11 year old daughter fought at school, police now involved

[Marcbearpig]

Hello,

My daughter was involved in a fight at school wherein she was defending herself from a boy that was hitting her with a stick. She has retaliated and one of her peers has videoed it but obviously doesn't show her being hit with the stick.

We had a meeting with the parents and all involved were very cooperative and my daughter was aware that her actions had consequences and she was suspended from school. She returned and all was well in the world until we received a phone call from the police!!!

They want her to attend an interview, the officer has assured us it won't take long maybe 10 mins but has also stated that we have the right to have a solicitor present.

Is this normal? She's scared out of her mind over this and obviously the need for a solicitor has worried us as parents

The police have an obligation to inform you that a solicitor may be present if you wish so don't worry about that being an indication of the seriousness of the situation. I wouldn't waste your money on paying for an independent solicitor unless you have a spare £1k, as you will most likely end up with the same outcome, your DD receiving a warning.

The interviews are voluntary meaning your DD is not going to be placed under arrest or held there and she will be able to leave at any time she chooses. However, it is important you both attend so her side of the story can be told and you need to look cooperative if you have 'nothing to hide' so to speak. Obstructive behaviour is often guilty behaviour.

The fact you believed this was settled at school a while back is proof of the incompetency and backlog to which the police are working to. I imagine the boy's parents phoned about the incident at the time and it has taken them this long to investigate. This will be a dotting i's and crossing t's exercise more than anything. I'd let it be known in the interview that you are enormously surprised by the police involvement as you were under the impression this had been dealt with at school.

Have they informed you of the alleged allegation prior to the interview? Have you been told how the other party would like to settle the matter? This is important to know too.

Dear OP

Do not worry. Regardless of the stories that do the rounds in the media, not all police is stupid. An experienced officer will interview a few people and get a very good idea of what happened and who is to blame

So do not worry as your DD was only defending herself and with reasonable grounds - ie trying to stop being attacked/injured etc

BTW - 100% have a solicitor present to save any misunderstandings whatsoever and a piece of mind

I'm sorry for you loss, but I've never bullied anyone. To compare me to your sisters attackers because I suggested on a public forum that a child who is on video attacking another , could be a bully seems strange and pretty offensive.

Good for her, it's important for girls not to take any shit. Go to the meeting. Nothing will happen. Be sure to tell her that she did the right thing. Never let anyone take the p. If you get the opportunity to file a counter charge (or whatever they call it) then go for it. The boy is probably crying to his parents because he got his A whooped by a little girl.

Make sure she describes exactly what he did to her. Are there any witnesses who would vouch for her version of events? If they're going to try and get her in trouble then she should definitely drop the boy right in it too.

The girl could have been set up - the child recording might have been a friend of the boy's. The parents of the boy seem to have managed to get the recording quite easily so it's possible the person recording was a friend. This would be quite a serious case of bullying - to provoke the girl into retaliation or self-defense and then film only what they wanted to use to defame her online.

It's important for the girl's parents to find other witnesses and also to document any marks on her that were or could have been caused by the stick.

A lot hinges on whether the girl was in a position to walk away.

Was she in a corner? Backed up against a tree or a pillar or a wall? Were other children blocking her way?

Had the boy chased her to the place where she was hit with the stick?
Did she have reasonable cause to believe he would resume chasing her if she tried to get away? Does she know him to be a fast runner capable of running her to ground if she were to simply try to get away?
If he chased her, was he swinging the stick at her as he chased her?

If the footage shows the boy with the stick in hand, still trying to land blows while she kicked and punched him, that's an open and shut case.
If the footage shows a stick on the ground close to the pair, again, I'd find that convincing.

I'd like to know who did the filming and how the parents ended up having the video in their possession.

Filing a complaint against the boy and identifying witnesses to the full incident are important next steps. (Not talking to the witnesses, just identifying kids who might have seen the whole incident).

The CCTV should be examined. School should have been informed and asked not to delete footage from the day of the incident.

I’d suggest you reread your words to OP if you aren’t clear why I find you similar to the people who harassed my little sister. They used the same language as yours.
As I said in my first message to you, @thebear1, we could all stand to be just a little more kind.
You have a lovely weekend.

If there were witnesses to him attacking her with a stick then why don’t you report him too the police . I would .

Glad you’ve found a solicitor, OP.

If it was as your daughter has described, then it’s obvious why this boy is a bully. His parents are bullies as well.

It’s unfortunate that she has been punished for it and is now going through this further punishment. I hope you get good guidance and can find a way through.

Hopefully the shame of being beaten up by your daughter will make him think twice before hitting girls with a weapon again.

The police have to investigate as she is over age of criminal culpability but I doubt very much anything will come of it. I've seen you have a solicitor attending which is good as they can advise you. Police saying she can have one isn't an indication they will press charges it's just a right she has when interviewed by police.

You can arrange your own solicitor to accompany you to the station and it will be covered by legal aid in the same way a duty solicitor would be. Ring the solicitors office and they will talk you through it. It is important not to set foot in the police station without that solicitor by your side.

Everyone is entitled to legal aid for a solicitor to represent them when being interviewed under caution even as a voluntary attender. It is not means tested.

Fully agree here. Don't even cross the threshold of the police station without your solicitor accompanying. Don't walk in hoping they have one waiting for you, they won't. You need your own independent witness to everything that happens in there and that can only be your solicitor.

Glad to hear you have arranged your own solicitor to accompany her. Very wise.

Yes they can. If she refuses to attend they will arrest her. Guaranteed.

Terrible advice

So do not worry as your DD was only defending herself and with reasonable grounds - ie trying to stop being attacked/injured etc

You don't know this. No one does. There has been nothing about injury to the dd, witnesses, why the video only captures the dd etc.
Maybe she was defending herself but it really doesn't sound like self defence. Just as possible it's a dad with blinkers on 🤷‍♀️

The boy is probably crying to his parents because he got his A whooped by a little girl
Hopefully the shame of being beaten up by your daughter will make him think twice before hitting girls with a weapon again

Have you not SEEN some of the girls today. Vicious. I'd cross the road tbh. Look at the news, they can be just as violent and threatening as boys. And, guess what, they were all 11 once as well 🤷‍♀️

Clearly we don't know this OPs dd and we certainly don't know all the facts but automatically believing a 'little girl' can't be physical without provocation doesn't help.

Obviously, the OP should have a solicitor present which he does. Thankfully, there was some decent advice in amongst the speculation

It's hard to tell because your language is vague, but reversing the roles is useful.

Whatever the boy was doing with the stick – whether it was attacking her with a big fat rod, or just poking her with a little twig... If your daughter was doing that with the stick to another male/female classmate, who then started "punching and kicking" and "laying into" your daughter, would you let it go?

If yes, then OK fair enough; if no, then you know your daughter has done wrong and must be taught to control her temper

My child got attacked by another child in school (they were quite badly hurt with severe bruising on several places on their body). We asked the police to get involved. They visited attacking child at home and basically said don't do it again and that was that.

Exactly. People on here acting like they're naive to the way people record mobile phone vids nowadays! It's all over the Internet, its very popular to do on Tik tok, push and push and when they retaliate, record them as if they're the bad guy. They either they didn't have their phone out when the provocation started or they pulled it out purposely after the provocation as mentioned.

@Marcbearpig

The appointment was last Sunday, and we've now had a full school week - is there an update ?

I was wondering the same.

I too would like to know what happened.