on friday my daughter aged11 asked if she could stay over at her best friends house,they only live 100yards away so i said ok.around 11.30 the same night the police visited the house looking for her friends uncle.

they were the armed responce team from yorkshires finest, armed and dangerous,after telling my daughters friends dad to leave the house with his hands up then kneel down they extracted his wife,sister and 3 children,placing each one in a police van for interigation,they kept my daughter in the van for two hours,wouldn,t let them use a toilet and never contacted me as the parent to say they were interigating my daughter.

all this while searching a small 3 bedroom house for two hours,i could have searched norfolk park in less time,

is it really getting that bad where an 11 years old girl gets dragged out of bed and placed in a van with armed police? she may be a bit of a tom boy but this was verging on the ridiculous.

i always thought the police had a duty to contact the parent if questioning a child,it would not appear so,...monday morning im on the phone and want some explination from our boys in blue

File a complaint ASAP!

It's illegal for them to ask your child any questions without contacting you first and giving you opportunity to provide her with a solictor or you as representation!

Also not providing her chance to go to the toilet is against european human rights, which is a VERY serious matter, especially in the case of an 11 year old child.

Sorry to hear about your daughters bad experiance but have you thought perhaps you dont know this family as much as you thought you did and the police saved her from getting involved in more than you bargained for.

Originally posted by nikita
but have you thought perhaps you dont know this family as much as you thought you did and the police saved her from getting involved in more than you bargained for.

This may be true... but the police still have rules to follow by, and I would hope that as human beings they'd at least have enough common sense and morals to know to treat a young girl and her parents some respect and decency!

The police can be an ass at times, they arrested me once and broke more laws with what they did than what I had done in the first place, and putting in a formal complaint just lines you up for laughter most of the time...

but if this story is true I'm truely disgusted and if I was the parent I'd be in touch with my local MP ASAP and complain

the family my daughter was with have lived on this road for 12 years,the mother is a nurse and a very quiet type of lady,is it her fault her brother in law has done some thing wrong? i think it could have been handled with a little more diplomacy than to re-enact a scene from swat and have two young girls and a two year old baby sat inside a police van for a couple of hours.

bieng interviewed by the cid inside a van is not what i would think police work was about,at least they could have brought a social worker with them to attend the interigation if they had no intention of asking me the parent to be present.

im all for the police doing their job,god knows i wouldn,t fancy doing it,but it does appear to be very heavy handed,i dont know ,nor does the family what the uncle is accused of doing but ive read,nor heard of any serious events happening on friday that warrant the use of such tactics

I would be seriously ticked off about this. you should first contact the police and tell them that you want to complain, and that you are forwarding the letter of complaint to the Chief Constable and your MP. You can find your MPs email address in this link.

http://www.parliament.uk/directories/hciolists/alms.cfm

Good grief!

I thought this sort of thing only happened here in the US. depoix, thank goodness your daughter is ok, but I would still talk to the police about their actions, and maybe file a formal complaint.

This horrible incident:

http://www.kovr13.com/09sep00/091400c.htm

happened about 4 yrs. ago in the town where I live. The father was a suspected drug dealer, and the family was cooperating with police and SWAT team members when an officer's gun accidently discharged, killing the boy.

The family won a huge monetary settlement, but money cannot take the place of their child!

There have been other incidents where the police have raided the wrong house. :loopy:

In one, a resident's dog attacked the officers, and they shot and killed it. Leaving the dog lying in a pool of blood, next to the kicked in door and other debris, for the owners to find when they returned home. Nice.

I always felt that if only the father was a suspect, why not wait until he was at his place of business, then arrest him. Why did they need to go to his house with his family there?

Look into this further. I'm not up on the laws in Britain, but they should NOT have questioned
your daughter without getting your permission first.

(They sound like bounty hunters, not police!)


:) Sierra

I would be very unhappy :rant:

But did your daughter ask to speak to 'mum/dad'? and did they assume this meant the people they had in custody?

I'd complain, but if that's the case, there may not be a satisfactory outcome.

Did the parents caring for your child think to mention that she was not involved? Did they suggest contacting you?

You have my sympathy on this one and its best if you get legal advice as soon as posible.
It must have been very upsetting for your child and its not right the police did not inform you asap.

Originally posted by Strix
I would be very unhappy :rant:

But did your daughter ask to speak to 'mum/dad'? and did they assume this meant the people they had in custody?

I'd complain, but if that's the case, there may not be a satisfactory outcome.

