This is a two-parter subject.
The first is about two Christopher Booker articles in The Telegraph from September, which haven't been discussed previously.
Both concerned stories about social workers and police combining together to remove children, a touchy subject at the best of times, but one that seems to attract extreme steps on occasions. In the first case a woman was bundled off to an asylum, whilst her kids were then given to her former partner (a solicitor and former social worker). As it was the woman was kept in the asylum for just a week before it was realized she wasn't the slightest bit bonkers (Child protection: why did this woman lose her children? & the follow-up article Kent police take on the heavy work).
The second case is about an alleged NAI (non-accidental injury) with the woman treated in a somewhat alternate way by Kent police).
The second part of the topic was triggered by a comment and link I saw in one of the above articles - about a security firm in Tyne and Wear who will provide a ex-policeman as a professional witness;
SecTech UK
Here's the description of the service;
From time to time individuals or organisations may want to protect themselves from becoming a victim of other people?s lies and falsehoods created to meet their own agendas. To protect against such instances we provide ?professional witnesses? to attend, observe and record events, meetings etc. to be used if necessary at a later date in a court of law.
Our professional witness(es) are former Police Officers with extensive real world experience and a knowledge of the law that prevents them having the wool pulled over their eyes. If the case does end up in court then after 20 plus years as a police officer, our people are experienced in giving evidence and fielding questions from opposing lawyers and barristers. The court room environment doesn't concern them. They remain unfazed. Our professional witnesses are impartial and unbiased. They will report what they saw and heard and nothing else.
Individual members of the public (and advocacies acting on their behalf) have used us in the past to provide professional witnesses in situations whereby for example social services are about to visit someone who fears that they will be railroaded etc. and perhaps have their children taken off them without just reason.
As Ex Police officers our professional witnesses can protect the subject from threat of arrests being made by young, inexperienced officers trying to collaborate with the Social Worker who may attempt to mislead them to achieve their own ends. (This accusation has been made in the past) Our people will do everything in their power to ensure that no law is broken by any party and will take any neccessary steps to see that the law is upheld. Everything is recorded so that it can be used as evidence in court at a later date.
Equally social services departments may feel that they may be misrepresented by someone they are having to take an unpopular action against. We are equally comfortable acting as professional witness for social services. To reiterate, our professional witnesses are impartial and unbiased. They will report what they saw and heard and nothing else.
If clients feel that there is a threat of violence at any of these meetings then we can supply an Ex Police Officer who also holds an SIA Close Protection Licence (a registered bodyguard) to ensure their safety at any potentially volatile situations in addition to acting as acting as a professional witness.
I think its a bit scary that some firm reckons there is enough instances of such abuse as they relate above to warrant actually providing a business service for it.
And equally scary was the seemingly easy way it was to get a woman bundled off to the asylum, when there is was no evidence she was mentally ill (she'd been assessed before but no-one could find anything wrong with her), in a seeming attempt to shut her up.
Just how often is this happening?