I know I know, it’s taken a couple of days for the penny to drop, but I’m there now.
Here’s a key detail about the case that prompted the previous post:
“Dyfed-Powys Police decided to investigate her for perverting the course of justice.”
And here’s a key detail about the Sasha Jones case I wrote about in the post A Tendency to “over–react” a week or so ago, you know the one, where Sasha Jones’s mum, Jane Jones, contacted the police on 102 separate occasions to raise concerns about her daughter’s safety while in her ex-husband’s care, and the police dismissed her because they decided that her calls were nothing more than an indication of her “tending to over-react.” And then the ex-husband went on to stab his daughter to death in the passenger seat of his car:
“On Monday of this week however, the IPCC reported the results of its investigation into Dyfed-Powys Police’s handling of the case.”
It’s the same bloody police force!
It’s just a suggestion, but I can’t help think it might be time for some serious violence against women training at the Dyfed-Powys police HQ.
Too Much To Say For Myself 
“I would encourage victims of sexual assaults to contact the police and not suffer in silence.” says Detective Inspector Ian Andrews (according to the BBC website)
It seems to me that contacting the police just enhances your suffering, public humiliaton and leaves you liable to prosecution from those that are meant to be helping – so thanks but no thanks.
Politeness stops me from really saying how I feel about this entirely shite system and my heart goes out to those courageous women who do brave it.
Holy shit, the same force (I missed that too).
Doesn’t that make my “call” for all the officers involved in the 102 call-outs seem quite reasonable now?
Completely clueless, really they are.
This is an example of the need for dedicated police force sections with officers trained to the highest levels to deal with Domestic Violence and Adult Protection issues. Over years some forces have fought the cult and system togreatly improve the care of women in these circumstances,some to the highest levels, while some have still not always reached the ideal. The legal system has let down officers and victims in these cases, and it is sad to see further examples. Today things are not getting better but regressing with the cuts. These dedicates departments are being closed and the case work now coming back into the central inveatigation teams, with workloads in all areas. This is not only going to prove investigations and consideration or care of the victims to become limited,while being the most vulerable, and now there will not be the direct contact or knowledge of the excellent outside agencies, who are also fast disappearing in these cuts. These voluntary agencies working with police are also a sad victim of cuts, again women become the victims. The legal system to anyone thats knows it will rarely praise its common sense, but see it as a unjust tool to those who are often already vulerable.
Well why suffer in silence, when you can suffer in prison, courtesy of your local friendly police force?
This is an example of the need for dedicated police force sections with officers trained to the highest levels to deal with Domestic Violence and Adult Protection issues.
Actually, most forces probably do have at least a small numbers in a DV unit (as well as a hate crime unit etc). These officers are trained and know the issues. But that is not where the ‘system’ is breaking down. The system is breaking down because of lack of training of front line officers, the first responders. The police (as of a few years ago, not sure if it has changed) get half a day’s DV training, which is no where near enough. Basically, half a day’s training can be summed up by Mr Mackey of South Park “DV is bad, M’kay?”. This results in some extremely poor decision making at the scene, including arrest of the complainant; “they are both as bad as one another”; “he said, she said, I can’t figure it out” or the classic “tendancy to over react”.
A small percentage of officers seem to know what they are doing, but the majority have only the vaguest idea (“DV is bad, M’kay?”). And a few are such misogynists that will actually sabotage an investigation.
So all officers, at all levels, need dramatically more training. Compartmentalising the training into desk-bound departments is not the solution. After all, DV does make up about 25% of their assault call outs, so it’s not something they only occasionally come across. And they ALL should be aware that witness intimidation in DV and rape cases is extremely likely, probably more likely than not.
102 x “tendency to over react” is inexcusable.
Fortunately the judge has had a good slapping down by the Court of Appeals and common sense prevails.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/nov/23/mother-retracting-rape-allegation-freed
Now can someone please make a formal complaint about the behaviour of the police and the local CPS, who have also been complete ****s about the whole episode.
@ Jamie Riden
Whilst she has been released from prison and the eight month custodial sentence has been over-turned, the poor woman now has a CRIMINAL RECORD and a two year community sentence. On top of that, she now has to get the kids back from the abuser/rapist that is her ex-husband.
THIS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
The woman should have all convictions dropped, no criminal record.
The ex-husband and his sister should be up on charges for witness intimidation.