The blue and white police tape can be an all too common sight depending on where you live. Perhaps that is pertinent here. Maybe it becomes commonplace, too acceptable and its meaning gets lost.
As a probationary Police Constable in 2021 I was stood at many a crime scene in South London. My role was to log details of those entering and leaving, prevent any contamination, preserve the scene and engage with the numerous members of the public who would approach. Scenes of Crime Officers (SOCO) would need to examine the site looking for anything that could shed light on the incident and detectives might need to assess. Often whole lengths of street would be sectioned off preventing people from going home or running their businesses. Locard’s principle of exchange states that every contact leaves a trace and so anybody walking where a perpetrator may have walked might hinder investigative opportunities. Any hair dropped or paraphernalia discarded can significantly disrupt outcomes. Potentially, someone who has killed somebody else, or has the potential to do so, could walk free because the crime scene has been compromised.
Sadly, and I write that word in its truest genuine form, many of these cordons were for stabbings and violent incidents, some of which related to the serious injury or murder of children – those under the age of 18. I’ve clarified that as there seems to be less sympathy when you say teenager.
As an officer who has been stood at these cordons for hours on end you gain a unique insight into society. You experience a wide range of reactions from members of the public and get a snapshot of public feeling. This blog looks at what some of these reactions may tell us about the society we live in.
One of the most common questions asked is: “what’s happened?”. One might say a natural human curiosity. There are very good reasons as to why caution is used at a crime scene in answer to this. You don’t know who is asking and what they may do with detailed information. Could disclosing too much information impact on the investigative process going forward? That’s a pertinent question to ask yourself. At the same time this needs to be balanced with explaining why somebody can’t enter into their own home for hours one end. Simply saying, “I can’t discuss it,” does not feel reasonable or proportionate in many cases.
I never experienced a briefing around what to say to this question. It was pretty much down to you and what you felt was appropriate in the circumstances. You were told you need to relieve so and so at such and such crime scene at that was it. I heard colleagues use a variety of responses to the public’s curiosity:
“We can’t disclose anything incase it impacts the investigation.”
“An incident of serious violence has occurred. That’s all we can say at this time.”
“Somebody died.”
This is about as much information that is given out and it can be useful to add an acknowledgement of the disruption that’s being caused. More often than not a member of the public will be checking their phone, dishing out additional information from social media which you as a PC haven’t been told is in the public domain.
If you go so far as to disclose that a stabbing has occurred then you hear responses such as:
“God it’s getting worse. When is it going to stop?”
“How old? Is it kids again?”
“It’s just so senseless and meaningless.”
“It’s a national crisis and nobody seems to care.”
A semblance of empathy but also despondency from some who seem genuinely concerned at the continuation and increase in stabbings and the loss of life that rips far too many young people away from their families and communities. One could argue that providing this additional information is making the public feel less safe. But it is highly likely the events will be publicised and there are many ways the information can be gained. Speaking about it with minimal detail at least provides an opportunity to discuss it and offer reassurance as much as possible.
After giving a response some people will state they need to visit certain shops – if the crime scene contains them. Among the most common I was asked about were Greggs, Lidls, Poundland and McDonalds. Of course, this is dependent on where the crime scene is and in these circumstances you were talking about town centres. You would explain that those shops would not be open due to a crime being committed in the vicinity. Advice would be given about checking their phone for the nearest one which could be met with a disgruntled face, shrug of the shoulders or even an insistence that they really want to go to McDonalds. What does this tell us? That the reality of what has happened is too much to register or comprehend? Or that the disappointment of having to walk an additional 10 minutes to get that hallowed Greggs sausage roll from a different branch is a major disruption to their day and overwhelms any concern for those that might be injured? The agitation at not being able to get to the nearest Greggs was eyebrow raising on more than one occasion.
There seems to be no pattern to the demographics here. One of the most vehement reactions I encountered was from an elderly lady who I told would not be able to attend the opticians. Despite explaining several times that the opticians was within the crime scene and therefore closed she insisted that she needed to go and check for herself. She only left after another member of the public assisted in taking her away. Despite giving plenty of detail that a serious incident had occurred and evidence was currently being identified this did nothing to allay her annoyance. Had I informed her that another elderly lady had been crushed to death by a falling piano I wonder if this would have mustered a different reaction? The information about a teenager being stabbed did not seem to register. There have been similarly strong reactions for dentists and other personal appointments that could not be attended, the need to rearrange evoking an inner rage in some.
