What would you do? Really worried

BugglyB

Personally I wouldn't report it. If they can find him they will just go and question him and probably release him with lack of evidence. It could just make things worse - as your husband says, can of worms. This is just from personal experience!

go_cat

I think the fact this chap appears to have remembered you means it is a little more than one drunken encounter, unless he is a little unhinged and this is the kind of gesture he makes to anyone he encounters.

Definitely report it against the incident number you were given originally.

aileth

Surely a slitting throat gesture could be seen as a threat to kill? Report ASAP!!

hazyjo

Did he definitely recognise you though? Maybe cos you were looking at him, he made the gesture. He could well just be some nut who gets off on threatening behaviour.

Definitely report it. As above, the police will need a log of incidents in case something does happen. You don't want to be having to start any investigation from scratch following something more serious or significant.

Jx

ankspon

aileth wrote: »

Surely a slitting throat gesture could be seen as a threat to kill? Report ASAP!!

When you report someone for threats to kill as i did when i was told someone was coming to kill me it took the police 6 weeks to arrest them and all they did was caution them

nickbrat

moreofthegoodstuff wrote: »

My husband and I were walking home one night when a car nearly ran us over, we decided to ignore the people because we didn't want to get into an argument, however the clearly drunk/drugged up man chased us down the street trying to fight but as we are not like that we ran off! We phoned the police and by the time they got there he had gone and the police were not interested in following it up or viewing CCTV. The man said he would kill us if he ever saw us again and at the time we were told by the police he is probably just a random drunk who we will never see again and not to worry.

Today, two weeks later he has walked passed my hubbys work (this is where it happened first) and pretended to slit his throat as he walked passed the window. My husband just ignored him and did not phone the police- however I am really concerned. He thinks we should just ignore him but I'm concerned he is actually going to do something! My husband said if we call the police and they find out who he is we might open a can of worms....What do you think we should do? I am very worried We have absolutely no idea who he is!

Hello. I'm reading your post with intrest. I can sort of understand thei nitial police reaction. Sadly there was probably a less than 90% chance of obtaining any sort of conviction in relation to the original incident.

The police know this and tend to focus their efforts on things that they can obtain a positive result from.

However, once the 2nd incident occured then there is something that can be done. If the male can be identified then he can be dealt with under the harassment act. This is a criminal offence and would be easier to prove than the threats to kill.

Get in touch with your local neighbourhood officer and discuss the issue with him.

I can understand your concern regarding repercussions however if you want the male dealing with then you dont have any choice but to act.

jetplane

Do you think the first incident was an accident or does this make you feel targeted?

You said you have your victim support letter so you really should contact them. I would be wanting this incident on file, incase of further incident, but no action in the hope that this was a chance encounter. It is really unnerving when you feel threatened like this.

It reminds me of an incident some years ago when my husband was driving home and a bloke jumped on his car when he was stopped at lights and tried to climb in the open window. My husband struggled to push him out and flung the door open to shake him off, which slammed into the bloke, my husband then punched him, knocking him to the ground and drove off. He said it was fight or flight that took over.

He then rang the police to tell them he had assaulted someone :eek: as he was concerned incase he was badly injured. The police came, interviewed my husband and told him not to worry as they knew the bloke and he was a known nutter who wouldn't remember a thing. Not very reassuring (but at least they didn't arrest and charge my husband with assault). My husband did see him again but there were no repercussions, but it was an awful feeling of dread in the interim.

moreofthegoodstuff

He definitely recognised him... We hoped he would be too off his head to remember it the next day but coming back to make that gesture shows he definitely remembers and he knows who my husband is. I guess we do feel targeted and I couldn't stop worrying all day that something was going to happen or that something IS going to happen. I am more concerned that like someone mentioned before, even if the police do find out who this person is, they have no real evidence of the threats to kill so all he will probably get is a warning (if that) and we are going to make it worse for ourselves....or he could turn up one day and do something and I will have wished we went to the police. I just wish the police had actually helped us in the first place because it makes me feel very unsure about going to them again.

It is such a shame that people that go about not causing trouble and always doing the right thing can have this happen to them and not feel like there is any where to turn.

Yorkie1

You can't second guess what the police will do, or what evidence they may find.

If you don't report it, there is no evidence available. If you do report it, at least it gives the police a chance to identify the person and decide how to proceed.

Yes, it's possible that they may not prosecute this time round - but they can, for example, give a harassment act warning if they identify the person now. If there are future incidents then the person is looking at a) harassment act offences, and/or b) intimidating a witness. Both of these are serious offences.

So it's about taking the right precautions now, which may nip everything in the bud, or lay the foundations for proper action if it unfortuntately becomes necessary later on.

It's gone from being a random incident 2 weeks ago, to one where it appears that your OH and his workplace have been identified. I'd be safe rather than sorry.

sharnad

You should report it be might do this kind of thing all the time.