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Getting arrested

Lynn Sawyer | 22.03.2009 09:14 | Animal Liberation | Repression

I was arrested yesturday under section 69 of the Crminal Justice Act for aggravated trespass

Well it is alleged that I was interfering with a hunt, I was held for 6 hours and bailed, it will come to nothing.

My reason for posting is that I have not been arrested for a few years and a couple of things have changed.

First a police woman breached PACE by trying to check me for body piercings at the custody desk where there were 4 men by lifting up my t shirt(for anyone who is interested no I don't have any and have no intention of getting any). I told her in no uncertain terms that she was out of order and that she should search me somewhere private and she complied and I would advise other activists not to take this nonsense. If I am right this constituted a partial unauthorised strip search.

The other area of concern is that some Reliance bloke was under the impression that I was obliged to answer private questions about shoe size, tatoos, scars, the name of my Mums cat, my favourite colour etc. When I stuck to my guns and told him that I was only giving him name and address he was in a proper strop and was under the false impression that I could be held for longer. No-one he said had ever refused to answer such questions before and that activists were always a pain. Again no-one should be answering these questions if they do not want to, there is no legal right for them to insist.

It seems as though the private security companies are getting more and more entrenched in custody suites which in spite of the fact that I have no illusions with the police appears to be a very bad move because some of these people have even bigger delusions of granduer than police officers.

Lynn Sawyer

Comments

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question

22.03.2009 11:12

at what point did the Reliance person ask you those questions? That's the job of the custody desk sergeant, and I thought that still had to be a copper?

Yes, the police give much less of a shit about the law than 5 years ago, especially around when they're wiling to arrest you or otherwise infringe your rights, even if they know it'll come to nothing and they might get sued.

aunty


Well..

22.03.2009 11:43

One of them tried to fingerprint me just after booking in and being searched, so I think that they meant to ask me then but at that stage I refused to have my prints taken. Later prior to being interviewed another one asked me then. They now seem to (at Newbury anyway) want to do fingerprints, photo and now 50,000 questions prior to interview. Years ago of course all this was done after charge and my previous experience was that it was just a very vague attempt on 2 occassions when I was told by a DC that I did not really have to answer and another security guard (at Worcester police station) just looked bemused and gave up. This security guard did try to be intimidating, maybe he would succeed with others who may not have been arrested before or are vulnerable. I did ask him how many people actually answered intimate questions on their private lives bodies and he told me no-one had ever refused. It could have been his first day in the job or he could have been lying I suppose.

I suspect that the police have abdicated the reponsibilty of such questions to private security personell which is not reassuring.

Furthermore he is a Reliance employee, will a private company have access to data obtained in a police station such as my photo prints and if I had answered details all about my life?

They get more and more powers year on year. I wonder if they will ever make it a condition of release to answer such questions?

Lynn Sawyer


The cops were following all day that day

22.03.2009 15:58

They seemed determined from the offset to arrest someone.Really ridiculous. We had two coppers with us all day,through every terrian,with us. They looked really knackered(and sunburnt) at the end of it....poor things :D

Glad your out and safe,Lynne .

Vegantruthist
- Homepage: http://www.youtube.com/user/VeganTruthist1


Yes - they have delegated powers

22.03.2009 15:59

The plastic cops have delegated powers from the custody officer (normally a sergeant) - so they have the powers but not normally the training - this is why it is good that all custody areas are videoed now.

Delegate