24 hours in police custody...

[randomuntrainedcuntowner]

Do you think he did it?

I am very suspicious of a man who would take on an alcoholic and the ration her alcohol. It's very controlling. And he is so odd.

I think in some ways this episode is a class on how or how not to drug deal. Bit silly giving their tactics of catching them away?

Thought episode 3 was great. Interesting they got the wrong guy initially but he was carrying a knife. How hard for Shuhan to testify - very brave. It was the right thing to do. Trying to figure out a motive was as interesting as figuring out the culprit. Just goes to show how knives are so awful. Without the knife - 2 friends would have just had some fisticuffs probably and lives in wouldn’t have been ruined.

i thought it was odd that they were all taken to the same police station-all the shouting back and forth to each other.

I also felt a bit sorry for the very young boy-what an utter waste of a life.

I was very shocked when they were al the phone to their mums- can you imagine knowing that your kid is a drug dealer and just going along with it?

Yeah - I felt sorry for the young boy. At the end - he kept on saying “stupid”. I think he realised he had been stupid to be caught up in it all - because he was the lowest in the food chain.

Not sure I would have gone on TV and spoken to the programme makers if my son had been a drug dealer.

What confused me was why the first suspect did a no comment interview. Surely, if you know you're innocent, and you don't know anything about the crime so 'grassing' isn't a worry, then you would want to answer questions so as to be able to prove your innocence. I always assumed that no comment interviews were generally only given by the guilty.

god no-i wouldn't have gone on TV if it was my kid! but the conversations seemed so normal'yeah they've got records of all the phone conversations-i'm fucked'
Like the mum knew all about everything

thecat - I think the first guy gave a no comment interview because he knew he was breaking the law by having a knife in a public place. He got 6 months for that offence. (It also wasn’t entirely “no comment” as he gave a prepared statement.)

Thanks Hels. That makes sense.

Just catching up with last week's episode. I couldn't believe that Kane Lee's girlfriend was his youth probation officer I mean, what on earth did she see in this young career criminal, bearing in mind she was privy to his string of previous convictions? Unbelievable.

She also knew she'd cocked up when she was answering the officer's questions and he said how surprised he was, because most people usually say "no comment" to everything.

Was also shocked, but not entirely surprised, at how brazen the gang members were, posting photos of wads of cash titled "gang shit" on Facebook.

I know-stupid stipid woman-she's made a very obvious choice to abandon a normal life with a good job and future for a life of being involved in crime.

I always assumed that no comment interviews were generally only given by the guilty.

Not the case at all (though in this case the guy was guilty of something - carrying a knife - just not the crime in question). Many people live in a culture of 'do not speak to the police about anything, full stop' so will not comment at all. Others will be advised by the solicitor not to comment, particularly if there's little evidence to connect you with the crime. Then you can't get yourself into trouble saying anything you shouldn't, plus the onus is on the police to find evidence you're guilty - not on you to prove you're innocent (if that makes sense).

It goes against what most people would feel like doing in that situation - if you're innocent you'd want to shout it from the rooftops normally. But you can't assume guilty from not commenting, just like you can't assume guilt from not testifying in your own defence in court.

Did anyone see last night's? The interviewers were shocking! I think one of them was a community support officer interviewing a suspect in a serious crime? WTF? I had no idea cso's did that, let alone such obviously inexperienced and unprofessional ones! The one lad reminded me of Kurtan from This Country in his manner

And those two celebrating after 'breaking' the suspect when they did no such thing. He obviously wanted to talk anyway. They made it look like it was a game to them.

Yes they came across really badly last night.

On a separate note that Mark guy was such an impressive liar! Really quite terrifying that I almost believed him. So sad that his partner has such a severe case of battered woman syndrome.

He wasn't a CSO mildly, he was a community officer, which is the new name of what was a "beat officer" so he's a normal police officer but not on emergency response that's all. He seemed pretty new but everyone has to learn at some point, interviewing is really nerve racking if you've not got much experience. I was a community officer until very recently.

What was the matter with the interviews?

