Police forced entry to our flat while we were out

pinkpinkuk · 13 March 2010 at 8:02PM

First of all I'm in a horrible relationship. My partner is aggressive, violent and controlling. I have attempted to leave numerous times and am now in contact with a local outreach service who are helping me plan to leave, practically and emotionally.

On Thursday I came home from work to find the door to our flat has been smashed open and a card left from the police saying they have had to force entry. We have one exterior door, which was undamaged and then an interior door leading to our upstairs flat, which has been forced open with some kind of lever. I can only conclude the downstairs neighbours let them in, although they knew myself and my partner were both at work.

On telephoning the number on the card they left I was told there had been reports of a domestic argument and therefore they forced entry. I stress neither of us were at the flat at the time. They have asked me to go in and pick up a 'compensation form' and that they will investigate why the decision was made to force entry. I was wondering if anyone would be able to tell me the chances of them paying for the damage to the door?

Our flat is not really secure, because you can get access through the inner door and we are certainly not the only ones with keys to the outer door. There is absolutely no way we can meet the cost of a new door at the moment. I should mention the flat is rented, I am not on the lease and the landlord knows nothing of this.

I'm obviously in a rather fragile state of mind at the moment as it is and the stress of this is threatening to put me over the edge =(

pigpen · 13 March 2010 at 8:15PM

How stupid of the police and the neighbours BUT.. think of it another way.. at least you know the neighbours know what is going on and will sen for the police to protect you should you need it in the future.

I am so sad to hear you are havin to live kike this, noone should have to go through this.

Could you possibly speak to your outreach worker ASAP and see if they can offer any support for you right now?

Do you have anywhere safe you can stay while your flat is made secure? With or without your partner?!

You should also speak to the landlord.. you didn't do this damage and if he suddently popped round he would think it as you who had done it.. just say the police broke in while you were out and have damaged the door, you have asked about compensation from the police but in the meantime his building is not secure so could he make it secure and you can liaise with the police to sort it out.

I wish you well in your new life.. and hope you find the happiness you deserve xx

tandraig · 13 March 2010 at 8:16PM

pink - they forced entry believing you to be in danger, but realised no-one was there so they left the card. I am fairly sure that if they break into a property and no crime was in commission they are obliged to pay for the damage. so go see them and fill in the form for compensation. do they have a 'bobby' scheme in your area? ie a policeman who can come and make your premises safe?
I am sorry to hear about your problems - but i would find it reassuring they were prepared to go to such lengths when they believed you were in danger.
I am a bit suspicious why such a call was placed to them though when you were both out. were you together? because i am sure that the next time they get a call to the same address - they arent going to risk being wrong again. I dont want to accuse anyone - but ask yourself who that would benefit?

pinkpinkuk · 13 March 2010 at 8:34PM

Thank you both for your help and support.

I haven't told the landlord yet, not particularly because I'm trying to cover it up but because I simply can't face the embarassment. I'm embarassed to see any of the neighbours because they must hear and they must know what's going on. Am I under any obligation to inform the landlord? I mean, I know I should. I suppose I was hoping we could just get it fixed up and he would never know. I doubt he would just come around. We've been here probably 7 months and I've seen the guy once, when we dropped off some stuff he had left in the flat.

It was just horrifying to come home to =( My cat escaped as well, which sounds ridiculous considering the situation I'm in, but that's probably what shook me up more than anything. She's a house cat (well, kitten just) and has never been outside before so I was obviously terrified she'd been hit by a car or something. Luckily it seems she hid under a bush in next door's garden all day until my partner came home and found her.

I'm wondering who made the call as well to be honest. The police officer I spoke to said "a passerby" but I very much think it was the downstairs neighbours. I don't feel any particular animosity toward them, even if they did know we were out when the police came (we were both at work by the way, seperately). Its horrible for me to put up with, but they didn't ask for his tempers, screaming, breaking things. I'm surprised it hasn't come to a head before now.

pigpen · 13 March 2010 at 8:47PM

Someone who was concerned about you made the call.. look well if it had been the neighbours having a set to..

