"Ret." wrote in message
news:jdCdncuNEL4M6P7UnZ2dnUVZ8vidnZ2d@pipex.net...
> Bill wrote:
>> AnnieBond wrote:
>>> I retracted my statement today telling them i made it up,
>>
>> Is that not wasting police time or at worst attempting to pervert the
>> course of justice?
>
> This is the problem that the police have always faced in relation to
> domestic disputes:
> Husband/boyfriend beats wife/girlfriend. Wife/girlfriend calls police and
> makes complaint. Police arrest offender and take statements. Next morning
> wife/girlfriend calls police and says she wishes to withdraw the
> complaint. Incredibly this happened more often than not.
I suppose there is a difference between "I was upset, we've made it up now,
I wish I hadn't reported it as a crime" and "I was drunk and made it all
up".
In the latter case, it would be in society's interest to prosecute the
complainant.
>
> In the past the police were prone to saying: "Fair enough, if you don't
> want to proceed, we'll drop the charges." Which some may regard as
> entirely fair - however the wimmins movement argued (not without some
> justification) that often complainants withdrew their complaint because
> they were frightened of subsequent revenge attacks from the offender. As
> a result of pressure, the police now rarely allow a complainant of assault
> to 'withdraw the complaint', - they will proceed with court action and let
> the court decide what to do. Often this is fraught with difficulty because
> the complainant may well refuse to attend court and give evidence.
>
> It's a difficult area but personally I think the police came in for a lot
> of unjustified stick over this issue in the past. They did not see it as
> their role to force a complainant to go through with a complaint if she
> did not wish to.
>
> Where the complaints did become more justified was when informal police
> policy, working on the basis that most female complainants of domestic
> violence withdrew their complaint the following day, changed to persuade
> complainants to 'sleep on it' and make a complaint in the morning if they
> wished to. This saved a lot of wasted time and paperwork but, if the
> alleged offender was not arrested, left the complainant at his mercy until
> the following morning.
Thanks for that - useful to know.
|