Police face more questions over incident in Church Langley
Crime / Sun 17th May 2020 at 10:02am
ON FRIDAY evening, police officers swarmed all over Church Langley as they search for a man who had “escaped from lawful custody”.
You can read the whole story here https://www.yourharlow.com/2020/05/16/police-swarm-church-langley-area-after-man-escapes-from-custody/
Residents went on to social media to wonder what on earth was going on? Reports of police cars driving up Church Langley Way, Kiln Lane. A static car at the Tesco roundabout and officers on foot as well.
Then there was the police helicopter. The chopper turned up and swept low over the Church Langley/Harlow Common area.
In the end, the police statement was as follows.
An Essex Police spokesperson said: “A man was arrested yesterday on Friday 15 May on suspicion of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, escape from lawful custody and possession of a class B drug.
“He was later released on bail until Saturday 31 October”.
This has now begged even more questions and criticism from the public.
So, YH asked Essex Police more questions.
Q. Where and when did the male escape from?
A. The male ran away from officers immediately after arrest.
Q. Why was so much resources allocated to this one particular job?
A. There was originally only two officers at the arrest attempt, however other units were allocated after the suspect made off. Resources were allocated due to him escaping lawful custody and ensuring he was located quickly and prevent the destruction of any evidence he may have had.
Q. Why was he been bailed and not remanded in custody?
A. My apologies this was a misunderstanding on my part he was released under investigation and NOT bailed. There was not enough evidence to charge the suspect at this stage, our enquiries are ongoing.
Q. You now have a lot of families in Church Langley worried about letting their children out in the street. What is your messages to these families?
A. The alleged breach of the order is that he has failed to comply with at least one of the conditions set by the courts. The condition in question, would not amount to an offence on its own without the court order in place.
Let us know what you think.
Many may say, the police can’t win. They go out to protect the public and then they complain there are too many out there!
Others may feel that the police motto when they were founded by Robert Peel in 1829 was “the maintenance of public tranquility” not re-enacting the arrest of Pablo Escobar in every job they go to.
A few weeks ago, a convoy of six police cars drove down Tumbler Road with the lead car having its blue light on. We did ask and found it was for one male causing a disturbance at the Bush Fair petrol station.
A week after that, Herts Constabulary descended on Milwards and at least ten officers in forensic whites searched a house. They didn’t tell Essex Police and, like Church Langley, put a lot of residents in a state of fear and alarm.
We are sure you will tell u what you think.
Frances Mason
2020-05-17 14:18:04
Often these reports raise more questions than answers so it is good to have the opportunity to respond. Those that are subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order are limited to those that have committed the most serious crimes and are subject to long-term management. The Order will be in place for 5+ years and any breach can result in a maximum of 5 years custody. Managing sexual offenders in the community is mostly done on a multi agency basis and a rise in potential triggers to offending ie criminogenic factors which may Include alcohol/drugs/emotional wellbeing/loss of employment etc may indicate increase in risk from medium to high or very high ie imminent risk. It is essential that Police resources are allocated to manage this risk. Whilst it may be worrying for parents, the reality is most children are likely to be abused by someone close to them or their family. Whilst it is noted the perpetrator is on bail other enquiries will include reference to the National Probation Service if the perpetrator is on licence/Community Order, this will include decisions which doesn’t rely on a conviction ie increase in behaviour/triggers to offending would be taken Into consideration, options may include polygraph testing, or additional conditions on current licence which may also include being managed in an Approved Premises until risk is reduced. It may also result in a return Prison/Court if assessed this is the most appropriate way to manage the risk. Victim enquiries would also be made and victims kept informed of any changes to management of the perpetrator. I write this as a retired Senior Probation Officer who managed these issues on a day to day basis. In addition, working out of hours, liaising with Police and Recall teams throughout the night. This is essential to keep our communities safe, we can only do this if we let the Police respond to concerns. It’s a bit like the ‘Iceberg Theory’ you can only see the visible part at the top rather then what is going on underneath. Frances L Mason Councillor for Toddbrook (Representing Harlow Council as member of Essex Police Fire & Crime Panel)
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