Just need a little support and advice,Police matter.

dibdabable

My daughter has very bravely gone to the Police about a matter to delicate to outline here. The person who she's accusing was taken into custody last week and bail 4 weeks applied.
Our initial dealings with the Police have been really excellent and we've been really encouraged however the case has now been passed onto to a new detective and I have to say he's exactly the sort of Officer that most women would fear having if they had a case as sensitive as this. Given that so much more has been done to improve things, we're very disappointed.
Within about 5 hrs of the person being taken into cutody the officer told my daughter there wasn't enough evidence and even cast doubt on her story.
My daughter underwent a gruelling 4 and half hr video statement which he ahsn't even bothered looking at simply read the transcript which given the questions he asked didn't sound as though he'd read it too well. He has no intention of getting certain items looked at more thoroughly because he doesn't believe there's any point even though these items hold most of the evidence. There are worst things than this but I can't say as it will make it too obvious.
Being an ex Policemans daughter I was pretty positive, but I'm really worried. He suggested to my daughter that he wouldn't have bothered to do the video statement. It took such guts for her to sit there and be questioned for that length of time and he says he wouldn't have bothered!! Given that she has exposed herself to possible danger and further problems by coming forward, surely they should do all they can to uncover the truth which I don't believe they can do in less than 24hrs. It's amazing that the suspect gets a solicitor, all our daughter has is us.He even told us,"he didn't have to take the case!! How much more stupid and humiliated does he want my daughter to feel. I don't think he's unkind but seemed very desensitized, like he'd heard it all before. Well this is new and scary for my daughter.
I have written a really long email to him today detailing all our concerns, I have asked that certain things be done including, the fact that although he said he wouldn't have bothered with a video statement, I reminded him that my daughter did bother and we'd appreciate him doing her the courtesy of watching the original video statement. I've also asked quite a few other things too.

My question is really if we're still not happy after he responds, can we ask for someone else to oversee the case, I know that will obviously depend on manpower, but in principle can we?

Also he was shall I say mistaken, when I asked him a question about deleted files and he said 24hrs after the suspect had been taken into custody, that there were no deleted files and the computer had been forensically checked. I since found out that that would not have been enough time and that would have had to have been done by a High Tech Crime Unit. Anyway all advise very welcome and would my daughter be able to access any assistance or legal advice, before the person gets charged or not? Many thanks.

whitewing

How old is your daughter?

sophieschoice

Not possible for the computer to have been forensically searched within a 24 hour period. Probably 4-6 weeks and more if that force has a backlog. I'd demand to speak to one of his superiors and request a change of officer. Tail wagging the dog here.

whitewing

Also, will Victim Support be able to offer advice?

Gemguin

Complaints can be raised through the inspector, area commander, or if you wish the IPCC. I would suggest you raise your concerns within the force first. Don't delay raising your thoughts thorough the ranks. The police do really care for the concerns of your daughter and deserves the same from the investigating officers. As the daughter of a police officer though you will be aware that police have to be impartial and gather evidence from both sides to present to the CPS which I am assuming based on your post is who will have to make any final charging decision in anything other than basic lower level offences.

The force can easily reallocate this case to another officer - don't let them fob you off with man power. Are you aware if this officer works in a 'specialist department' for the offence your daughter has been a victim of? Usually there are specialist trained officer in certain areas.

