Ceri Black update on invitation to interview v. arrest

[EmbarrassingHadrosaurus]

Ceri Black has ovaries of steel and my admiration grows for her and her indomitable spirit.

The following is all from her Twitter update thread.

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Update: there has been some back and forth between my solicitor, the police and myself.

They have invited me again to come voluntarily to the station to be interviewed under caution.

I politely declined their offer.

They made a series of other offers.

They offered to come to my house to interview me voluntarily here.

I politely declined.

They offered to interview me voluntarily at a location of my choice.

I politely declined.

They suggested that I be interviewed by female officers.

I politely declined.

y solicitor politely declined every offer they made to me.

The police then informed my solicitor that if I was to be arrested, they would be sure to let both me and my solicitor know beforehand, and arrange a time convenient to me.

They would not cuff or manhandle me.

They would have me spend as little time as possible at the station.

This is reassuring and emboldening to me; I know that I can walk through that experience with my head held high.

haven't (yet) been given either a date and time for my arrest, or a reassurance that I will not be arrested. Either way, I will keep you informed as soon as I have either.

In the mean time, please do keep up the pressure on
@PSNIABC
and the chief constable.

hey are arresting a survivor of childhood sexual abuse for the crime of saying that paedophiles and paedophile enablers are bad.

I don't want to be insulting, but shouldn't they be out arresting, I dunno, paedophiles and vexatious complainants?

For absolute shame.

twitter.com/FemmeLoves/status/1453020812135522314

Surely they either need to arrest her or they don't.

Whats with all the offers.

Did she just not give in to bullying, and called their bluff 🤔

Go ceri!

This says far more about the police than it does about you!

@Whatwouldscullydo basically yes. They are beginning to realise that the tide is turning and someone has thought about the optics of this and how much worse than the MM police Scotland debacle it would be

@Whatwouldscullydo

Surely they either need to arrest her or they don't.

Whats with all the offers.

Did she just not give in to bullying, and called their bluff 🤔

Go ceri!

This says far more about the police than it does about you!

Well I'm guessing her solicitor isn't working for free?

They are beginning to realise that the tide is turning and someone has thought about the optics of this and how much worse than the MM police Scotland debacle it would be

Last time I called the police I couldn't get past the call handler. Mine and a friemds safety was in the hands of takeaway staff. Can't thank them enough tbh. Very kind young men.

How the police have time to prosecute for ribbons and tweets I dunno.

Well I'm guessing her solicitor isn't working for free?

I think ‘offers’ refers to offer to interview at the station, offer to interview at her home, offer to interview at a third location, offer to arrest without handcuffs, offer to arrest at a convenient time and place.

Solicitor working for free would depend on if she were in receipt of UC or other benefits

Too much to hope, I suppose, that the complaint will be dismissed as obvious nonsense, and probably malicious, and that various police forces will pool information and conclude that there are grounds for prosecuting a certain individual (who can't be named) for wasting police time?

I saw a tweet from the LGBT network of PSNI yesterday, announcing that they were celebrating the Week of the Asexual, or similar, and highlighting the challenges and prejudices Asexuals and Aromantics face. They were getting an absolute trouncing from people asking why they weren't investigating real crimes.

She's extraordinary.

The police trying to negotiate an arrest is just bizarre. Would they be so keen if they knew she'd only come kicking and screaming?

Off to buy her a coffee.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

Too much to hope, I suppose, that the complaint will be dismissed as obvious nonsense, and probably malicious, and that various police forces will pool information and conclude that there are grounds for prosecuting a certain individual (who can't be named) for wasting police time?

I saw a tweet from the LGBT network of PSNI yesterday, announcing that they were celebrating the Week of the Asexual, or similar, and highlighting the challenges and prejudices Asexuals and Aromantics face. They were getting an absolute trouncing from people asking why they weren't investigating real crimes.

I can understand asexual people being considered weird (although I don't agree), but do they get harrassed, assaulted or denied employment? I doubt it.

I read through the tweets from the days in question. There were a couple that were very robustly phrased and may have been construed as being rather mean and possibly quite rude.