I don't really see anything wrong with them celebrating? I mean even if he did want to talk anyway he was saying no comment at first and in the end he opened up in their interview so why wouldn't it be something to be happy about

I think the issue with the police celebrating after the scrote coughed in the interview is that it reveals the 'true' nature of the police relationship with the accused.

I think people still want to believe (in their hearts) that police work is about 'the truth' and not about crime stats and convictions and (perish the thought!) performance related pay and targets.

I think 'the public' find it an uncomfortable truth that 'the accused' are just stats, a potential conviction - another notch on the bedpost - signed, sealed delivered, high-five and on to the next one.

We like to think that if 'we' were in the interview room (wrongly accused, of-course) that we would be sympathetically received and our honesty rewarded with the copper's empathy.

But the reality is nobody should ever give anything but a 'no comment' interview because you are just a statistic. Guilty or innocent doesn't really concern the police. It's all a game to them, win some, lose some, etc etc.

People don't like to see that though.

Yes futuristic has summed up exactly how I felt about it.

If I was ever arrested I would go no comment all the way. I'd give a written statement but I wouldn't be answering any questions.

So are you saying that police aren't necessarily trying to find the truth? That they're not trustworthy?
That's what it sounds like?

I'd absolutely go no comment. I just know I'd sound guilty as fuck when questioned even if I wasn't!

Catching up on last night's. Guy has fucked himself by making a counter allegation and by talking. As a lawyer, I've always advised no comment.

"Why would I attack a girl with scissors if I could beat her up with my own fists?"

Yes, the fistpump was immature, but the young copper in the 2 years earlier was excellent at building up a rapport.

Mark is a wrongun, even if he is pathetic enough to pity. He has no idea how to live clean and is dangerous and impulsive with it. A young copper would be delighted by being saved days of searching and paperwork by an admittance of wrongdoing.

Ginger are you a lawyer? Even if you're innocent then do you advise no comment and do a written statement?

@purpleme

So are you saying that police aren't necessarily trying to find the truth? That they're not trustworthy?
That's what it sounds like?

I'll answer your question with a question - are you saying that the police are any more trustworthy that the rest of the general population? Are you saying that they are above reproach?

It's a nice thought and we'd all sleep more comfortably in our beds if we all believed it. High-fiving and general whooping when you get a Charge (not a conviction) is undignified and lends credibility to the view that the police are incentivised to prioritise Charging over Releasing - Charging obviously gets points.
On camera - this is shown for what it is, undignified and lacking in the appropriate gravitas.

Charging the accused does not mean they are guilty. That is for the courts to decide. The police do not decide guilt or innocence. They gather evidence and make a case to charge.
That may or may not mean the accused is found guilty.
It may or may not be the Truth.

Not everybody in prison is guilty, although they may all have been convicted - yes?

When the police celebrate because they have managed to convince the CPS that they have enough evidence to warrant a charge, to make a charge 'stick', it rightly suggests to the viewer that the motivation is not 'doing right' but getting people charged.

Do you understand that sometimes the police may feel that their job is done properly when the accused is Charged - that the Truth is for the courts to decide?

Is that clearer?

As when the man was accused a couple of episodes ago of murdering his suicide partner on the beach.
The police were convinced of his guilt. The primary concern for them was not the Truth but getting the man charged.
But forensics destroyed their case. Their unhappiness was visible.

Is that clearer? Sometimes an unquestioningly pro-Police mindset can blind you to other possibilities - and vice versa.

On the evidence of every police/crime documentary I've seen, every suspect should give a 'no comment' interview, but ESPECIALLY the innocent ones and the guilty ones, because they are the ones who could end up being charged with something they are not guilty of, simply because the police are motivated to charge.

And when you get to court - your chances are only 50:50 - whether you did it or not!

Purplememe12 yes I was a criminal lawyer before becoming a SAHM. I'm in Scotland where we don't have written statements though and there can be no adverse inference drawn from a no comment interview. Plus, we get very little information from the police about what evidence they have before an interview starts, whereas I think in England, lawyers get info beforehand so they can properly advise clients. No comment is always safer in my opinion.

Crikey purple you ask a lot of questions! Are you a copper or summat?

And no I do not believe that every police officer is honest and trustworthy. I don't believe that about any profession.