Father gets police record for smacking his 13 year old daughter - is this fair?

[thumbwitch]

saw this today on Ceefax - the daughter was banging on a neighbour's window past midnight, so he slapped her for being a PITA and she called the police on him. He got a police caution, a criminal record and has had to stop his career as a community worker because of it.
His daughter is shocked that it went this far - but what the hell was she doing calling the police on her dad in the first place, especially as she now says that she deserved it??

Isn't this all getting a bit out of hand?

[psychomum5]

OFS....and this is why teens seem to be ruling the roost and parents are too scared to discipline them.

the world is going insane!!!!

[thumbwitch]

that was kind of my feeling too.
I know this is a total over-reaction but it is just starting to feel a little like Hitler youth or Chinese communist youth reporting their parents for non-conformist behaviour...

[Upwind]

Entirely out of hand. Is this maybe something to do with the target culture, where men like this are soft targets?

[KnickersOnMaHead]

Message withdrawn

[Upwind]

does ANYONE think it a good thing that this man can no longer coach football teams and his career is effectively over?

[Dropdeadfred]

slapping a child around the face does seem extreme behaviour...

[Janni]

No wonder teens rule the streets. Insane.

[DaisySteiner]

LOL at the spelling mistake in that linked article 'corporate punishment' - what's that then? Being made to wear a suit?!

[juuule]

Lol Daisy

[juuule]

He shouldn't have slapped her.
He shouldn't have received a caution.
Ridiculous situation. Would have been better if some commonsense had been involved.
imo

[nametaken]

It is a ridiculous situation but it just confirms my feelings that you should never ever ever talk to a police officer without a solicitor present.

[falcon]

He shouldn't really have slapped her but it's ridiculous that he now has a record.

I'd have been tempted to do the same, as I hate inconsiderate anti social behaviour like that.

[hellish]

Really shouldn't have smacked her, I actually think she was right to call the police, she was standing up for herself in a responsible way. If she was assaulted by another kid at school wouldn't we want some action taken?

We are always saying that police / courts are too soft and that anti social behaviour should be dealt with firmly

• smacking someone is anti-social and now he knows he can't get away with it.

[Tortington]

the cost is way too high
15 years
15 years

if he hit some random kid - i can see it

fucking loony country.

[bluefox]

Not read the article but looks like shes out of control. Why was she out after midnight making a nuisance of herself? Father was wrong to smack her but ssomething like this will wreck the father/daughter relationship forever.

[mears]

I heard the father and daughter on radio 2 discussing this. She is the youngest of 4 and has been particularly challenging for a few months behaviour and attitude wise. She was really cheeky to him and he slapped her once (not hard and no mark left). He has never hit her before.

She called the police in a temper. Before police arrived they had kissed and made up.

He was taken to a police cell in a secong police van that was called to transport him. He was offered a solicitor but didn't feel he needed one apparently.

Seems to have been blown out of all proportion. Daughter says it has brought them closer together!

[beanieb]

Any sympathy I had for this man disappeared when I heard him say on radio 2 that it 'was a domestic incident and so the police should not have been involved'

yeah - right. That's what they all say.

[wheresthehamster]

Why wasn't she asked if she wanted to proceed with the accusation before they carted him off? Seems like the police were a bit over zealous

[OrmIrian]

I agree hamster. But then again if he had 'got to her' before they arrived I guess there was a chance she could have withdrawn the accusation under duress. But still a very very stupid situation. Screw up all round.

[juuule]

"Not hard and no mark left"
Can someone explain to me how the police were able to caution him.
I thought it wasn't illegal parents could use 'reasonable chastisement' or whatever it's called. I thought it was considered 'reasonable' if it didn't leave a mark.
So he didn't break the law and his daughter didn't want it to go any further.
I'm not sure I understand how it went as far as it did.

[TwoIfBySea]

This is why kids are running riot, the minority that is. No one can so much as chastise (sp?) them without being punished themselves and the kids know it.

Okay maybe not slapping but there are situations where you have to bring someone back to reality. Never a great option.

Well done to the police for once again showing how close to 1984 we are becoming.

[LittleBella]

I suspect he was given a caution because that fulfils the targets culture which now drives the police force. If it had been dealt with with common sense, such as words of guidance or advice to attend an anger management course, no boxes would have been ticked or targets reached. But a caution probably means target reached.

I think she was right to call the police as well though. He doesn't have the right to slap her round the face and I'm shocked that so many people think that sort of physical violence is OK. What if she'd smacked him back in self-defence, would that have been OK as well?