Not in the public interest!: This is a typical assertion by 'prosecuting officers' (and some police), where there is some doubt, given the balance and weight of evidence of the victim and the accused, that a case is viable to succeed in court. It does not mean you have not been assaulted, although that is poor consolation when this happens. It is a judgment, sought to save pubic funds and prevent unreasonable waste of valuable resources. It is over used and sometimes miss used. There are inadequate resources to adequately support you in preparing your evidence, in ways that do not 'prejudice' your evidence, by inadvertently 'leading' you. Police have to be 'independent' of the evidence. This is not a 'normal' Police problem, or their 'normal' responsibility. They 'have' to avoid 'leading' you in any significant way. It could affect your case if it came to court.. They must remain impartial to your evidence, other than in skilfully collecting it, sifting through it and comparing against that of the accused. They then have to consider this evidence with the prosecutor, to satisfy themselves it will stand up in court. There is a problem of the adequate availability of 'Advocacy', or of those that can skilfully support you in 'speaking up' for yourself. This often just means that it would be too expensive to do and the outcome of police efforts (given their lack of experience in the less clear, less obvious instances) are likely to fail. This may also be because of their limited efforts to process a case (often for good institutional reasons), and the inadequate Guidence you will often obtain in presenting your evidence to them. It is important to get additional support and advice at all stages, starting right now. One of the factors here; is how good a witness you would make in court. This is assessed by how well you were able to present your evidence to them in the police station and how this may be seen to reflect on past events, eventually in court. There are improved Police Resources for this but these tend to be restricted to the current, limited definition of what constitutes a 'Vulnerable Adult'. There is some flexibility though, around the issue of intimidation & fear. Other factors, are also considered:  This page is in the stage of preparation.
There are some links on the right that may be helpful: | NOTE: This Document is still at some stage of development. You are invited to respond and comment on its content and its logic. If you return to the document at a future date, you will be able to see its continued development, hopefully reflecting your own and others commentary. I thank you, in advance, for any contribution that you make. Please also feel free to visit and contribute, in any valid way, to these and other social issues, through our Forums. There is also a Chat Room and protected Chat Space for more serious group discussions and individual counselling. Please feel free o use this space for your legitimate activities. Copyright: Although you will see very few reference to other formal writings in this document, I acknowledge general recognition to the discussions and debates that I have had with students, practitioners and clients over the years. Most of the ideas and theory has evolved through this rather pragmatic process (operational research), rather than any formal reading. If any content of this document describes concepts, theory, or ideas that have been established else where, (prior to my writing, either here or else where - in part or in full), I acknowledge their entitlement to claim them as their intellectual property for financial purposes, if they can evidence this. I also reserve the right to retain them as my intellectual property, with due recognition to those who have made direct contributions, including other writers, should I identify such a past influences. Other than this, I invite you to share and copy any content, to the benefit of intellectual debate and the benefit of individuals and groups, without restriction, other than it be used for constructive purpose, in the wider context of my writing. Should you wish to use any material presented here 'as is', I ask that you then make reference to myself and the web site. The 'Reading Date' would be a useful 'publishing date' for the Current Edition. 1980 is the core publishing date for most of the basic ideas and theory (unless stated otherwise). This 'Reading Date' may be an important part of this 'reference', as the document (by its 'internet fluid' nature) will be constantly changing and this may affect meaning and interpretation, for those following up on such a reference at a later date. Thank you for your cooperation. TRC. eMail: terry.couchman@visitweb.org |
