‘Town is not safe’
Tuesday 31st August 2010, 2:30PM BST.
THE streets are not safe. Guernsey Police issued the warning after two more sex attacks over the weekend.
Three of the attacks on lone women walking late at night are thought to be linked – and police are not ruling out a connection to a fourth.
Chief Inspector Ruari Hardy and Detective Inspector Philip Breban yesterday held a 15-minute press conference to release further details about the latest incidents, which took place in the early hours of Saturday.
Forest Lane was also the scene on Saturday 17 July of the first of the recent spate of sex attacks. A second sex attack at Cambridge Park, a fortnight later, ended when someone intervened.
Police are appealing for anybody who went up or down Forest Lane, or was in the Lower Pollet area between 2.15am and 2.45am last Saturday.
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What I would like to know is how they’re going to find this man with an olive skin.
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Am I the only person confused?
Only a very short while ago the police thought it better that the public didn’t know about these attacks in order that the public could “better manage their own safety”. Now we’re being told that town isn’t safe. A tad confusing isn’t it?
Also, what are these “sex attacks”. A groped bottom, rape, indecent assault, what? I don’t see the point of not divulging exactly what these offences were, it’s very confusing not knowing exactly what we’re dealing with here, and women could easily think it’s far less (or more) serious than it actually is.
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Phil – Why you need a category of what type of assault it is I have no idea – ANY sexual attack on a woman is serious whatever type of attack it is! You have just let yourself down big time by making the comment you made. I hope you are seriously ashamed of yourself. I am not a raging feminist but your attitude is typical of an ignorant male.
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What I don’t get is how come that none of these women have any survival skills? Don’t they kick and shout and scream and punch and scratch? Surely a good kick in the balls could give them enough time to start running…
Also I agree with Phil on this one, how serious attacks are we talking about in the first place? Stamping “sex attack” on something can be very confusing to the public.
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I disagree Queenbee, as a woman who often has to walk through Town alone late at night, I would be extremely interested to know the seriousness of the attacks. While any sexual assualt is totally unacceptable and very distressing for the victim, I personally would find being raped enourmously more distressing than someone groping my bottom – I imageine that most people would agree. My level of concern is directly linked to the risk I perceive I am running and so I would appreciate a few more details of the assualts.
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Do you really think this would all be about a groped bottom?! GET REAL! It has been a rape case from the beginning and people should have been told
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Queenbee
I haven’t let myself down, I’m not ashamed and neither am I ignorant. Having spoken to my mother, girlfriend and female colleagues they are all in agreement i.e. there are varying degrees of seriousness (as confirmed by Charlotte, who I have no connection with by the way).
I am not condoning any form of assault (sexual or otherwise) I (and others)would simply like to know the level of assaults that have taken place. That is likely to have a direct impact on the likelihood of women walking home at night, whether you like it or not.
You may not be a raging feminist but your views appear slightly skewed nonetheless.
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Queenbee – it is you who are out of touch, not Phil.
The police must have a reason for not being more specific in their description of the type of assault, and there seems to be more to this spate of ‘attacks’ than first meets the eye
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Queenbee
Sorry,but I’m with Phil
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Very interesting front page story today. In particular, “Reporters watched as uniformed and plainclothed officers arrived at the premises in unmarked cars and entered a house”. Who tipped off the reporters? Is that another data protection breach and could it have potentially compromised the police investigation?
Let’s’ hope that the arrests are a success.
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I only hope that when the guilty persons appear in court their punishment will be a deterent to any future sex offenders!
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Well spotted, David. Either (a) the GP have a reporter standing by at Police HQ 24/7 (b) the GP have the Guernsey equivalent of Minority Report (c) the GP and Police have an “arrangement” (d) a member of the public calls the GP every time a police car leaves HQ or (e) there is a leak at the Police station.
Perhaps the GP would be so kind as to inform us (or the relevant authorities) where they got their information from?
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i totally support queenbee. i detect a prurient interest here with apparent male posters wanting more details for what i suspect are more likely to be voyeuristic reasons, depsite their protestations that they are only interested in the safety of women. the press must tread a careful line as well – will they report this like a tabloid or be genuinely responsible as this unfolds? surely all women should be prepared for just what might be the worst (even if it never will be)and take reasonable precaution against risk.
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Blah
Not for the first time your post is quite frankly pathetic, why don’t you go and troll somewhere else.
If we were talking about “violent assaults” instead of “sexual assaults” I’d want to know whether it was murder, attempted murder, GBH, common assault etc.
I suppose that means I’m a sadist does it?
