First collection

Here are a selection of seven stories from the ones we have been sent since our launch on 9 September 2009.  We wish there had been more positive ones but this is a fair selection of those we have received on the back of our launch.

Murder witness – case for a charity
Tube attack - what would you have done
Police out of touch with the public
Violent crime – witness unwelcome
Protracted and unpleasant time at court
Uninspired by police handing of routine matters
Violent attack – a pitiful police response

 

Murder witness – case for a charity Murder witness – case for a charity

A few years ago I witnessed a violent knife attack in Hackney, while I was driving to work. I phoned the police and told them what I had seen and I also gave my details to the police officer at the crime scene, some hours later.  It was at that point that I discovered that it had become a murder scene.

I was very surprised that I was not contacted to give a statement until almost a week later, especially as I was informed that I was a significant witness. I gave evidence at Woolwich Crown Court and the defendant was convicted.  The police were mostly helpful and kept me fairly well informed through the process, but going to court was a completely new experience to me and I had little idea of what to expect.  The Witness Service was not much help - it seemed to be mostly about claim forms for loss of earnings etc and I think there may have been some irregularities - another witness tried to talk to me about my evidence, but I felt this could not be right.

I was also shown some photographs of the crime scene and diagrams showing the position of the victim's wounds which I thought was odd.  During the trial I was a bit nervous - the defendant was clearly visible and made eye contact with me, but I did not feel threatened and felt I was making an important contribution to justice.

It was quite an isolating and very unfamiliar experience and I did not personally know anyone I could have asked about the process and my role in it.  I definitely would have appreciated a charity like this for some help to explain what to expect and to ask questions about aspects of the witness experience that I was unsure about. Good Luck.

 

Tube attack - what would you have done?

A few years ago I was mugged in an empty carriage on a Bakerloo tube train by a drug addict wanting to steal my mobile phone. Upon refusing to give it to him he started hitting me across the head with a bottle. Eventually I managed to push him away and tried to make it to the next carriage where I knew there were other people. Unfortunately the train must have gone round a corner and I missed the handle of the door and was thrown into the corner of the end of the carriage. I turned to hear the bottle smash and then he started stabbing me in the face with the bottle severing an artery and as I tried to protect myself my arms and body. I managed to again push him away and get through the door and by this point was bleeding quite severely and as I ran past two people screamed at them to help me. I continued running and my exit was blocked by the end of the carriage being a drivers cabin and not an exit. My attacker was upon me again continuing to stab and slash at me. I looked to see where the people I'd screamed at where and saw they were heading away from me and leaving me to my fate. I eventually did manage to trap him in one carriage and get my back against the door to prevent him entering and luckily we came into a station where he escaped and luckily I was able to get medical attention. I'd lost a lot of blood and was in a pretty bad way but happy to say I've mended and only have a few facial scars now.

I have put myself in the position of the people I screamed at and have asked if I saw someone running down a tube carriage covered in blood and a man chasing after him, would I have intervened? Would I want to get the same done to me? Is it any of my business, I don't know why this has happened. Could the person bleeding be the criminal and the chasing man the victim who has managed to overcome the assailant and is giving him a taste of his own medicine? Had they tried to stop him attacking me would they have received worse injuries than me? They never came forward as witnesses. This saddens me as they could have held vital information and I wonder if I'd died they would then have come forward. Luckily all was well and the police caught him due to his blood being at the scene from him cutting his hand on the bottle

All valid questions and I'm sure most people would just think "this is nothing to do with me so why should I get involved?" I look back now and realise sitting in an empty carriage (something I'd never thought about as had travelled many times in empty carriages without trouble). My phone was nothing special and as I was texting my girlfriend thanking her for a great evening, did not realise I was advertising it to a mugger, something I feel has been addressed by the police and whilst it was not obvious to me, it should be obvious that flashing something that a mugger would be interested in is not a good idea but sadly in this day and age most people have at least one electronic device and should be able to use them without trouble. This seems to be my dilemma, my phone had a lot of information in it that I did not want the mugger to be able to access thus I refused to give him it. Will never know had I given him it whether he would have attacked me so he could steal the rest of my possessions but this is likely. In the end he took nothing from me and paid the price.

I hope your mission does gain some ground as it is vital that people know however little they do it can be a great help

 

Police out of touch with the public 

I am sorry to come across in a negative way, but the police have really lost touch with the people they are supposed to serve; you only need to recall the way the G20 was policed to see just how much things have deteriorated.

There clearly are exceptions and some of the initiatives where police officers work hard with communities to try to remedy anti-social/criminal behaviour do have some success. I live in a large town in the south-west, where deprivation plays a major role in escalating levels of crime. The Council and local police and resident groups do the best they can and improvements are made, but the problems do not go away.

I have always reported crime, having been the victim on several occasions. But, until recently, the process has been very difficult, as the nearest police station is closed a lot of the time there is a general telephone operator miles away who has to decide which calls are a priority. We now have a better service to report anti-social behaviour. But of course people have to use it; if they don`t report incidents there is no evidence and without evidence there can be no prosecution. So we are back to square one.

