the jury: 'Andrew was still struggling. At this point Andrew was seen to be sweating profusely, spitting and screaming for help, shouting 'They're killing me'.

'Mr Hall went into cardiac arrest after he was sedated, and could not be resuscitated.

Well, there you go, folks! Don't take drugs and alcohol. The jury clearly made the right choice. 

The force said: 'The independent IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct) investigation found no basis to suggest misconduct by any officer or staff member.

'West Yorkshire Police supports the actions of each officer and staff member throughout Mr Hall's detention, which was a particularly challenging and demanding situation for everyone involved.

'The jury found the actions of each to be appropriate and justified at the conclusion of some eight weeks of evidence.'

So that's your answer, Ms Dyer. Maybe tell your next squeeze not to mix drugs and alcohol, eh? No matter what race he might be... 

You're Being Set Up To Take The Fall...

Police intercepted the Reading terror suspect on the street just hours before he allegedly went on the rampage, the Daily Mail can reveal.

A specialist mental health team was asked to search for Khairi Saadallah after officials failed to find him during a routine check at his home last Friday.

Later that evening, just before midnight, he was found on a street in Reading, sources disclosed.

Saadallah is believed to have then been taken home to his council flat in the south of the town – and just hours later is alleged to have stabbed three men to death as they sat in a local park, Forbury Gardens.

One of no doubt hundreds of such interactions every week since the police now have to expend resourcing on the mentally ill that our 'wonderful' NHS and justice system leaves free to roam at will.

But an establishment desperate to avoid questions like 'why was he given refugee status?' and 'why wasn't he deported when he broke the law?' and 'how did he get given a council flat?' will throw them to the wolves...