Police withdraw stalking protection order application against Caroline Farrow

[BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn]

Or rather their barrister does. The case somehow got as far as court without the police giving Caroline's representations to the barrister. Once he read them he declined to proceeed.

https://twitter.com/CF_Farrow/status/1671854328485691392?

https://twitter.com/CF_Farrow/status/1672117973862039552?

He seems very invested in this particular case. I don't recall the same level of commentary about police procedure on other threads.

Strange...

I also forgot to add that, so far, Surrey Police have ignored all correspondence related to Caroline's costs (think closer to five figures than four which we're all paying for) and a costs hearing has been applied for. So, we have a failed stalking application, thousands in costs which they are currently ignoring, and an investigating officer off on a rather long jolly.

I'm not capable of inventing this.

I always thought it was the courts themselves that were preventing cases from being heard in a timely maner and that's why the system is grinding to a halt. You know, having to find the physical spaces of courtrooms. But no. Apparently it's one copper on his holibobs holding the whole system up 😱

What if an IO were to meet with an <taps fingertips together, strokes long haired white cat> accident (not a death threat). That's it guys, cases closed!? Bollocks, someone should be able to step in.

Fill your boots if you want Feels, I won't read it.

A 7 week plodibobs sounds highly unusual unless you are Spider or Craig from Coronation Street and ‘undercover’.

Innit @Pixiedust1234.

I expect there will be a whinge that I'm Caroline's proxy and seeking to influence the case, but:

• The failure of the Stalking Order suggests there is barely any case to influence.
• I'm not posting anything confidential (once the case is over I'll probably waive confidentiality over what I'm allowed but it's really up to Caroline).
• Like any member of the public, I'm allowed a view about police behaviour.

The fact is that my friend, and her family, have been put through epic stress over posts she did not make, had information unreasonably held (three days notice of the SPO), and it's been going on for ten months. Christ. You'd think even the complainant(s) would also want a resolution at this point.

Holiday leave or some other kind of "leave" I wonder?

That kind of extensive leave (7 weeks) needs to be approved at senior level.
Requests for lengthy blocks of leave like that are subject to operational consideration, particularly during times of high demand, and during peak holiday times. Like now.

Given that these police forces are all allegedly understaffed and struggling to meet targets, Surrey manages to grant THAT particular officer seven weeks holiday in peak holiday time August?

More to it than that I think. It doesn't ring right with me. But then none of it does.

Wouldn't it be interesting if the Investigating Officer is away having their gender affirmation surgery. I will admit at once that it's an entirely imagined idea! But wouldn't it be interesting.

Far be it for me to suggest that the OIC is basically useless, is fucking about with this case because he can't be trusted with anything important and nobody would notice if he fucked off for 7 weeks.

@LarkLane I have wondered if the officer was, er, told off given the force now has a substantial costs bill over the failed SPO but I've really no idea - an out of office on holiday reply was received and, once again, Caroline is in limbo.

@DrLouiseJMoody
I was thinking that, if finally, Professional Standards were concerned about the behaviour of the Investigating Officer, they wouldn't be telling CFwhat was truly going on internally obviously ... but they would be shifting the officer out of the way while they had a squint at the case files.

I think the officer is on the ropes for some reason. Defo not on holiday with a bucket and spade is my strong guess. I do hope that I'm right.
(p.s. not a cop)

Alternative scenario is that they are on a training course, but then someone else should be picking up the case. You don't go on a training course for 7 weeks without your work being covered by other colleagues.

If PC Useful has any important (to the force) casework on their desk, it will be covered.

The process is the punishment remember, a 7 week delay is just more juice for the same amount of squeeze. Perfect pass agg as well. Officer Useful was on holibobs so yanno, you just have to sit and endure another 1/8th of a YEAR in this kafkaesque nightmare we're kindly putting you in. Lol, Surrey Plice

Unless the case is being investigated by a specific team - such as CID, DV, MIT etc etc - it will stay on the response team with that OIC.

The response team will have about 20 cops on it - each cop will be carrying a case load of about 15-20 jobs each. Each job will need enquiries doing and case files to be completed and sent to CPS. Add into this the constant incoming emergency jobs, priority jobs, more jobs with enquiries attached, missing from homes, cell watches, hospital watches, sudden deaths, MH etc etc. You don't really get chance top do your own jobs let alone other peoples.

So you can't just pass your 15-20 jobs onto you team mates when your off. There will be about 5-6 abstractions from the shift at any one time - so that will be about 100 enquiries which will have to re-distributed around the shift.

It doesn't work that way.

Unless its a significant job which you can pass to a designated team - it stays with you to sort out. The other cops on the team won't get chance to do anything with it in any case as they have their own cases to sort out. If you're lucky, you might have a cop on light duties or office bound who can sort out some of the admin for you - but that's about it.

7 weeks away. Yes not a very common occurrence to have 7 weeks on holiday, but it can happen if its planned and approved. This will cover things like a wedding and honeymoon in Australia for example. It may be a case that the OIC is away from shift for 7 weeks - so a 2 week holiday followed by a 4 week course, blue light driving courses take 4 weeks to run usually.

We don't know what the enquiries are - the phone down loads take ages to come back. For it to go to CPS, they have to be professionally downloaded and a report supplied by an authorising body - often having to go through RIPA for approval. Its not just a 'quick look'. The police may have had a 'quick look' at CF's phone for the purpose of the interview, but that's not good enough for a case file.

Then the case file has to be assembled & redacted and sent to CPS. CPS have a month turnaround, but that often gets delayed as they have staff shortages. This is possibly what the delay is for and the increase in the bail time.

If this is correct, and CF gets costs (I very much hope she does) then what? PC Useful just goes "yeahna, seemed legit at the time, soz lol", and the Chief Superintendent and the Police and Crime Commissioner go "yeah shit happen, no big deal, let's just cut a cheque for the 12K in completely avoidable legal fees and move on".

It's a bloody long time since I heard of response teams having 20 operational cops on them. Oh how we laughed to read that!

You are right Bez, and this would help keep Surrey Top of The Complaint Pops.
Obvs they cherish the position.
https://epsomandewelltimes.com/surrey-police-top-complaints-table

Cleveland second, I'm sure there is a poster on here who is proud of that one.

Wasn't there an old game show on the radio 'Surrey, I haven't a clue?'

LarkLane
It's a bloody long time since I heard of response teams having 20 operational cops on them. Oh how we laughed to read that!

How many do you think they have?

And if its less where you are - then it increases the problem as there will be more jobs to sort out with less cops to do it.

If only that was the police’s attitude with rape cases. Sadly they have zero interest in protecting women, only in prosecuting them.

Felix, I am not normally the grammar police but since you claim to be a police professional, it is “fewer cops” not “less cops”. Like bear and bare.

ah I get it, like if you had some number of bears (bears are quantised to units of one bear unless you are talking about butchery or cleaning up after some kind of serious forest explosion), and put a shirt on one, you would have fewer bare bears, and that one bear would be a less bare bear.

Excellent .

Needmoresleep

No problem - if you want to derail with grammar issues. I'm a professional cop not a professional English Teacher. If you want to see examples of poor spelling & grammar - read some of the doctors reports we get from the hospitals.

You might want to let 'BezMills' know that 'ah' should have a capital 'A' as its the start of a sentence. Also their previous post didn't have a full stop at the end of the sentence.