Did the parents caring for your child think to mention that she was not involved? Did they suggest contacting you? the police asked her who she was and where she lived,she told them her name and address which is a mere 14 houses along the road,after bieng quizzed by one officer they left off the questioning far awhile, then another officer came into the van and said to her,so you are xxx xxxxx?,the girl who is visiting?,so they obviously knew who was who, i would think that they would automatically have done a name check with the police computer, other wise they would have accused her of giving a false name and address and i presume took further action.

what a waste of police resourses to have so many officers tied up for so long, any how im on the phone tomorrow to see what it was all about but you can bet i,ll get the run around from them.

Depox, if it was the armed response that caused the mayhem then it must be serious.
They don't come for nothing, your Daughter may have been in danger from this man and in the end although it does not seem so at the moment may have done her a big favour.
With armed response theres no prisoners, they make them all hit the floor girl, boy man or woman, they have to due to a gun being involved.
This uncle has obviously done something very serious, the response team must have been aware someones life was at risk here.
Try and find out what its all about first before you damn the police as it could be that your daughter was saved from a much worse situation.

I have never read anything like this. The police are supposed to act on all information before going ahead with a raid.They should have known that there could be children at the property and made provisions for that BEFORE proceeding.Its illegal to question a child without the presence of a parent or suitable adult in attendence, and who gives them the right to refuse the child the use of a tiolet.
Boy would i be angry at this one .Your child must have been terrified,and forgive me if i am wrong ,but i allways told my kids if they were lost, in trouble etc go to the police,they are there to help,well your daughter certainly wont think that again will she.Its just beyond all comprehension that the Police did not contact you immediatly.The whys and wherefores of the case dont really come into it at this point, thats something that can be sorted out when things have calmed down a little.The main thing for you is your daughter,and of course the Police who have treated this child so badly.

I'd put money on them claimimg that they were just keeping her secure until the area was "confirmed safe" and until they had confirmed her ID.

I'm agreeing that the treatment was wrong but they'll cover themselves.

Originally posted by depoix
the police asked her who she was and where she lived,she told them her name and address which is a mere 14 houses along the road,......

That's far from acceptable. If they'd detained her for her own safety without informing you, that would be bad enough, but to question her without your supervision? I think you'll have a stronger case.

Is she okay? That must have been pretty scary.

Before you go jumping on the Police, stop to think for a minute why they used this huge amount of men and resources in the first place.

They don't do it for fun, and you might just have cause to be very grateful to the Police rather than critical.

A couple of hours of upset is far better than a life risked.

As already mentioned when an armed response team assault a location (be it our police, SWAT etc.) everyone found is secured for everyones safety. Once everyone is secured then they can go about trying to find out who is who - it sometimes takes a while and they aren't about to let anyone leave the scene until they are happy they have all the info needed. Obviously it's not a nice thing to happen to anyone especially a kid but surely their safety is paramount?

What did they actually ask your daughter besides her name and where she lives?

I agree with Cycleracer.
To start with, the police must have had some idea that firearms were involved.

Your daughter was removed for her own safety.
Her name would not be on the police PNC unless she had a record, so a "Burgess" check would have to be done to find out where she lived.
Find out all the facts today and let us know how you get on.

Originally posted by Sierra
Good grief!

I thought this sort of thing only happened here in the US. depoix, thank goodness your daughter is ok, but I would still talk to the police about their actions, and maybe file a formal complaint.

This horrible incident:

http://www.kovr13.com/09sep00/091400c.htm

happened about 4 yrs. ago in the town where I live. The father was a suspected drug dealer, and the family was cooperating with police and SWAT team members when an officer's gun accidently discharged, killing the boy.

The family won a huge monetary settlement, but money cannot take the place of their child!

There have been other incidents where the police have raided the wrong house. :loopy:

In one, a resident's dog attacked the officers, and they shot and killed it. Leaving the dog lying in a pool of blood, next to the kicked in door and other debris, for the owners to find when they returned home. Nice.

I always felt that if only the father was a suspect, why not wait until he was at his place of business, then arrest him. Why did they need to go to his house with his family there?

Look into this further. I'm not up on the laws in Britain, but they should NOT have questioned
your daughter without getting your permission first.

(They sound like bounty hunters, not police!)


:) Sierra

I know it is true, and much worse.

At the tragic Colombine incident, 6 of the I think 14 chidren shot and killed were by armed police, not much was covered in the press about that one though.

Only if we lived in a perfect world ??

Have the family whose house was raided given any explanation as to what happened and why they were looking for the brother in law did he live there?

Originally posted by nikita
Have the family whose house was raided given any explanation as to what happened and why they were looking for the brother in law did he live there? no he doesn,t live with them and i dont think the police gave a reason for looking for him,but its possible as they would have seen the parents seperatly from the children i suppose whilst interviewing

If.. just if (but you never know)... the person they were looking for was an escaped and armed kiddie fiddler, would you have been demanding a Police armed response unit raid the house?

