Man stopped by police while walking with son ‘because they thought he was a paedophile'

[AJK]

Next week in the papers... Sexual predator and child not stopped by police after passing within several feet of them with their patrol car.

This sounds far more like Will Self putting journalistic spin on the incident rather than police being at fault.

He's not saying the police were at fault, or that they should not have responded to such a call. His complaint is that the call was made to the police in the first place. Did you read the article?

I just don't understand his outrage.

The culture of presumed suspicion when a father takes his child out for a walk? "You're an adult male in the company of a child, therefore the child is at risk", that kind of thing. Not outrageous, really?

 

[K-2]

The culture of presumed suspicion when a father takes his child out for a walk? "You're an adult male in the company of a child, therefore the child is at risk", that kind of thing. Not outrageous, really?

Have you considered the possibility that the security guard was attempting to save the boy from being subjected to the inane, self-indulgent rambling so often pompously expounded by his father? Now THAT really would be child abuse.

Oh, and for the record...Mr Self DOES have a new book out. Quelle surprise!

 

[AJK]

Oh, and for the record...Mr Self DOES have a new book out. Quelle surprise!

From what I can find, his most recent book was published in paperback in April, hardback prior to that. Hardly "new". Oh, and I had to look for that information, because it's not linked from the Metro article quoted here, or the original article on Mail on Sunday. Not the best self-promotion I've ever seen.

 

[MrMoonX]

Just highlights the retarded moral panic society is going through about paedophiles, if you believed everything the daily mail printed, we are surrounded by them

 

[XeNoN89]

Just highlights the retarded moral panic society is going through about paedophiles, if you believed everything the daily mail printed, we are surrounded by them

if you believed everything in the daily mail we should be surrounded by immigrant muslim pedo health & safety officers who cause cancer

 

[Xordium]

Just highlights the retarded moral panic society is going through about paedophiles, if you believed everything the daily mail printed, we are surrounded by them

Actually statistics would indicate that the chances of you having a paedophile in close proximity to where you live is very very high. Having a paedophile who preys on non-family members though is very very low.

 

[AJK]

if you believed everything in the daily mail we should be surrounded by immigrant muslim pedo health & safety officers who cause cancer

I KNEW IT!

 

[Doomedspeed]

What a completely daft non-story. Police speak to man and then he blows it up out of all proportion.

It's more like, police accuse innocent man of being a paedophile..

If he can't walk with his own son without being accused, its just crazy.

 

[Raumarik]

Guard was a plonker and management should have a chat with him/her but it's a bit of a non-story, police had no option but to take it seriously.

I can see another story if they'd turned up and taken the journalists word that he's not a pedo without checking the national database etc:

"Police take suspected pedo's word over security guard".

 

[Von Smallhausen]

He's not saying the police were at fault, or that they should not have responded to such a call. His complaint is that the call was made to the police in the first place. Did you read the article?

I did read it and I'm voicing an opinion.

 

[Von Smallhausen]

I don't, however, think the police were wrong to attend. Hindsight is a luxury police rarely possess.

 

[anything I don't mind]

Typical over paranoid Britain. I blame the media.

 

[leaskovski]

Of all people... Will Self... lol, I don't see him ever going to let that slide.

 

[pepsilol]

Guy looks like a paedo.

Cops need to stereotype, it's pretty much their job to because it's quicker.

 

[Woden]

I don't, however, think the police were wrong to attend. Hindsight is a luxury police rarely possess.

Exactly.

We know full well what the media and public response would be if the police had been told of something worrying but did nothing about it. They really cant win in a case like this.

 

[AJK]

I did read it and I'm voicing an opinion.

Yes of course, but my point was that you said "... rather than the police being at fault." This implies that you interpreted Will's article to mean that he was complaining that the police had done something wrong. Lots of other people in this topic seem to be arguing from that perspective as well. However that's not in any way what Will actually said in the article - he's blaming the security guard for calling the police in the first place, not the police for attending. He does not criticise the police response at all, in fact noting that the attending officer was polite, recognised the absurdity of the situation, and then "understanding fully where his real priority lay, the male officer bid us good evening and departed."

So there is no argument being made that the police were at fault.