...to think that the police force has absolutely NO business whatsoever deciding that someone is 'pure evil'...

[almostblue]

... much less issuing an official statement to the effect?

Evil is a silly description, by anyone, police or otherwise. What exactly does it mean.

When I first saw this thread I had no idea what it was about (!) but read something on Sunday in The Telegraph (in laws, not mine, bit too high brow for me!) and the article was about how actually the woman is vulnerable/sad/stupid etc. I don't think that "evil" (whatever that is) would be within her capacity.

The police probably think them "evil" to have spent 3.2 million on the search, thats a lot of resource gone. I can't imagine them getting that money back from anywhere.

PS) I have only read page one of this thread.

She is evil and bad to the bone I hope she rots in prison. Why shouldn't the poilce be allowed to describe her as evil.

That same Telegraph article was mainly about how the public and press were very quick to side with KM. The press in particular apparently described her as "authentic", drawing parallels with other parents of missing children who were not seen as genuine.

KM had the press and public duped. There is going to be some anger at that (especially from the press .....???)

Pamelat I think you have to be evil to do what she did. Could you imagine how messed up Shannons father and family and friends must of felt. Thinking the worst might of happened and the whole time KM knew where her daughter was.

pingping. i can see your point. but evil is far too strong a word imo.

i would say, stupid, greedy, cruel, lazy and very very selfish. but evil no.

evil are the likes of child abusers, torturers and people who inflict pain to gain pleasure.
i do not think she did this.

please dont get me wrong, she makes me sick to my stomach, but the silver lining in this case, is that now, shannon and her siblings may have a chance at a brighter more productive future, and may learn the meaning of true love, warmth and happiness.

quatro, i too am uncomfortable with the term 'children of the underclass' it is labeling a child and pretty much writing them off, before being even given a chance.
awful expression.

I see the silver lining for shannon and her siblings I hope they move on from this in great ways.

LOL at children of the underclass. What is that supposed to mean. Poor kids have no hope?

I know someone from a very rough area of North London there family were very poor he is now a self made millionaire at 32 and he didn't win the lotto.

I think it was OTT in this case. They would have had every right to say it in the case of Baby P's torturers. I said it about them and have no reservations whatsoover in doing so.

she drugged her child, for 20 months. In my book that makes her a child abuser.

"the silver lining in this case, is that now, shannon and her siblings may have a chance at
a brighter more productive future, and may learn the meaning of true love, warmth and happiness." That's a great sentiment in theory, but in reality a life in care is not the key to a bright future.

Being away from Karen Matthews might be the best thing that could have happened to those children, but let's not kid ourselves that they are going to have a lovely secure bright future growing up in the care system.

wannabe, i said MAY have a chance....

plus imo they will have a better life in care, than that they would have had at home with the people who called themselves parents.

yeah i agree, care is not a great enviroment for children, but it could be just what these children need.
the word 'care' being the operative word here.

Don't you think that maybe she is just very silly (maybe stupid), incredibly selfish, no empathy and dysfunctional????

I don't like saying "just" in that sentence but its different to being an intentionally cruel and wicked/evil person.

Obviously I do not condone her behaviour. I think you just have to look more at her life circumstances and her selfish motives.

I am not overly liberal as with Baby P's family I would call them evil and be happy for them to disappear off the face of this world.

Pamelat did you watch the documentry about Karen Matthews. They have proof that Shannon Matthews was being drugged for over 20mths. I would call that child abuse.
Also there has been say that she was beaten on the children notes being found written by Shannon Matthews saying about it.

Wannabe I grew up in the care system and loved it, My life was 100% better being in foster families than it would of ever been with my family. People view Care kids the wrong way.

She was intentionally cruel to Shannon and to the people that loved and cared for Shannon.

Anyone who can do that to their own child is pure evil as far as I am concerned. Just watching the playbacks of her smirking face makes me want to punch her lights out.

No I didnt know that. What was she drugged with?

But dont you think she is stupid? And can stupid people be evil?

In answer to the op, I agree completely with debs40. Way beyond their remit. However, I am not surprised. I have seen many examples of unprofessional behaviour when working with the police.

Pamelat she was drugged with a mixture of temazepam and travel sickness tablets

Also they found out that she had been drugged during the school holiday's and xmas holiday's.

I think she was far from stupid in fact her plan was clever and might of worked if she hadn't prolonged the whole thing.

She was very evil in her act even the family officers were shocked on her behaviour during the time shannon was supposed to be missing she was laughing and joking etc with them.

she is one fucked up woman

The op does not ask whether she is evil, but whether the police have any business saying she is.

I think to knowlingly drug your own child (either on your own or to allow someone else to do this over a set period of time) and sit back and let it happen is evil. If it all happened by accident then she wouldn't need to be classed as evil, but thick. she knew what she was up to KM, she fooled many folk, and still tried to weasel out of it.
as for the police, they deserve to make a statement based on what evidence they retrieved, and they summed her up brilliantly in just a few words. Good on the Police!! Beats all that PC nonsense. A spade's a spade an all that.

It's not their business to judge people though is it. They may privately feel she is evil but as a profession, have no business saying so.

ah but KM is not the kind of woman you see every day in your line of work if you are in the Police, let's face it. she is a very unique case. If there's less of this PC crap, and people just tell it like it really is, less beating about the bush, then we all know where we stand. The Police are only saying what others think, it's not exactly a surprise that they'd come out with a statement like that. I wasn't shocked when I heard it on the news, personally.

The police probably shouldn't have said it but I can't find it in myself to care that much.

I am trying to type what I think of Karen Mathews but words fail me.

I disagree - I think the Police probably see her type a lot more than you think. I wasn't shocked by what they said, but that doesn't mean I think it's ok.