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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to ask how to make a complaint about police? Is there an ombudsman?

98 replies

myoriginal3 · 06/04/2017 16:08

Basically, my report wasn't investigated. I've spoken yesterday and today with the police who were involved and they are saying I was 'unwilling' to assist police with their enquiries.
They are getting a DI to ring me. That's nice.
They are arse covering.

Do I need to go through the ranks or is there a police ombudsman?

For background, I was a victim of crime and they knew who he was (or suspected in their words) but they didn't arrest him because I was not well enough to go through a video interview. Less than a month later he committed a similar crime.

They have told me that I was UNWILLING to assist the police.

They are having a Detective Inspector call me - God only knows when.

Is there somewhere out of their ranks I can initiate a report?

OP posts:
RainbowPastel · 06/04/2017 16:11

Ring your area head quarters. I was trying to get hold of a police officer for weeks. He refused to respond to me. I rang our area HQ he returned my call within 30 minutes very sheepishly.

Redglitter · 06/04/2017 16:13

You need to start off locally. If you call & say you wish to make a formal complaint then an Inspector from your local office will call you back and arrange to come & speak to you. It'll initially be down to him to investigate your complaint. If you're not satisfied it can get then get progressed but it won't get looked at independently until the complaints procedure has been followed and that involves local level initially.

Allthebestnamesareused · 06/04/2017 16:22

You were not willing to do the interview as you were not well enough. It is possible without this form of evidence there was not enough evidence to arrest the perpetrator. When you were well enough did you contact them to let them know you were ready to give your statement then?

Original poster
myoriginal3 · 06/04/2017 16:25

How do I find out where my area headquarters are and a number?

OP posts:
ems137 · 06/04/2017 16:27

You would make a complaint to the IPCC if you were not satisfied with whatever the DI said.

We complained about unfair harassment and comments made to DH when we lived on a rough council estate. I think they prefer you to go through the station first and then complain to IPCC if you don't get anywhere.

Redglitter · 06/04/2017 16:27

Just phone 101. They'll put you in the right direction.

kierenthecommunity · 06/04/2017 16:28

Or look on the website

Original poster
myoriginal3 · 06/04/2017 16:29

all I'm not sure that I'm well enough now to go through what they want me to. I gave them enough information for them to arrest him. Well, they had photographs of my bruises all over my body and my initial statement. They say they suspected who he was. They never told me that. They told me that when less than a month later he was in custody for a similar crime. They say it wouldn't have been enough for the cps. It was a rape case. Apparently you need more evidence in a rape case.

OP posts:
Wando1986 · 06/04/2017 16:43

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wasonthelist · 06/04/2017 16:50

I made an official complaint once. The coppers involved just lied about it so nothing happened.

Wellitwouldbenice · 06/04/2017 16:57

Go to the IPCC website. It explains clearly how to make a complaint and how it will be investigated.

Allthebestnamesareused · 06/04/2017 19:26

I don't know what your complaint is though because they didn't have all they needed to pursue a rape case. It is really really unfortunate and also really unfortunate that he went on to commit a further crime. Have they got definite evidence to charge him with the crime against you too now they have enough for the other case.

(I was raped myself so I know how difficult it is. In fact I didn't report it - that's another story - and if I had my time over I would). Have you had any counselling? I did - years later and it really helped.

I'm not sure what the police have actually done wrong other than say you were "unwilling" rather than saying "unable". It is just an insensitive way of stating the same thing. You weren't willing because you weren't up to it.

Please get some counselling and see whether that helps and takes you to a place where you feel able to give the video evidence.

((hugs))

Original poster
myoriginal3 · 07/04/2017 10:01

What they have done wrong is failing to investigate.

OP posts:
ChasedByBees · 07/04/2017 10:06

Wando - a little more compassion would be good.

MagentaRocks · 07/04/2017 10:08

Without a proper statement from you they are pretty stuck. They cannot arrest and interview the offender without full details of the offence. The suspect has to know what exactly the allegation is to be able to respond.

RayofFuckingSunshine · 07/04/2017 10:09

You will need to speak to the DI first, as a minimum, before anyone higher will be able to look at it.