Originally posted by venger
I know it is true, and much worse.
At the tragic Colombine incident, 6 of the I think 14 chidren shot and killed were by armed police, not much was covered in the press about that one though.


Do you have any proof of this? I could only find a report of one possible accidental shooting and even that has never been proved.

Originally posted by Tony
If.. just if (but you never know)... the person they were looking for was an escaped and armed kiddie fiddler, would you have been demanding a Police armed response unit raid the house?

I doubt he'd had demanded that they didn't walk down the street and knock on his door to explain the situation and return his daughter home.

Originally posted by Tony
If.. just if (but you never know)... the person they were looking for was an escaped and armed kiddie fiddler, would you have been demanding a Police armed response unit raid the house? i didnt demand anything,the fact that an 11 year old girl is kept in a van with armed strangers not even 100 yards away from me without my knowledge is what pixxes me off,as for the kiddie fiddler thing its not even worth a reply

Originally posted by viking
I agree with Cycleracer.
To start with, the police must have had some idea that firearms were involved.

Your daughter was removed for her own safety.
Her name would not be on the police PNC unless she had a record, so a "Burgess" check would have to be done to find out where she lived.
Find out all the facts today and let us know how you get on. why the burgess check when she was at number 3x on asxxxxy road and she told the police she lived at number 1x on the same road......simple consideration on their part would have been to escort her back home after the interigation and search and explain the situation,dont you think? i do understand that people have to be protected,but it would have been safer to remove her to a place of safety in case bullets started to fly,the safest place bieng, in a house a hundred yards away......not in a van outside

why the burgess check when she was at number 3x on asxxxxy road and she told the police she lived at number 1x on the same road......simple consideration on their part would have been to escort her back home after the interigation and search and explain the situation,dont you think? i do understand that people have to be protected,but it would have been safer to remove her to a place of safety in case bullets started to fly,the safest place bieng, in a house a hundred yards away......not in a van outside

Can`t argue with that, forgot she was only a few yards away Depo.

Originally posted by depoix
i didnt demand anything,the fact that an 11 year old girl is kept in a van with armed strangers not even 100 yards away from me without my knowledge is what pixxes me off,as for the kiddie fiddler thing its not even worth a reply

No, you missed my point. I assume that you would quite rightly support the police in the situation I outlined (or similar).

My point is that the Police act on intelligence and at the time the priority is THAT situation. Your daughter was totally safe. You said yourself that the Police spent 2 hours searching the house, during which time they were occupied with other things. They DID ensure that your daughter was safe.

I assume that the Police don't take welfare officers and social workers on every armed raid. They are concentrating on the job in hand, and part of that job was ensuring public safety, from which your daughter benefited. They didn't go out that day to upset your daughter, they went to find a presumably armed / dangerous individual.

I actually think you should be grateful that the Police risk their own lives doing this sort of stuff on our behalf.

Originally posted by Tony
No, you missed my point. I assume that you would quite rightly support the police in the situation I outlined (or similar).

My point is that the Police act on intelligence and at the time the priority is THAT situation. Your daughter was totally safe. You said yourself that the Police spent 2 hours searching the house, during which time they were occupied with other things. They DID ensure that your daughter was safe.

I assume that the Police don't take welfare officers and social workers on every armed raid. They are concentrating on the job in hand, and part of that job was ensuring public safety, from which your daughter benefited. They didn't go out that day to upset your daughter, they went to find a presumably armed / dangerous individual.

I actually think you should be grateful that the Police risk their own lives doing this sort of stuff on our behalf. of course im grateful for the police,but a little thought could have made her feel better and even grow up to respect the police instead of fearing them

he also said that two officers spent time questioning his daughter, if they had the time to do that, they had the time to walk down the street and take her home (not to mention that they were probably breaking the law by questioning her).

Originally posted by Tony
No, you missed my point. I assume that you would quite rightly support the police in the situation I outlined (or similar).

My point is that the Police act on intelligence and at the time the priority is THAT situation. Your daughter was totally safe. You said yourself that the Police spent 2 hours searching the house, during which time they were occupied with other things. They DID ensure that your daughter was safe.

I assume that the Police don't take welfare officers and social workers on every armed raid. They are concentrating on the job in hand, and part of that job was ensuring public safety, from which your daughter benefited. They didn't go out that day to upset your daughter, they went to find a presumably armed / dangerous individual.

I actually think you should be grateful that the Police risk their own lives doing this sort of stuff on our behalf.