Another all too frequent experience was of people wanting to take a short cut via the crime scene instead of walking the 15 / 20 minutes in the other direction to get to their destination. Despite the tape, despite the explanations, the amount of people who argued or attempted to get under the tape was staggering, so much so that I have arrested someone at a crime scene for ignoring numerous warnings and going under the tape.
Most of the time when you’ve answered the “what’s happened?” question the follow up is, “how long will the crime scene be in place?” This is a question no PC / PCSO on any cordon can accurately answer. You will wait an interminable amount of time for someone more senior than you to make a decision often not convinced that anybody is even aware you are standing there. SOCO can be delayed due to other jobs and you just have to wait until they are ready. The frustration to businesses and tenants is understandable of course. The economic loss is significant if a crime scene is in place all day and it is expected that the business owner absorbs the costs. To that end there is an economic argument for having security or knife arches to prevent incidents happening in certain areas – although that feels as though we are displacing it and are resigned to a continual battle with knife crime rather than trying to prevent it from happening altogether. That is perhaps another blog.
There are people who have been unable to go into their own houses for hours on end, in some instances back from long night shifts and just wanting to sleep. In my experience they’ve mostly dealt with it in good grace and patience, probably too exhausted to argue. This is in complete contrast to those who struggle with being unable to pick up some meat from their usual butcher.
Where travel is disrupted (bus, tram etc) people want to know what’s happening with these services and where they can pick up the connection from. This relies on good communication between the police and the travel company in question. I need not complete that paragraph for you to get a sense of whether or not that happens all the time, every time.
Another experience worthy of note is of redirecting people using the app on your phone but being unaware of the lighting situation on the alternative route. One colleague of mine was told how unhelpful and selfish they were after re-directing someone the same way they had redirected everybody else for the past 3 / 4 hours. The member of the public said that she, as a woman didn’t feel safe walking that way where there was no lighting and that the police should be less ignorant. This was not an isolated incident and in one case, it was the kindness of another member of the public who said she would escort them via the alternative route which helped diffuse the situation.
For all of the people that become angry and irritated that someone had the audacity to be stabbed meaning they can no longer buy their groceries from the shop they intended to buy them from, there are those who are understanding, empathetic and helpful. I have met members of the public who say thankyou to us just for being there and have even been bought a hot chocolate on a particularly cold day. Some appear genuinely concerned for the victim and their families. And for all the public that interact with you there will be those that see the uniform and the tape, recognise that something untoward has occurred and will use their own initiative to come up with an alternative plan without saying a word.
Those who complain often do so loudly and vehemently and this can leave a lingering impression on those protecting the crime scenes. Unchecked you could be forgiven for thinking we are becoming a more self centred society, completely disconnected to the horrendous levels of stabbings that are blighting our country (especially the capital of England), more concerned with sausage rolls or extended journey times, impactful though the latter may be. The worry is that the longer it continues, the less we as a society view it as a national crisis the more it erodes our sense of empathy, of caring for fellow people. The inconvenience of the cordon sometimes outweighs the fact that a 14 / 15 year old boy has lost his life. But that would be to neglect those that walk on by, that do comply, that do express care and in some cases even assist the police in managing the cordon, not that they should have to. Thankyou to you, it helps more than you know.
So what does it tell us about society? That we are divided. There are the curious ones, the ones who express care and empathy and those who seem consumed by their own plans and divorced from the reality of the situation which leads to confrontation as though the police are inconveniencing them on purpose. There are those with patience and a willingness to co-operate and those who become angry, upset and occasionally obstructive. Having also stood on crime scenes in the mid 2000’s as a PCSO (Police Community Support Officer) it certainly feels as though there is less willing to work with the police overall by complying with cordons. But there are many variables here. The location, the frequency of cordons in the area, the nature of the crimes and the disruption it is causing to you personally. And ultimately, the individual. Perhaps being able to reflect on how you felt and behaved the last time you were at a cordon is a good indicator of what’s going on for you.
Reference:
christianbrazier 