I just can’t understand why the police response to the complainant wasn’t to tell them to get a grip.

@WiseUpJanetWeiss

I read through the tweets from the days in question. There were a couple that were very robustly phrased and may have been construed as being rather mean and possibly quite rude.

I just can’t understand why the police response to the complainant wasn’t to tell them to get a grip.

I think that particular person is getting desperate as the tide is turning quickly and this is probably that person wanting to have the last word. I still don’t understand that person’s motives in all of this, it’s very odd

This sort of thing has happened a few times now.

Seems some forces across UK have got in a right pickle.

Don't they think for a sec about what they are doing and what the public will make of it?

I mean their most basic remit surely is to receive reports of crime/ possible crime.

Traige do some investigation.

If they believe crime has been committed - with reference obv to the law - and that's all publically available or should be.

They have said they will arrest her. The evidence is tweets so they have them.

Why the fannying around.

It just looks so inept.

Sounds like the PSNI really do t want to arrest her - why would they? And she’s got good legal support.
Maybe something good will come out of this, they’ll be forced to take some kind of action over all the violent threats that SHE’s had on SM instead of telling her to get off SM.

I think they are more careful as this is not happening quietly anymore. I suspect they'd be as high handed as those with Kate Scottow and Marion Miller were, if this was not being watched by a larger audience.

Of course, it is as stressful for Ceri (you wouldn't wish this on anyone), but it is fortunate that good legal advice is available and people are publicly following what is happening.

I bet certain people are furious that they can’t triumphantly announce an arrest or interview/interrogation has already occurred in response to their complaint….

@WiseUpJanetWeiss

I read through the tweets from the days in question. There were a couple that were very robustly phrased and may have been construed as being rather mean and possibly quite rude.

I just can’t understand why the police response to the complainant wasn’t to tell them to get a grip.

If it's the thread I'm thinking off, I figure it's a matter of perspective if those tweets were mean. It's a thread about safeguarding children and about boundaries and how paedophiles cross them. I completely agree with her on the people she named, especially since at the time she wrote it, the behaviours/statements she called out were pretty much public knowledge.

And sometimes you need to say think about what you're doing, because it could harm a child or stop doing that, that's actively harmful to children or even We cannot properly safeguard children, if you keep saying/doing that.

I mean, yes, it's upsetting to be told that something you did or said could put a child at risk or undermine the safeguarding of children in general. But that's just tough and you need to get over yourself, because safeguarding children is more important than the feelings of adults.

If it's the thread I'm thinking off, I figure it's a matter of perspective if those tweets were mean.

Well, exactly. And so what if they were? Meanness is not “hate speech”, surely?

Otherwise “I don’t care if you have PTSD from previous SA, I have the right to bring my be-penised body into women only spaces” (which surely everyone would acknowledge would be a bit mean) would also be hate speech.

The world has gone quite mad.

Well, all the charges against Marion Millar have been dropped, so there is hope.

Far as I know the Polce haven’t turned up to arrest her yet

they told her to get off social media when she was getting rape threats

Didn’t go after the men saying that to her

She must have brought on herself by being on social media 🤷‍♀️

@CharlieParley

Well, all the charges against Marion Millar have been dropped, so there is hope.

Excellent - I'll just go off and scout the thread with the news. Thank you for mentioning it!

News about the prosecutors unwillingness to prosecute Marion Millar (for now):

www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19678238.prosecutors-discontinue-hate-crime-case-scots-feminist-marion-millar/

@CharlieParley

Well, all the charges against Marion Millar have been dropped, so there is hope.

Not dropped, discontinued - so they could still choose to go ahead. It's good news but it would have been better if they had dropped it completely, instead of leaving it hanging.

I am quite enjoying the thought of the police ringing up Ceri and trying to negotiate a way in which they might be able to get her to agree to interview. It makes it really painfully clear that sorting out actual crime may be a better use of their time.

I think they are more careful as this is not happening quietly anymore. I suspect they'd be as high handed as those with Kate Scottow and Marion Miller were, if this was not being watched by a larger audience.

This writ large. PUUUUULLLLLL!

Dr Kathleen Stock has left Sussex University.