Is this a sensible way to do things?

It's Easter Sunday and I've been sat about for the past 14-hours waiting for clients to be interviewed in the police station.

I have one in Chiswick.  I have called the police several times through the night and day.  So far, there doesn't seem to be a police officer assigned to interview this chap.  I therefore have no idea when he will be interviewed.  I do know; however, that if officers ask for an extension to the 24-hour period they can hold him for I will be objecting on the basis that for the first 15-hours of his detention they appear to have done bugger all.

I have two clients being held in Hounslow.  They have also been in custody about 15-hours.  I understand an officer has been assigned to interview these boys.  However, the officer is based at Acton.  The obvious thing to do would be for the officer to take the 20 minute drive to Hounslow, interview them and get on with it, particularly as Acton has no cells available to hold them.  For some reason, the plan is to have 4 or 5 officers travel from Acton to Hounslow, drive both suspects back to Acton where the investigating officer can question them, but only once cells become available at Acton.  Having spoken to the custody sergeant I understand that these two with be the third and fourth suspects to be transferred in this way today!

All three suspects have been arrested as they have been named as being involved in offences, so it can hardly be a surprise to the police that these people are in custody.

Admittedly, I'm probably more annoyed than usual because I had to cancel dinner and my little boy's easter egg hunt at my mum and dad's house to wait for these interviews.

UPDATE.  It's now 18.15, which is about 18-hours after the people mentioned in this post were arrested. The suspects at Hounslow have been transferred to Acton.  As this has freed up some space at Hounslow the obvious thing to do is to transfer prisoners from Chiswick to Hounslow.  So, that's what's happening.

Incidentally, having spoken to custody I am told that officers have been assigned to these cases but have not bothered to make any substantive contact with custody staff since being assigned and that the officers have not been answering their telephones all day. 

I honestly hope that these people are never asked to organise anything as difficult as a piss up in a brewery.

Comments

  1. westofthelaw4 April 2013 at 15:04

    Appalling! In view of this I wonder why the government is pushing video evidence on the pretext it keeps officers on the beat.

    ReplyDelete

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