Carolyn Farrow taken to police station

[ScreamingMeMe]

Long twitter thread here. She's had her electronic devices seized too, and has been accused of being certain posters on Kiwi Farms and Mumsnet

@BernardBlacksWineIceLolly and @BreakWindandFire sorry to tag you but she's been accused of being you!

We all know who this will be, but as Caroline says, please don't speculate/discuss them.

twitter.com/CF_Farrow/status/1577092705154666496?t=Cv7tRv3YdqIogpXT_MSwZQ&s=19

Police have made a statement:

twitter.com/SurreyPolice/status/1577346293457993736?s=20&t=Gck5x40VohAtkDyAhaDK1w

Statement from the police:

www.surrey.police.uk/news/surrey/news/2022/10/statement-following-allegations-of-malicious-communications-and-harassment/

17:57 04/10/2022

On Monday, 3 October officers attended an address in the Guildford area as part of an investigation into allegations of malicious communications (sending of indecent, grossly offensive messages, threats, or information) and harassment.

A 48-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of both offences.

A number of electronic devices were seized as potential evidence from this address under section 19 of PACE. Where an offence is alleged to have been committed on an electronic device, for example, it may hold a key piece of evidence and may routinely be seized during an investigation.

The woman was taken to Guildford Police Station where she was interviewed. She has now been released under investigation and inquiries remain ongoing.

Temporary Detective Chief Inspector David Bentley said: “There is significant commentary on social media around the perceived circumstances behind this investigation. We do not have the freedom of detailing every stage of our inquiries or the specifics of an allegation on social media as it is critical we do not pre-empt or prejudice any future proceedings at any stage.

"When we receive an allegation of a crime, in this instance one where a grossly offensive message is said to have been communicated, it is our job to assess it alongside any available evidence to identify if an offence has been committed. If it has, we gather further evidence and carry out an investigation to prove or disprove the allegation. That is exactly the process that is being followed in this case.

“The investigation into these allegations is very much ongoing and the relevant inquiries are being carried out. We have a duty to protect the integrity of an investigation, so we will not be providing a running commentary on this case.”

What sort of "grossly offensive message" warrants this heavy-footed police intervention?

What is supposed to have been said?

When I look at some of the (quite frankly) VILE, abusive and personally threatening comments made by TRAs online and yet there never seems to be any action taken to stop it, I can't think of anything more horrible than the stuff they churn out (often accompanied by obscene/pornographic images).

That is bollocks. No mention that they sprung into action on the say so of some bloke, with no evidence and went mob-handed to force themselves into a woman's home.

Arseholes.

Grossly offensive. What does that even mean.

'grossly offensive message' - only if certain people find it grossly offensive, though, eh? Rape and death threats to women are fine.

This Surrey police

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10857503/Coroner-slams-Surrey-Police-failing-protect-mother-four-murdered-estranged-husband.html

A bloke with a well-documented history of targeting women as a vexatious complainer and litigant, no less. It should be, but sadly isn't, unsurprising that the law doesn't take a very dim view of those who misuse and exploit it for the very purpose it's supposedly designed to protect people from: to shut down discussion, curtail freedom of speech and expression, and actively to harangue dissenters from a specific ideology. It's also unsurprising that those targeted are most frequently women, as he appears to like making examples of the more vocal ones to intimidate the rest into submission.

I also would very much like to know why the police are so invested in upholding this age-old misogyny but willing to let the rape and death threats fly. The idea a PP mentioned - 'she's disagreed with a man so she's mad, lock her up!' chills my blood. That shit is straight out of Walpole and Radcliffe.

I thought it was stuff she was alleged to have said years ago. Why go round now? What evidence was provided to suggest it was her? Why is it suddenly really hurtful when no-one is looking at comments from years ago except the police and the complainant with too much time on their hands who needs to get a job?
Is it a fishing expedition to try and found out who did send those comments and when Caroline is cleared they will do a FOA to try and find who it was using the police to do the work for them?
It is hugely disproportionate. I am disgusted our laws allow this.
Lots of people dislike Toby Young but I hope the Free Speech association are on to this

I find police dressed as multicoloured striped bumblebees grossly offensive.

Just occurred to me some of the stuff reported seems to have been on MN. Presumably, the complainant has been visiting. Is their life so empty, such a howling void, they have nothing better to do than hate scroll a parenting website?

I find MN hugely entertaining, but I like the voices of many of the vipers. even you @BernardBlacksWineIcelolly (I don't recognise the other name).

Surrey getting their arses handed to them in the twitter comments. Everyone saying the things I would say if I were tempted onto the devil's app.

I thought it was stuff she was alleged to have said years ago.

Where did you read this, @2Rebecca?

The poster names that were from MN last posted anything 3 years ago according to advanced search.

I think it is very clear here that the process is the punishment. Its intended to have a chilling effect both on Caroline, and more broadly on women who become aware of what happened to her.

I have a few questions for any more legally minded posters...

1. The police said this was about "allegations of malicious communications (sending of indecent, grossly offensive messages, threats, or information) and harassment."

My understanding was that this had to be targeted harassment e.g. a text, email, letter, to the complainant, however clearly the supposed offences are mass posts on a platform like MN / KF. How can such posts be captured under this legislation?

1. What reasonable suspicion (or whatever the terminology is) do police have to have that such posts were made by the accused? Would they have not done some cursory checks such as ip address?

1. The memes sound like they do not cross the bounds of illegality into grossly offensive- is there an amplication factor applied to some protected characteristics, and is it being applied correctly?

This is awful. I used to be on these boards years ago so I feel horrified reading this.

I just have to wonder how the heck this is legal? Surely someone can be done about the overhanded response to the report and about the harassment and vexatiousness of the person responsible? I’d love any legal perspectives.

Open up 'terfisaslur' and you find multiple, myriad posts so explicitly violent and murderous that they're quite sickening to read. Pages and pages and pages of them. Graphic descriptions of desired rape and murder.

Not so much as a tweet from the police about those.

A woman disses a male however?

See how they run.

Is there a point where there is such a disproportionate and unreasonable collusion on behalf of the police in hounding women, that the police become an accessory to harassment? Or are guilty of jointly harassing someone?

I'm not referring to this particular case; just in general as police do seem to disproportionately come down like a juggernaut on women for even voicing reality. Whereas rapists in their area... tumbleweed.

Statement from Surrey Police

www.surrey.police.uk/news/surrey/news/2022/10/statement-following-allegations-of-malicious-communications-and-harassment/

Oh gosh what a surprise.

No misconduct action against Surrey police officers despite hundreds of complaints

www.farnhamherald.com/news/no-misconduct-action-against-surrey-police-officers-despite-hundreds-of-complaints-550259

Surrey Police's backlog of child sex offences 'significant'

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-49350013

twitter.com/MarkSteynOnline/status/1577312268051746821

Tonight @CF_Farrow joins Mark live on @GBNEWS at 8pm British Summer Time to tell her story...

Yes I agree.

This is mad, but hopefully it is so mad that it will soon stop!

Stay strong.

I am so very angry about this. I hope you sue the misogynistic twerps Caroline. I’d be happy to contribute to your fighting fund.

It's in the mail now and the photographs are incredible www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11279745/Devout-Catholic-mother-arrested-series-malicious-posts-uploaded-chat-forum-KiwiFarms.html

crikey, the mail aren't pulling any punches are they?

The four-month Surrey Police investigation into Mrs Farrow [over allegations she had used the wrong pronoun to describe a transgender woman], which prompted much controversy when made public, was hastily dropped as it hurtled towards full-blown fiasco.