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Im sure that all of these attacks have varied in their specific details therfore “sex attacks” is a useful generalisation. With a little thought and implied undertone I think any reasonably educated person can deduce what is meant by the term. And besides is it not more succinct to write “sex attack” than 1 rape, 2 molestations, 1 indecent exposer etc etc?
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John
In my opinion it’s worth sacrificing a little succinctness in the interests of women’s safety.
I also don’t agree that “any reasonably educated person” can deduce (at least with any accuracy) what is meant by the term “sex attacks”. If you’re right it doesn’t say much for Elizabeth College or the Grammar School……..
The police have contradicted themselves again in today’s paper, first it’s “we can’t give out any furrther details” then shortly afterwards “no weapons were used in the attacks” or words to that effect. Which way is to be?
How would their investigation be hindered by telling the public the truth instead of giving them half of the story. The investigation process thus far has been shoddy and ill thought out, to say the least.
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Phil:
Let’s face it, you don’t know what the investigation process has been so far do you?! All you know is what the police have decided to tell the press, and in turn what the press has then decided to tell you about. Hardly makes you an expert and therefore your final sentence is irrelevant and is far more worthy of the Daily Mail then the Guernsey Press.
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Truth Man
Not quite right there I’m afraid, we know for sure that the police did not go public for a month, their reasons were ridiculous (giving the public the opportunity to manage their own safety, yeah right). Then shortly after they went public they tell us (directly, through a press conference) that the streets aren’t safe. If you can’t see the inconsistency in their actions then you’re an even bigger apologist for the police than I previously thought.
Then the classic “we can’t give any details” shortly followed by “there were no weapons involved”, again we have unexplainable inconsistency. Much along the lines of old George Le Page’s replies to letters in the Press. “It is not our policy to comment on individual cases, HOWEVER on this occasion blah blah blah.” They want it all ways, to hide behind various laws and policies when it suits them to keep quiet, then next minute blatantly go against those same laws and policies for whatever reason.
I don’t expect you to agree, I suspect that you’re either a policeman or a frustrated wannabee policeman judging by your constant defence of their actions, I’m not saying they’re awful or useless, just that they often do themselves no favours by the way they deal with issues and/or investigations.
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Phil:
But that is not what you said in your first post is it?
You said “The investigation process thus far has been shoddy and ill thought out, to say the least.”.
Now you are saying that it is the content of the press releases that you feel leaves something to be desired.
The latter I would agree with, the former you and I are not equipped to comment on since we have no idea what processes the investigation has followed.
Also – since you bring it up again, I will give you the same answer – I am not a police officer, neither do I want to be. Not that either would make an ounce of difference to what I am saying.
However, since my support for the police brings you to the conclusion that I must be a Police Officer, can I assume your lack of support means you must be a criminal?
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Find them and lock them up for a VERY long time. Then maybe we can go back to being one of the safer places in the world to live.
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Phil. You seem to be a very angry man, who does not like taxis, women and anyone who does not share your views or disagree with you.
As for the Police, they have over the years lost a great deal of respect from the general public.
They took 6 weeks to inform us of these latest attacks, and more have happened over a long period without being reported.
But they did not policed town more vigorously over those previous 6 weeks and only last weekend they had more officers walking the beat.
I must also say that they had enough resources to still have the important and essential radar traps out.
Town has been getting a total mess with cars parked all over the place. Even though fountain street is a clear way, you see cars parked there and police car just go by, without stopping to clear the area.
The weighbridge on a Friday or Saturday night, (unlike Jersey) has no taxi marshals supervising the crowds waiting for taxis and when police do turn up they blockade le Truchott and le Pollet with cars and vans. This makes the situation even worse when nobody can get out of Town and home.
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Truth Man
So now that more facts have come out i.e. it was rape x 2 plus an attempted rape, do you still not think the investigation process was shoddy? We may never know the answer to this, but imagine if the woman who was attacked second had been aware that a rape or attempted rape had taken place very recently. Would she still have walked home? Do you think she’s feeling grateful that the police kept it quiet in order that she could “manage her own safety”? Everyone, and I do mean everyone, that I have spoken to on this (several dozen in total) agrees that the first offence should have been reported when it happened and that women could then have made an informed decision on whether they walk home or not. How you can argue otherwise is beyond me.
Edquet
Funnily enough I can get quite angry sometimes, especially when there have been women attacked that may well not have been had this whole business been better dealt with by the police. I don’t make any apology for that I’m afraid. I have nothing against taxis (how silly would it be to dislike a piece of metal with four wheels) SOME of the drivers are another matter though. As for women, I don’t know where you get the impression that I don’t like them, I positively love them!! No problems either with people who have differing opinions to mine, as long as they have something sound to base them on.
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