I am so sorry you were raped, it is horrific. And you did amazingly to even report it, so many people dont even get that far. The term 'unwilling to assist in enquiries' will be a technical term that covers unable to give the video interview that they needed. But, they weren't given sufficient evidence to conduct a thorough investigation and make an arrest, and I do think you need to be prepared that your complaint won't go any further on that basis. They obviously explained to you that the statement was required, whether you were unable or unwilling to give that statement doesn't change the outcome that that statement wasn't given.

Ratonastick · 07/04/2017 10:14

My advice is to be very careful. I made a complaint to a Chief Constable some years ago after a very nasty incident with a police officer. It was all upheld, I received an apology, the officer in question was disciplined. All great? Not really, I was low level harassed by his colleagues for about 6 months afterwards. My car was stopped regularly for a "mistaken" thought that I had a light out, I was done for speeding twice both at 31 in a 30, I was stopped in the street in cases of mistaken identity, stopped and told to take my car documents to the station about once a week, etc. It went on for ages and there was nothing I could do. I got to the point where I didn't want to leave my house. In the end they stopped, but I was actually told by one that they hoped I had learned my lesson.

So basically, I would not recommend anyone makes a complaint about the police, they have way too much power if they choose to abuse it.

Original poster
myoriginal3 · 07/04/2017 10:58

Ratonastick, alas, I know how they operate. Me being Irish probably doesn't help their overall impression of me. I.e. I have experienced what they think about me.

I'm in two minds as to what to do. Just try to forget it all or try to fight it.

My reasoning btw to a pp is that you don't need a video interview to investigate any other crime. It is putting serious onus on the victim of rape. The police officer told me it was because it's a 'special' situation. I could tell you where I'd like to shove his 'special'.

'Special' you know. FFS.

OP posts:
Original poster
myoriginal3 · 07/04/2017 10:59

They are basically framing their inability to prosecute rape cases and resultant guidelines as some sort of 'special' privilege. Bastards.

OP posts:
Original poster
myoriginal3 · 07/04/2017 11:01

A video recording of the interview should be the optimum goal, not the baseline to investigating.
They had my statement, swabs and clothing.
They did NOTHING. They didn't even fucking tell me that they 'suspected' knew exactly who he was.
Idiots.

OP posts:
RayofFuckingSunshine · 07/04/2017 11:04

The vides interview is supposed to be the full account by the sounds of it, you have an initial statement which allows the report to be put on the system and handed over to the specialist sexual offenders team. They need the full interview in order to start the investigation. It used to be the case that the CPS preferred the evidence to be video/audio recorded but you could do it as it a written statement (this would be done over a few days and was very, very intensive), but some forces may have decided to implement using video recording only because it is faster and would usually cause less further stress to the victim, rather than repeating the same thing over and over so that it is written correctly.

Original poster
myoriginal3 · 07/04/2017 11:07

ray that's exactly the tripe they have spouted to me.

In my case, he raped a girl less than a month later. BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T FUCKING INVESTIGATE IT.

I was not mentally capable. What if I was disabled? How do they act/not investigate in such cases?

OP posts:
AgainstTheOddsNo2 · 07/04/2017 11:10

I am sorry for what you have been through and for how this situation is not helping at all.

When someone does something so fundamentally wrong and damaging it is right that we should expect that person to be fully punished by the proper authorities.

However, from a police point to of view without your statement all they have is evidence (I am assuming that hey have physical evidence) that an aggressive sex act occurred. Without you being willing or able to give evidence there is absolutely no way for the police to be able to refute that that act was consensual. Common sense would say that it was not. They may well believe you 100% that it was not. But believing you and proving it in a court of law are 2 completely different things. And this is assuming they had physical evidence to link the perpetrator without your evidence.

It is not that they didn't believe you. It is not that they did not want to arrest and charge the person it is that without your evidence they simply could not.

The primary failure here is that they have not explained the situation sufficiently to you.

AgainstTheOddsNo2 · 07/04/2017 11:13

In response to your last post. This would be a different situation. If you were unable to give evidence at the time to to disability or incapacity there would be a case that consent could not ever have been granted or be reasonably believed to have been granted.

Original poster
myoriginal3 · 07/04/2017 11:15

Without my video evidence they managed to receive a warrant to raid his house.

Without my video evidence they contacted me after he had done it again.

Without my video evidence they could have fucking sent what they had to the CPS or INVESTIGATED and then sent to the CPS.

They did the sum total of NOTHING.

OP posts: