should they have given her a lift home ?

[webbo3]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/...tinghamshire-19850630

A very sad case but.

As she was at a family party were there no friends or relations to drive her home, no one to give her money for a taxi, and should the police be used as a taxi service for drunks or tipsy people on their way home after a night out.



Dave.

[lcg]

thanks for the best answer, dave! lisa x

[emmie]

that is the point isn't it, they are part of a service that is supposed to help people. Not the right attitude to say no not my responsibility, suppose they had passed by and she was being assaulted, would they have simply driven off?

[ichkeria]

The PSNI gave my niece a lift home the other night after they passed her and her friend walking back from a club. I've also had a lift home from the RUC when hitching as a student late at night. If they're not on an emergency then why not? It is potential crime prevention: as this case shows all too well

[4getmenot]

I'm sure everybody on here would have given her a lift but does that mean she wasnt irresponsible for walking home on her own?

[Eve]

I think it's a difficult one for them due to a precedent it might set. If people take advantage thinking they can flag down the police for a lift home, which I assume then stops them from attending any other calls, then it could cause all kinds of problems for more serious calls (of course, in this tragic case, there was an awful ending but I'm talking more generally), especially in say busy city areas where there is a lot of crime.

People wouldn't flag an ambulance or fire engine down for a lift, the police are similar, an emergency service which should be used for emergencies.

Imagine the outcry if police were delayed getting to a nasty assault in progress, murder even, due to giving someone who was a bit drunk a lift home.

It's heartbreaking for the girl in this case but I can see why they have criteria as to who they help.

[emmie]

they are there to help the public, and it's very unlikely she would use them as a taxi service again. I really don't think it would set a precedent to ferry drunk youngsters, just that she was alone, for whatever reason, and who on here can say they have never done that, walked back from a club, party, run out of funds, alone. I have, but i am older and somewhat wiser, she obviously did not see it as dangerous.

[webbo3]

Brilliant answer Jenna.



Dave.

[shoota]

Unless under arrest or assisting the Police in other ways, Police are not insured to carry members of the public.

[emmie]

they could have asked if they could assist and didn't. We see this differently, i reckon they were stupid to not help.

[lcg]

older and wiser? she was 28! that is certainly old enough to know you do not walk around at night on your own. the police do not give lifts home to drunk people - particularly those of the opposite sex. what if they do give lifts home and get accused of sexual assault? doing so unfortunately leaves (especially male) police officers open to all sorts of allegations and i expect they get warned about this.and drunk people - do you really want them in the back of your car when you do not know what they are capable of? the safety of police officers also needs to be considered.

[bednobs]

a few years ago, two ambulance staff were suspended and ultimately sacked where i live for giving a group of girls a lift

[tonyav]

Thanks, shoota I didn't know that.

[dotty.]

so, supposing she had not been murdered but 'just raped' would the judge have told her she had asked for it because she walked home on her own and would the police officers have blamed her for her carelessness?

[ichkeria]

I find it astounding, particularly in the light of the events in Machynlleth, that anyone would defend the police refusing to help out in a situation like that under any circumstances. Plainly there would be cases where the police might feel they were being taken advantage of but there are many cases where that would not be true. As em10 says the police are there to help.

[emmie]

they say they didn't think she was intoxicated, and i was referring to me, i did that sort of thing when young, by that i mean in my twenties, but i know better now, and 28 is young to me. We wouldn't want to compromise the safety of two officers now would we.

[Eve]

The events in Machynlleth involve a young child, not an adult and police officers deserve to be kept as safe as they can be considering the job that they do. The local news covering the funerals this week of two young policewomen who lost their lives while doing their jobs is a stark reminder of that for me.

[emmie]

she was hardly a threat, she was a lone woman, no matter the reason they could at least of offered to call a friend of hers, relative, someone else to help.

[bednobs]

Everyone in the world has a mobile phone nowadays. why couldn't she ring her own friends?

[emmie]

the officer said that had she been very intoxicated they would have given her a lift, that is a totally bizarre statement. I think it was their judgement that was at fault, and surely all emergency services have to use their common sense and judgement when dealing with members of the public.

[Eve]

I wish more taxi firms would adopt card payment facilities. At least people who did not have cash on them could use them if they could not get to a cash machine.