There are victim support services your daughter can be referred to that are independent from the police. They can be very helpful and informative.
Hope this help

dibdabable

Thank you everyone. To answer the questions collectively, my daughter was 18 when this happened. Yes the Police Officer is part of the Specialist Unit which deals with this, which is why it has surprised me how he's been with her.
We absolutely know that as a victim, her story must be analysed too and my daughter is perfectly ok with that, she has nothing to hide, we just didn't expect the lack of impartiality towards her which we've experienced, I can see he'd try and get her to recant her story or suggest that perhaps it's not as she says and that can be a shock when you know you are telling the truth, but quite a few of his comments have actually been just plain offensive. The Officer has told us on several ocassions how shocked and scared the suspect was on being arrested, as if that somehow means he's innocent. Of course he's shocked, one he's been arrested and two his facade is exposed.
The Officer told my daughter some of the responses from the suspect to her accusations which if this wasn't all so awful, would be laughable, but it's as though he's saying, so that's it, there's nothing more to be done.
Fortunately we have evidence to prove he's lied at least twice to the Police in his initial interview and hopefully now they have that, he'll be questioned again.
I'll help my daughter with the Victim Support idea. I think at present, we all eat, drink and sleep this awful ordeal and she feels as though she only wants to talk about it when she absolutely has to.

I think we'll wait for the Officer's response first. I have a complaint letter drafted with everything we're unhappy with, in case things remain the same. One question I have is, can the bail be extended if they do go ahead and search further for additional items?

Thanks again and I'll keep you posted.

lika_86

dibdabable wrote: »

One question I have is, can the bail be extended if they do go ahead and search further for additional items?

Yes it can.

fivetide

If you email him again there is no harm in copying the email to a superior just so he knows to stay on his toes. That way it isn't a formal complaint but you've highlighted your concerns not just to the officer you have an issue with but also higher up, which will make it easier if you do want to officially complain later.

Good luck with what sounds like a traumatic experience.

Confusedandneedhelp

Just a point here, since I know nothing about this at all: the detectives job is to get to the truth not to take sides with either the victim or the suspect.

So his job is to question both sides of the story. The suspect is innocent until proven guilty not the other way around. And it's not unheard of for false allegations to be made ( not implying that this is the case here) so the police must investigate all lines of inquiry. Now if they're ignoring evidence I would certainly raise it, but if the question is about her story and if it's accurate and true, I would say that's being thorough. Better to eliminate that as a possibility early on.

The recent high publicity case of the oxford student who was judged by his peers and the media only to be vindicated will clearly be a concern for any investigation to be as thorough as possible. I can see your point completely about hoping for more support but as u have said the officer has to be impartial.

If u do have evidence I would submit it ASAP to the police.

Nick_C

What seems to harsh treatment from the Police will be nothing compared the cross examination she will get from the defence barrister if this goes to court. I think the Police need to check that the witness is robust and gives consistent evidence under duress if this is to go to trial.

dibdabable

Thanks Fivetide. I'll see who his superior Officer is,so I can send a cc email to.
Confused and Nick C I get what you're saying. Nick C well yes the defence will give her a hard time, but it will be a walk in the park after what she has suffered. Also the difference is that if it gets to court she will have advice etc on how to proceed and about the process etc so will be prepared.

Confusedetc I have said above, this isn't about my daughter being questioned and tested, we expected that as you say they have to protect the rights of everyone involved, as said I can't go into detail, but The Officer was basically telling her that he understood what had really happened here and proceeded to tell her how events happened. He hadn't even met my daughter at this point, this was all over the phone and he'd made a snap judgment, without having read all the facts. There's also written info from a previous source which is pretty much an identical story to my daughter's yet he didn't feel it important enough to read it too before making that judgment.

Of course he needs to iron out what's happened, but that's my point. We are encouraging him to turn every stone, we want him to uncover all the truth, whatever hurt that may mean for my daughter. That's what the problem's been, we feel he's seems satisfied with the evidence that there is now. Whereas we all think there will definetly be more. We were actually warned by another Officer in a similar unit elsewhere, who said be very wary of any Officer who tells you that there's not enough evidence when the case has just opened. The job of the Police, is to investigate. He's already told us on day 1 it won't go to Court, because of the lack of evidence. It wa sonly when we met him the following day that we pointed out exactly what the evidence was that he stated he'd look into that specifically, we shouldn't be needing to do that. We are there to assist the Police in their enquiries not to tell them what they should be looking for.