I don't think you are under any obligation to inform the landlord I just thought he might arrange for your home to be made secure while you can't afford to lay out the cash. So you at least felt less unsafe.

I'm pleased puss was found safe! I'd had been worried about her too!

tandraig · 13 March 2010 at 10:00PM

pink - if it was the neighbours who phoned...why would you both be at work? had you argued within the last hour? it doesnt make sense hun - if the neighbours had phoned reporting a domestic - and the police came rushing round and bashed the door in..........why did it take them so long?
and wouldnt your neighbours have known you had left for work?
I may be wrong - your neighbours may have seen your partner leave and not you and been worried.
I think hun you need to speed up your plans to leave - I get the sense that either your neighbours think he is going to kill you - or the police do. so why are you still there?

pigpen · 13 March 2010 at 10:08PM

tandraig wrote: »

so why are you still there?

That is an unfair question.

I know what you are thinking and why but it takes time and courage to leave and support needs to be in place.. Pink has already said she is sorting this.. which is why I suggested she speaks to her outreach worker i think this is a tough question which Pink is already addressing. It is easy to judge as an outsider.

It isn't as simple sometimes as saying 'that is it I am going' things have to be right in your head. she knows she must get out of there to save herself and she is making steps. you can't force people to do what you think is right they have to make the decision and the moves themselves, all you can do is spport them in their choices.

I had a friend in a similar position and the more people nagged at her the longer she stayed.. I said to her.. 'I cannot tell you what to do, you have to decide tht for yourself but I am here whenever you need me.. no matter what!'

I think that is where Pink is right now.

pinkpinkuk · 13 March 2010 at 10:44PM

You may be right, they may have seen him leave and not me. He usually leaves after me, but on that morning he left before me. I would have thought they would have heard me leaving but I guess you can never know. It might not even have been them that phoned. I assume it was, because they must have opened the door.

I know I need to leave

Its incredibly hard, not only the practical steps to get out, but distancing myself emotionally. You must bear in mind we've been together for 5 years now and we are/were always together. I now realise that is a tactic to make me dependant on him, and I am. I do wish I could pack my bags and walk out but I need to be ready and know that I can actually survive alone after I've taken that step. That's the slow bit.

I will go down the police station on Monday and pick up a compensation form. So long as we ensure the outer door is locked when possible I feel fairly safe staying in the flat. Hopefully we can get this fixed up and the landlord needn't know, but if it can't be done that easily I'll have to bite the bullet and tell him.

babyshoes · 13 March 2010 at 11:03PM

Well, first of all Pink I want to say how brave you are being about all this - it must have taken a lot of courage to admit to yourself that you need to leave! Don't let this stressful time derail that determination!

Secondly, I would definitely suggest going to the police station and speaking to someone in person - they may have some advice about how to secure the flat immediately, and advise you what to do so it is sorted out quickly. If you make it clear you can't afford to pay for it yourself then wait for it to be paid back, I would hope they have a system for paying the contractor directly. Just keep talking to more and more senior people (calmly) until someone gives you a sastisfactory answer. They can't leave you in an unsecured property with no way of making it secure!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted · 13 March 2010 at 11:06PM

Why keep it a secret? It's nothing for you to be ashamed of - and if you need to get some supporting evidence for a housing application, it certainly helps if the council can call your landlord, who can say 'yes, I knew it was a problem, the door was smashed in by the police thinking she was seriously hurt on one occasion'.

Errata · 13 March 2010 at 11:16PM

So sorry to read about your rotten situation. First of all, the police do pay for the damage so don't wopry about that, but do ask the police where the knickers they think you'll find the money from to pay for the repair if they don't cough up some immediate cash when you go to the police station.
The other thing is that you personally don't have to inform the landlord if you jointly rent with your OH - he can do it.
Good luck for the future.

Police forced entry to our flat while we were out

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