Carolyn Farrow taken to police station

Just coming on to add to the support - for what it's worth.

And I'd like to know who alive could have experienced what she has and not have feelings of self harm or more. It's a proper situation of a normal reaction to an ongoing, abnormal situation. I'm trying to be circumspect with my vocabulary here because I'm sure if I said exactly what I think the "abnormal situation" it, it could be used by someone else for a false claim of victimhood.

Hi there. Caroline has been explicit in asking people to not speculate or discuss anyone else, and the explanation we would normally give might involve a name or some names, hence no explanation forthcoming from me, sorry to be a bit cloak and dagger.

I hope she sues them to the arse end of time and back.

This is utterly terrifying.

I hope Fair Cop and the FSU are on the case. Who is defending and protecting Caroline? This is disgusting harassment and bullying.

The police officers should be ashamed. I'd imagine most of them joined up wanting to fight crime. Now they are spending their days bullying women.

"I asked to see evidence of lots of allegations. The police said “we don’t have any yet, that’s why we are talking to you, to get your side.”

Apparently the police think they don't need a warrant to enter your home without consent and they don't need evidence to arrest you. Terrifying.

I wouldn't open the door to the police nevermind let them in my house.

I hope We Are Fair Cop are all over this.

Actually I was correct new guidance was issued as posted above by royal corgi.

I guess the police believe they have met the threshold of ‘hostility’

Yes, I'd appreciate a summary as well if anybody has a spare two minutes and the inclination?

I do lurk on the feminism boards but not enough to recognise usernames so I don't fully understand what is happening.

Presumably Caroline is a regular poster, who is against TWAW? And somebody, a trans rights activist? is targeting her and has reported her to the police?

This is terrifying. Part of the reason it's scary is that you can be taken into policy custody for posting something nasty online. But even more scary is the fact that you can be taken into custody for something you didn't post: the police are treating a clearly false allegation as true, without any evidence whatsoever.

The College of Policing recently issued guidelines that outline "new safeguards to ensure people are able to engage in lawful debate without police interference."

www.college.police.uk/article/protecting-freedom-expression-updated-guidance

Actually I must be mistaken. I see this is the CPS stance as it’s taken from their website

^^^

What the fuck is going on here?

I thought the police had procedures to counter malicious and unfounded accusations?

'I said “do you have a warrant”, they said we don’t need one and this 6 foot 3 bloke forced his way in' - 😮

The police and the CPS have agreed the following definition for identifying and flagging hate crimes:

"Any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice, based on a person's disability or perceived disability; race or perceived race; or religion or perceived religion; or sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation or transgender identity or perceived transgender identity."

There is no legal definition of hostility so we use the everyday understanding of the word which includes ill-will, spite, contempt, prejudice, unfriendliness, antagonism, resentment and dislike.

May I ask what this is all about? I just read the Twitter feed.

is it about criticising the Trans community or something?

I thought a court had decided that free speech was allowed over beliefs regarding sexual identity?

It just proves that Hate crime legislation isn’t fit for purpose, that it is being used maliciously, it needs to be scrapped.

Absolutely FUCKING OUTRAGEOUS. The police- what are they thinking?

They can’t keep hiding behind “only doing my job”, this isn’t their fucking job and there has to be some accountability.

Yes!

The police have entirely lost my trust as a direct result of their behaviour towards women. This is just one aspect of their deeply ingrained institutional misogyny.

This is appalling. Poor Caroline. The person who did this should be in prison for harassment and the police involved should be sacked.

The above, I realise, is a couple of decades back.

So this is where we are.

Terrifying.

How can they just take all her devices without permission? Or enter her house without permission?

What would happen if she had posted a cartoon on KF? Or if she did have a secret Mumsnet identity? Those things aren’t illegal quite aside from the fact that she didn’t do them!

The cops involved in this need criminal prosecution or failing that some kind of civil lawsuit where they are personally held accountable. Obviously repeated telling off from judges is not enough to stop this shit. They can’t keep hiding behind “only doing my job”, this isn’t their fucking job and there has to be some accountability.

A story not involving the usual topic, but policing of this sort. University professor complained about his cul-de-sac being blocked off by drug dealers. Had his house searched and his computer removed, to be returned trashed. I hope his work was backed up. An elderly female neighbour had also complained, was taken to the station, and whatever she was accused of so appalled her that she wouldn't tell anyone what it was. Let go afterwards.
Not so much the Stasi as the Mafia.

For the uninitiated, the person targeting Caro has been at this a fair old while, she's had years of this.

So much so that she logs where she is at the time of certain postings on a certain website so that she can prove it isn't her.

So all they really had to do was ask where she was on whatever date at whatever time, she has all the logs if they actually just asked for them.

Now they have all her passwords so can see everything across her emails and social media.

I am not a friend of hers at all, but nobody deserves the harassment and abuse that she has undergone for the last several years.

If the Police believe her posts on mumsnet are a criminal offence why are they not finding the ID of posters from MN via IP address? This is bizarre and terrifying.

Haven't the police been warned to stop doing this and start investigating robberies, assaults, rapes etc?
Despite the regular cries of "underfunding" they seem to have plenty of resources to police people's opinions!!