Text threat to deputy causes him to call police
Wednesday 24th November 2010, 2:30PM GMT.
MENACING text messages threatened to burn down a deputy’s house and harm his family, it has been revealed.
Deputy Jack Honeybill (pictured) was so concerned by the threats that he referred the matter to the police.
And it appears the problem is not isolated.
Of a number of deputies spoken to by the Guernsey Press, many said they had received abusive calls or knew of others who had become targets after emotive debates in the States.
Their comments follow those from Culture and Leisure minister Mike O’Hara on the BBC Guernsey Sunday phone-in.
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Unacceptable
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Deputies have the right to do their job without such completely unacceptable abuse. However stupid and short sighted their contributions in the house and elsewhere may be.
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Absolutely disgusting, and the perpetrators of such insolence should be punished. Little minded bigots some people.
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agree- unacceptable. buuuuuuuutttttt more importantly please get a hard copy of the paper to check out the BEST/WORST ever advertisment placing under this story.
kept my juvenile sense of humour happy all afternoon
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Peter.
“However stupid and short sighted their contributions in the house and elsewhere may be”.
Is that their mission statement?
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It is totally unacceptable, I think each and every deputy could tell you a story of abusive messages left on answering machines and such like, I suppose its comes with the territory, they knew what they were letting themselves in for, is the answers you get.No one deserves that kind of threat,no matter how much they are disliked.
You ask civil servants dealing with the public,what abuse they take, it has been happening for years,for some reason anyone employed by the States is to blame for every decision and law ever made.
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Well spotted Gwen. Priceless!
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If its not an offence yet, it should be made one!
Not that I am a fan of the States, but any bullying or threats are totally what texting is NOT about.
This day & age of technology should be able to trace the perpetrators back? But then presumably the privacy bit jumps in!
Offenders should have a 5 year ban on owning or using a mobile for 1st proven attack
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Horrible story.
I’m guessing here, but I’d bet money they never wrote to the deputy and expressed their concerns properly – so Mr Honeybill probably doesn’t even know what he’s being threatened over or why the texting idiot feels so passionately about it!
No matter how strongly you feel about something, threatening a person and their property is obviously absolutely unacceptable-enough to merit punishment (and to require psychiatric counselling). Threatening their family goes WAY BEYOND unacceptable. Threatening to hurt people who just happen to be related to the person in question, in order to bully and manipulate them further is dreadful! This person seriously needs their head sorted out.
I do hope they didn’t withhold their number…
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I cant help wondering what GG would think of such behaviour? surely the culprit wasnt local!!
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don’t just ban them from owning a mobile, ban them from accessing the Internet as well for a year or so.
Should be a suitable deterrent.
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Simon..you use GG and think in the same sentence? you sure about that?
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The threat of an assault warrants just as significant a penalty as actual assault: by definition according to law if the threat is perceived as real and the recipient fears for his/her own, or families satefy then it must be treated as an assault.
I hope the Police deal with the matter accordingly: unacceptable.
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Dave
Your so right! I will give myself a chinesse burn as punishment for being so foolish!
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Ohai, I heard my name being called.
I think it’s quite ridiculous, it’s a text why should tax payers money be spent to protect this man? I imagine the culprit used the unlimited free texts, like the advert below this story in the Press?
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I don’t think we should blow this out of proportion; unfortunately this type of behaviour goes with the territory when you stand for public office. We live in a small close knit community and when people get upset with their elected government the members of that government are readily accessible and are likely to get an earful. The worst calls I have had, have come from people who have clearly been drinking and if you caught them on a day when they were sober they would probably be fairly civilized folk. Of course it hurts when people have a go but you simply have to move on and not let it affect you. Physical threats rarely amount to anything and of the few I have had I have never even bothered to report them. Being a deputy can sometimes be a difficult job but the highs you feel when you have been able to help a family or someone who just wants to talk about a problem far outweigh the negatives of the job.
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If someone is going to do anything of the kind that has been reported they would not of told their potential victim of their intentions in the first place, they would just do it.
Its the ones that have bad intentions that dont shout about what their going to do that you have to worry about.
Thankfully i dont think this happens very often or even at all?.
“All mouth” springs to mind.
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“Well spotted Gwen. Priceless!”
For those of you who missed it
http://twitpic.com/3a0ryk
Twitpics most viewed Guernsey image in November :-)
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