Police officers’ take on Adolescence

[Neweverything25]

Sorry about yet another thread, but just started watching Adolescence and quite shocked by opening scene. So, inspired by a recent thread asking teachers’ views on the school depiction in the series… if you are a police officer who has watched it, how realistic is the opening scene? I found it surprising that they would go in like that to arrest a child, straight to hammering door down without knocking first, so many cars and officers, weapons and equipment, it all seemed a bit excessive considering the set up if the house they were entering!

Well it is a fictional show? so not all parts would be true to life surely?

Very unrealistic! I used to work on murder and we would not have gone so heavy handed even for an adult, firearms suspect.
don’t even get me started on the school stuff - going to his own child’s school - nonsense!
also… worst legal advice I’ve ever heard… if I interviewed someone and they went no comment to some bits and not to others I’d ask them if they wanted to change solicitor! Honest to god. That programme really
needed a better consultant for the police (and legal advice) side of things.

Oh good. Just started watching tonight and both those things jarred (opening scene and him being in his child’s school)

It felt kind of irresponsible for the producers to give that impression, to be honest!

Personally I think it was justifiable to put the door in rather than knock - who knows what evidence he might have tried to hide if he'd have had advance warning. All the firearms officers were unnecessary though IMO, especially pointing them at family members!

It annoyed me that after all that they didn't even handcuff him in the car 😵‍💫 Not sure what the social worker in the car was about either..

The DI would never interview, but they always seem to on TV.

Other than that, the first episode was pretty good I thought. It all went far far more quickly and efficiently than in real life, and the cut down things like the booking in procedure in custody, but they would need to do that or it would be deadly dull and go on for hours.

Yes, the solicitor did a terrible job, and going into the school was just bonkers.

I'm surprised they didn't have a helicopter hovering at the window and a red dot trained on his forehead.

It was a shocking opening which got attention but the bit I struggled with was the timescales. The murder happened at 10.30 the night before, by 6am the following morning they had reviewed all the cvtv and identified Jamie. That seemed very far fetched

Yes this too!

The social worker was an appropriate adult. Its required under PACE to safeguard the interests of the persons under arrest.

That’s so interesting. I’m very unimpressed by it and all the fuss, to know it’s also untrue to life in an area I don’t know much about…
Its all a bit emperors new clothes.

I am just watching it now. The meaning of all those emoji’s. Think I have told my dad I am horny a couple of times. Seriously though bit scary since I have a pre teen. Some of her friends are on social media but no way.

It's not required to have them waiting in the car when you make an arrest!!

@ToBeOrNotToBee not at the point of arrest though 🤣

Why wouldn't they take a parent with him? (I have no experience of these things)

The parent would likely (and understandably) be very upset and having them both in the car together would be a risk to everyone's safety.

Plus the parent might start taking or asking the suspect questions which could cause issues evidentially.

It was a stabbing so why the firearms officers? How did they identify him from the cctv so quickly? And at one point the DI was asking Ryan about the murder weapon without having read him his rights.

And by 7am his school had sent over lots of info about him.

because they should have spoken to the parents/sister first to ensure they weren't possible witnesses/even accomplices. The most obvious place Jamie could have got a knife was at home, after all.
as the DI said to the dad, if they had been they can't act as AA.

@legsekeven not to mention they also had his school records!
Because of course all shops/homes/council offices and schools have people working overnight on the off chance they need to provide evidence to the police!

How would they even have his address? It's not like he was known to police, and Katie and Jamie weren't friends, so even once the police had the cctv footage and showed it to her parents, you'd be lucky if they recognised him at all, or knew his first name, let alone surname and where he lived.

The absolute weirdest thing I thought was the DI calling the solicitor a prick (to his face!) because he....wanted to speak to his client! What??? It would be utterly insane if he didn't!

Just watched episode 2, the whole thing is so unrealistic. Still a good watch but after so much hype I had too high expectations about the series!