Police visit

[gideonssword]

after many months of anguish we reported our next door neighbour to the council for noise as she has 4 Chihuahua dogs and they are constantly barking and yapping for extended periods of time on a daily basis.

 

About 2 weeks letter we get a telephone call from a Social worker saying that my next door neighbour has reported my 15 year old son to the police for exposing himself to her 2 young daughters who are 5 and 7 years of age during mid summer.

 

The social worker stated that the police will be coming out to our home to speak to us and our son regarding the allegation.

 

We have questioned him and he denies it outright we have warned him of the seriousness of the allegation and the potential consequences yet he still is adamant he has done nothing, my son is one of those who finds lying incredibly difficult so we are convinced he is telling the truth.

 

My question is what should my next course of action be?

 

Can we ask the police for the interview to be recorded? should we need it later down the Line.

 

Can we arrange for it to be done at the Police station instead of our home?

[Desperate Daniella]

How awful.

 

I'll see if I can get one of the legal guys to come here to advise you.

[Desperate Daniella]

The people I want to bring here aren't around at the moment. I will alert them later.

 

Hold on. I'm sure you will get advice shortly.

[gunner-highway]

No legal advice but make sure you get on record with the police the previous hassle and reason for her to lie. Keep strong.

[gideonssword]

Thanks to everyone for your support, i will check back later to see if anyone can offer legal advice

 

Thanks again.

[unclebulgaria67]

A very long time ago ( over 30 years ago), someone my brother went to school with was accused of similar, but to teenage girls. It was reported to the Police who dealt with it in a sensible way, which they could do in those days. They just said to him in his parents presence not to do it again or he would be arrested. I don't think there was any official caution or any further action.

 

These days, it is treated far more seriously and you need to get a Solicitor who deals with such issues. I would suggest looking in your local telephone directory for Solicitors that help with juvenile/youth offences. The risk of not doing this or getting a Solicitor that does not deal with such issues, is that your Son ends up with a caution or offence on his record, which causes him problems in the future.

[Desperate Daniella]

I do agree that you should consult a solicitor who specialises in these kinds of offences.

 

I am confused that the social worker contacted you and told you the police would be coming, rather than the police contacting you directly.

 

How long ago was it that she contacted you about this alleged offence?

[gideonssword]

the Social worker contacted us yesterday morning by telephone and visited us at 3pm yesterday on the same day.

[Desperate Daniella]

So was she going to make the complaint to the police? Sorry if I am being dim, but I don't understand why the mother didn't just call the police herself.

[gideonssword]

Yes the neighbor contacted the police herself, we spotted them parked up at her house about a week ago,

 

What frustrates us is she alleges the incident took place in August this year but just 2 weeks ago a delivery man knocked on our door and asked us if we could take a parcel in for this neighbor, we agreed and he put a card through her door to inform her that the parcel was with us.

 

We waited and waited for her to call round and collect it but she sent the young girl round on her own to collect it,

 

Call me naive but if you suspected your daughter was at risk would you send her round to the very house the incident is alleged to have taken place?

[Desperate Daniella]

Maybe it is their policy to send in a social worker first?

 

No, I wouldn't send my child to a house where I thought she would be at risk, and you should make that point.

 

The problem is that she may say her daughters have only just told her.

 

I would definitely get a solicitor to sit in on any interview though.

[gideonssword]

I am looking for a solicitor online in my area, is it one that specializes in neighbor disputes that i should be looking for?

[Desperate Daniella]

No, it absolutely must be one who deals with Juvenile Offenders.

[unclebulgaria67]

The Law Society have a phone number to help you find a Solicitor in your area.

 

http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/find-a-solicitor/help/

[gideonssword]

Thanks Unclebulgaria.

[steampowered]

Unless it gets to the stage where it looks like your son might be arrested or formally cautioned, I'm not sure there is much to be gained by involving a solicitor at this point. The allegation does not sound very credible if it was alleged to have happened several months ago and suddenly followed a complaint to the council about barking dogs, and I would hope that the authorities would treat it sensibly.