 

 

Violent crime – witness unwelcome

Can I just tell you that although I believe you are right the following means I am considerably less hopeful about positive outcomes than I used to be.

Earlier this year after a night out my son and two friends witnessed a vicious attack one – a 999 call was made and my son gave first aid – he also saw the perpetrators and heard what they said   - when the police arrived they declined his offer to give a statement and pointed to the CCTV and said ‘we have all we need’. When he got home he made notes.  He was taken aback at the attitude of the police at the scene and on the Sunday morning we both attended the police station to be told that he could not speak to anyone as the relevant shift sergeant was not there and that he should come back another day.  By the time the day came later that week his friends had persuaded him it s a waste of time pursuing it. Yesterday I found the carefully folded piece of paper with her notes on in his room.  I have no idea what he will do on another occasion.

 

Protracted and unpleasant time at court

I have been in court twice over a period of two years or so as an independent prosecution witness of violent crime. The whole process has on both occasions been protracted and unpleasant:

- the defence lawyers prolonged the cases unnecessarily

- the defence counsel was aggressive and cross-examined me as if I were the criminal and tried to cast doubt on everything I said

- the court (Snaresbrook) was very far from my house and with abortive trips caused by the defence lawyers' delaying antics, which felt like they were aimed mainly to increase their own fees, I wasted several days

- the court itself was badly planned and at times I felt that my position as a witness was not respected in that I was confronted with the accused's family and supporters in the entry hallway for first case. For the second case I found myself face to face with the accused after the case and he wanted to talk to me

- I did feel that the police behaved well in both cases, they were sympathetic, appreciative and made the effort to talk to me and keep me informed.

On balance its unlikely that I'll bother again to come forward as a witness even though I still believe that, as a citizen of London, I have a duty to support and assist victims of crime. Next time I see or hear anything I will hesitate and debate whether to call 999. Surely someone else can do it this time.

 

Uninspired by police handing of routine matters

I heard about your organisation on the radio (BBC London, I think) and was very impressed with the concept.  It’s beyond me, that with the prevalence of mobile phones, that so much crime can happen without it being witnessed and reported. Can people be encouraged to use their mobiles to cut crime?

Another simple way that people might become helpful witnesses would be to just take down number plates of cars involved in offences. I keep a pad and pencil in the car just in case.

Unfortunately, I have to mention how my second point can come unstuck. After being driven into from behind, the car that drove into me mounted the pavement and made a quick getaway, I took down its number and went home to phone the police. As I was not injured, their central recording system simply took some details but wouldn’t pass on the details to any police. I had then to drive round to two police stations at night with broken rear lights to report what had happened. When I did find a policeman, a self-reporting form was tossed over the counter. This form meant that I had to return with the completed form plus proof of my insurance and MOT. When I said I was surprised at this the policeman asked if I had a problem with it. I had to go through all this to report a car that had driven away from an accident with what turned out to be false plates. I cringe whenever I hear of this self-reporting scheme.

 

Violent attack – a pitiful police response

I was on a bus travelling out of the city centre  around 2pm in broad daylight.  The bus was 2/3's full. A woman on the bus grabbed me by the throat from behind and bent me double.  Hit the top of my head 15-20 times. No one physically intervened.

The bus driver called the Police from his cab. [Phone call 1].  One passenger called the Police from his cell phone. [Phone call 2].  The Police told the driver they were on their way. [Phone call 3].  20 minutes later after the woman had stopped hitting me and got off the bus.  The driver called the Police again. The Police gave the driver a phone number to give to me (the victim):  "Tell her to go home and call this number" - not knowing if I were physically able of "going home".

The driver, the passenger who called the Police from his cell phone and one other passenger gave me their phone numbers and names to give to the Police.  I staggered home, the police were phoned [Phone call 4] as suggested and I was taken to see a doctor.  On returning home I called the Police [Phone call 5]. They asked some basic questions and wanted to leave it at that.

I called my MP's office and they called the Police. [Phone call 6].  By now it was late afternoon.  Late that night the Police knocked at my door to take a statement. Having taken a statement, the Police said they would need photos of my injuries (my face was purple) and phoned the station for a camera.  They were told the (i.e the one) camera was being used by someone else and so they said they would return "tomorrow".

At first I called the Police number I'd been given a few times and would reach the voicemail: "You have reached the Police, please leave a message..."  I'd leave a message.  They would call back but I would be out.  This went on until one day an officer rang my cell phone to lave a message that they had found the cctv pictures of the assault.    I called back and got the voicemail.

Eventually I went to a victim support office who called the Police on my behalf and asked for an update.  They were told the Police were hoping "soon" to get the cctv footage.   I said the Police had told me they had that weeks before and the Police then told the support office to tell me to go home and they would phone me with an update.  That call never came and they never photographed my battered face.

One VERY fed up victim.  No wonder witnesses won't come forward if this is how the Police and our system treat the victim.