Should I report this to the police or just forget about it?

Good for you.
this happened last weekend and the 46yo perpetrator has already been caught and charged with sexual assault! This is the kind of policing we need all around the country, including the Met area!

You aren't daft, I think most people would be intimidated and worried. Shame on them for dismissing it but good on you for reporting.

Credibility of witnesses is more to with the likelihood of their telling the truth than their sheer numbers.

Of course Jessica should have reported this. Even if the police can do nothing about this it is still worth recording.

Well done reporting it - you have probably strengthened the case of the next person who is subject to the same harassment and reports it and have improved their chances of getting taken seriously.

Welcome to MN and to FWR, wuzzio.

Would you also suggest that a disabled person didn't report to the police a gang who talked about stealing his crutches and assaulting him with them?

You could, but it would be your word against the word of 10-15 others (if you knew who they are that is)

Jessica I'm so sorry this happened to you, sounds terrifying!

My OH is a police officer and I asked him about this. He said the guys who harassed you definitely committed a crime - section 5 public order offence: using words or behaviour in a public place likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress. A good/lucky police officer might be able to prove a more serious offence based on whether he intended you to feel harassment, alarm, or distress (section 4a) or even a fear of immediate unlawful violence (section 4).

He also said that the 101 operators aren't police officers and that this one sounded like a bit of a nob. You're well within your rights to make a formal complaint about it, since it doesn't sound like you were treated very well. You're likely to get a better response if you go into a police station in person, and perhaps ask to speak to a female PC if you're feeling nervous. Threatening to rape someone is NOT OK and the police are required to deal with this, since it's their job to make the streets safer. This is how patriarchy works - we think that being threatened with rape in our own neighbourhoods is something we should put up with and we shouldn't make a fuss. Grrrr it makes my blood boil.

Of course it will probably be very difficult to catch the little shits, but if you see them again make sure you get a description, and you could call 999 if you're feeling brave enough (I totally understand if you don't want to though, I always get jelly legs when I'm sexually harassed). There might be CCTV or something, so there's hope. My OH said to point out that if police funding hadn't been cut so dramatically they'd be better able to deal with these sorts of offences, so don't vote Tory!!!!

Hope that's helpful!

Harassment is a crime and threatening someone with rape is also a crime. People have been prosecuted when they make threats of that nature on twitter. Reporting it is absolutely the right thing. Sorry that happened to you. Had similar myself.

lol hot fuzz was on the other week it was BRILLIANT love those films.

It's a bit late now as you are unlikely to find them again or be able to identify them. You should have called 999 immediately and had the police come down on them like a ten tons of shit. If they thought they were being big and clever by intimidating you they might think differently after spending a few hours each in the cells, the nasty little fuckers.

Without as many murders though, obviously!

Yes. I'm more in Hot Fuzz sort of territory!

That's really good Peace.

TBF I haven't interacted with them much recently. Also we have the Met who I think have a very particular set of problems.

I think there has been a sea change in the arwa where I live, tbf. There are a lot of women police officers, the old boys have been moved on/out. The police I've met around here have been extraordinarily polite and helpful.

One example: I helped get some animals off the road in a town centre. When the police arrived they thanked me and actually took direction from me on the scene, despite them being properly trained and, I later found out, doing this about 50 times a year! Where we used to live years ago, if I'd done that the police would have taken over and told me off for interferring.

I just feel really despondent about the police response. Even though they can't do anything I would hope that they would react a bit better than that. However having seen police officers posting on here before I know that they basically have a lot on, and this type of thing (and more serious) is not seen as "proper crime" but something that women and children should just put up with (as they have always been expected to) and they shouldn't be wasting people's time with it.

I do think there is a bit of a sea change with the Yewtree stuff, and what's been going on in Rochdale etc, with a double whammy of the Police being told they must take sexually motivated crimes more seriously, this being out in the media and people being encouraged to report sexually motivated crimes more, and at the same time the Police having little resources to deal with it all and a culture which doesn't change that quickly. You can't just snap your fingers and say "this stuff should be taken seriously" and change the entire entrenched cultures of these massive organisations. Still I do think and hope it is changing.

So that I think is why you got the entirely contradictory messages. First "you shouldn't be bothering us with this" which is the way they feel and then "do report in future" which is the party line and probably what they are supposed to say.

Still I think people should report stuff and the police should make a note of it, and then they can try to link stuff up. Although according to at least 1 police officer on MN this is a ridiculous idea. Thing is sex offenders are often repeat offenders and so if they get a lot of reports about the same person / group of people then that is a lot of evidence and also gives them pointers who to investigate.

Anyway that's beside the point.

I'm not surprised you were afraid, I'm sure that what they did was not legal, and there's absolutely no reason that women shouldn't report it to the police when they have been threatened sexually.

Do report again but as soon as it happens.

X post. Thank you for reporting it. Interesting response, isn't it? So the fact that a lot of this goes on makes it ok? No it doesn't! It makes our streets become more unsafe. Letting a lot of this slide in an area now leads to more serious problems for the area in years to come. That's what we have in our area now.
Do report if it happens again - as it happens. Take photos if you can do so without them being aware.

Well done for reporting it. Shame they tried to dismiss your concerns though, and yes... if everyone reported every incidence of stuff like this, there WOULD be loads, which is the point. It might also make people prick up their bloody ears and actually do something about it.

The exact same thing happened to me when in my 20's.
I didn't report it but it was right by where I lived and I was always anxious about going through that part after dark when I was walking the dog.I should have done.
I don't think they had any intention of raping me,but it did have an impact on my sense of freedom,and that is not acceptable.