Opportunity to ask Questions to a UK Police Officer!

Since there are not too many suggestions yet, I though I might start the ball rolling.

1. When the police are requested to attend a 'domestic', what is legal options to do they have to deal with the situation?
2. If it is not clear who the main aggressor is, what do they do?
3. What can the police do or advice is we are still living with or in close proximity to our abuser to help protect us, eg emergency phones, additional security, webcams, a number to log all complaints , etc
4, Who presses charges now, do we, the victims still have to do it, or are charges brought by the police?
5. What function does the PCS have and how likely is a charge to be dropped, cautioned or go to court?
6. Will we be kept in touch during he whole time or are we just left dangling to find out what happens.
7. What if we don't want to press charges or withdraw charges, will this lessen the possibility of conviction?
8. What protection can be put in place AFTER the release from prison?

Id actually like to know how police supports the victim on the way to court, in court and on the way out.

I went to court in Australia and I was supposed to wait in the same main "mega" waiting hall, WITH my Ex. I mean thats just ridiculous nobody informed me beforehand that there is one big waiting area and Id walk right into him.
Then after I asked, i was able to wait in a special waiting room for domestic violence victims. When the court was ready I was called in but collapsed from stress when the door opened.

The judge let me stay in the DV room and read out my statement I had given to police previously- it was enough in that case. Iam thankful I did not have to go through the courtroom- sitting so close to my Ex.

But....isnt there a way to inform victims beforehand? To give them the right to NOT sit in a court room if it speaks against all instincts?

Is there weapon screening in the UK? In Australia they did not search my ex for weapons and there were no metal detectors in the courthouse entrance.
That seemed so ridiculous to me and I didnt feel safe.

Also, when walking out we had to go through the main waiting hall again- where he was sitting yet again to wait to be called in for sentencing.

....of course i freaked out when I wanted to walk out and I see him sitting right by the door that lead to the DV room (of course he did it on purpose....) and i had to find an office to walk me out of there.
Is that somewhat better organized in the UK?


Its as if the victims need to educate the system sometimes- at cost of their own safety.

All good questions - keep them coming!

1) are queer/homosexual abuse cases taken as seriously as heterosexual ones?
2) if a case does go to court, does the victim have to see the abuser or can they be interviewed separately?
3) if there is evidence of abuse more than 6 months prior to any charge being filed, is it still worth giving as evidence?
(sorry if these questions are too late)

Every time the police came, they would separate and the officer talking to him would be told I was mentally unstable, he would show them MY counselling report that unknown to me, he had stolen from my files. The report refers to high anxiety and depression scores typical for abuse victims. They would believe him, saying there are two sides to every story, and on two occasions, I was told that I was wasting their time, even though he had just thrown a boiling steam cleaner at me.

I had to call them out 7 times, and each time repeat explaining the situation as although I had a marked telephone number, the officers had no access to the history. It was only on the seventh call out, when again he had persuaded them that I was mentally unstable, and they had reneged on their promise to remove him, that I asked to speak to their superior, told them that I was a professional and my friend who had witnessed the last two incidents, had 17 years experience working in mental health, that they actually believed me and took him away. A judge gave me an emergency non-molestation order the following day.

Only a few of the officers had ever heard of Asperger's Syndrome, and none of them knew the term "gaslighting"

I would like to also ask some questions, hope I'm not too late for that?

I have a stalker that's been stalking me for 11 years. Police have been involved about 15 times - nothing ever got done about him as each time I called them - often with plenty of evidence - he would claim it was me that had allegedly harassed him. Since he is an old man of nearly 80, he would make it out that I was this crazy young foreign woman and he was the poor old victim that couldn't defend himself. Police fell for it each time and actually slapped ME with harassment warnings etc. Since he then felt he could do what he wanted, he murdered my cat in 2009, then smashed my classic car up, called my boss and claimed I was a "dangerous schizophrenic and shouldn't be in that job" - anything to destroy my life.

I also always felt that police officers were prejudiced by the fact that I live in social housing, whereas he is wealthy. They automatically assumed that I must be the troublemaker!

I had police officers accusing ME of causing all the problems, of harassing him, I was even threatened that if there was any more trouble then it would be me that would go to jail. Officers even claimed in their records about me that I was allegedly a liar, and that my stalker was the innocent party and "very cooperative" - whereas, when I was once crying in the police station, it was claimed in the records that I was allegedly "very irate and aggressive"!

I think there is a difference between crying and being aggressive!

I have seen these records so know that these things have really been claimed about me.
I am also very upset that I have been made out to be the liar!

Last year my stalker tried to kill me by way of smashing a brick against my car as I was driving - he had tried to smash it through the windshield and hit me on the head and thereby kill me, but he missed and smashed it against the car, resulting in collossal damage. The car mechanic who repaired it confirmed that this sort of damage could only have been done by a brick being thrown on purpose with considerable force.

Again I told police, but was told there was no proof that this was him.

I would love to know why officers are so prejudiced on the account that I live in social housing and automatically assume that I must be the troublemaker, why they refuse to act against this person, and how much more he has to do - and for how much longer - before something gets done about it?

With regards to my abusive husband, he has been removed from my property by police, and this time the officers were not prejudiced - but then, my husband is not a wealthy Englishman - and he has made counterclaims, saying that I had allegedly abused him physically and emotionally, so I am now again in fear of getting a warning or arrested for a crime I have not committed. I have not heard anything yet so maybe police have seen through his lies, but given all that I have experienced with my stalker I just wonder - don't police officers know that abusers will often make counter claims and claim it was the victim who did all the abusing?

1. My ex informed me that the police said they were sorry they had to arrest him and apparently commented to my ex that they had never seen a desk Sargent release someone so quickly. Do police ever act this way in a domestic incident? The guys who came to see me were lovely so I find it very distressing that this may be the case and so don't want to believe it

2. I was in a very distressed state when the police came round and did not want my ex to be arrested so did not give a formal statement. In hindsight I realise I should have done this but I am sure many other women do not give a formal statement either. Is it not possible for the police to press charges even if the victim won't?

3. Why does the tough line on domestic abuse stop when the victim leaves? Why is there not after support from the police in all domestic abuse cases rather than just the ones with severe violence?

Not sure these are quite the right type of questions but thought I'd ask anyway

And I've handed over enough to support the abuse I've suffered, and years she partially admitted to abusing me and the children, yet child services have just sat back and watch in silence.


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