 

Obviously you need to make sure that the allegation is denied. I don't think there is much you will achieve by escalating this, e.g. by going down to the station.

 

I don't think it is worth going tit for tat with things like "you wouldn't have sent your daughter if it is true". That isn't helpful and won't help with the core allegation.

[Riz0]

I agree with Steampowered in the approach.

 

However, I would not trust the authorities for one second. If the police suggest that there will be "an informal caution" or something ridiculous like that to "deal with it quickly", stick to your guns and tell the cops to go get ****ed. I would then consider instructing a solicitor if it gets to this stage.

 

If the cops just ask some questions, make a note of your meeting immediately after and email it to yourself or have some record of it. Explain to your son that if he has not done it he must deny it at all times and to be honest all the way through. If you sense the police trying to trip him up, feel free to intervene.

 

Call me paranoid, but I do not trust the authorities, the police in particular.

[Bazooka Boo]

Yes, a solicitor is not needed at all, if nothing else it suggests guilt.

Plus it is good money wasted, I never use solicitors anymore, I either defend myself or instruct a lawyer/barrister.

 

If the old bill turn up at your door, and wish to discuss this on your property, then you have every right to record this yourself, dictaphone, video camera, mobile phone, you don't need the visual footage, just the voice recording.

DON'T allow them to run roughshod over YOUR rights, remember who is in charge here, they are on your property plus they are public servants, they serve you!

[unclebulgaria67]

Think people are under-estimating this issue. I think advice needs to be sought from a Solicitor because a 15 year old boy is accused of exposing himself to 5 & 7 year old girls. We don't know the exact nature of the accusation. There is the possibility of this 15 year old having a sexual offence being noted on their record and who knows whether this will come back to haunt them in the future. I have read of cases like this, where a juvenile record is brought up at a later date. This accusation will be recorded against him and therefore it needs to be dealt with properly.

 

It is a shame that oldbill does not post here anymore, as it would be helpful to have an ex-Police Officers experience/knowledge to guide the op.

[Bazooka Boo]

If the OP is requested to visit the station to answer these allegations, then yes I would be looking for legal representation, but as it is,

it is simply her word against his, and IMO is very slanderous and should she be found out to be telling porky pies, should have the book thrown at her.

Simply having a chat to a copper will not lead to having anything noted on his record, they would have to formally charge him with said offence, if it was proven to have been committed, and as the OP says it is highly unlikely.

[transient]

Think people are under-estimating this issue. I think advice needs to be sought from a Solicitor because a 15 year old boy is accused of exposing himself to 5 & 7 year old girls. We don't know the exact nature of the accusation. There is the possibility of this 15 year old having a sexual offence being noted on their record and who knows whether this will come back to haunt them in the future. I have read of cases like this, where a juvenile record is brought up at a later date. This accusation will be recorded against him and therefore it needs to be dealt with properly.

 

It is a shame that oldbill does not post here anymore, as it would be helpful to have an ex-Police Officers experience/knowledge to guide the op.

There is no requirement for a solicitor at this point until he is formerly arrested

[Kinger122]

From my previous experience with the police and my own knowledge I suggest that you get a solicitor for a few reasons:

 

 

1. A criminal record will follow your son for the rest of your life and any way to mitigate this cannot be quantified in monetary terms

 

 

2. Your son may unintentionally incriminate himself, especially as he will be interviewed at home.

 

 

Therefore I suggest that you either refuse to have your son interviewed at home, or get a solicitor and have him interviewed at the police station where he will most likely be advised to reply "no comment" to every question. This whole situations seems like "her word against your son"

 

 

What I am basically saying is why risk any potential issues with your son and his future life/career/reputation etc.

 

 

( I was arrested after attending a party where a mobile phone was "allegedly stolen" (the person had a police officer in the family and took advantage and arrested everybody.) I got a solicitor which gave me invaluable advice (of which I am giving here). Despite this I am in the process of getting all information removed off the police database regarding this incident as I was innocent. I was also around the age of your son )