What would you have done?

Danthus

Danthus

Danthus

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Last night on the way I home, about 7pm, I turned the corner and saw a small girl on her own running down a road, a quick glance around and I couldn't see any adults.

In my head, I said "What is she doing out on her own at this time of night?"

Given the area it was, it isn't that unusual to see young children out in the street.

Now I did consider stopping but then in my head I thought to myself do I really won't to stop and talk to a child while I am in a bit white van given the pitch fork generation we are currently living in.

Now roll on to 10pm and it turn out the girl had left home and the first the parents knew about it was when the police turned up to arrest them.

So I feel a little guilty that this child was wandering the streets for about three hours and I drove by.

So, OcUK, would you have stopped?
 
probably not, the child could have been running home from a friends house as she was supposed to be home by 7 for all we know and its still really bright at 7pm anyway so some people let their kids out late
 
I very much doubt a stranger like yourself would have been able to stop her anyway.

However, I did last year see a girl in a hospital night gown around 11 pm being reluctantly dragged AWAY from the hospital with no baggage and the opposite way of the carpark. I rang the non-emergency number as it seemed out of character, so had I seen what you saw.. thats what I would have done.

Generally if its dark and they look too young to be out and I don't know them, thats what Id do again.

Just make sure you remember clothing, hair colour and rough age of those involved.. practise it on strangers if you struggle to remember ;)
 
Probably wouldn't have given it a second thought but 101 is never a bad call.

I called 101 a while ago after passing under a motorway footbridge which had a woman standing on it looking extremely upset, stood leaning over the handrails. They put me straight through to 999 and I spent the next 15 mins directing a patrol car to the bridge in question. No idea what the result was but nothing on the news that night!

Amusingly I found that motorway mile markers don't assist in the slightest and had to go off junction numbers which was annoying as I'd just passed a junction I didn't know the number of and the next junction was miles away. Me, thinking I was being helpful gave the next mile marker and bridge number but the control room said they had no way of using the info.
 
Skillmister said:
Amusingly I found that motorway mile markers don't assist in the slightest and had to go off junction numbers which was annoying as I'd just passed a junction I didn't know the number of and the next junction was miles away. Me, thinking I was being helpful gave the next mile marker and bridge number but the control room said they had no way of using the info.
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Strange. I use motorway markers all the time to identify locations and the control room know exactly where I'm talking about.
 
MookJong said:
When in doubt always 101.

It is your responsibility to report things to the police, but not to put yourself in a position of risk.
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It's a sad sign of society today when stopping to make sure a child out on their own is ok is considered "putting yourself in a position of risk" :(

If I saw a child on their own in concerning circumstances, I'd at least try to make sure they were ok. If their family were scummy enough to play the "omfg paedo" card, I'd be perfectly happy to respond in kind with the "burn your house down and wear your skin as a suit" card :)
 
Isn't it a sad indictment of our society that we feel we can't even help any more in case we're labelled as some sort of paedo?

I bet if you look at the stats it's less dangerous now for kids, but the perception of danger (in parents minds) is through the roof.

Thanks scaremongering media.

Edit - Haggisman said the same thing :)
 
Am I the only one wondering why the police turned up to arrest the parents?

I wouldn't have done anything as it's still relatively early. Any later and if it looked unusual, then yeah.
 
i've seen pre-teen brats out around town/outlaying streets at 10pm+ on black winter nights, i just accept times are different now to when i was a kid and tucked up in bed at such a time. obviously if the person was obviously distressed or looked like they were being chased or such, it's a whole other ball game.
 
How "small" are we talking, 3, 5 ,7 years old?
Like you say, I probably wouldn't want to risk being seen in a white van of all things approaching a little girl, sods law someone would be watching you and after a day of gossip you would be branded a child snatcher.

101 I guess is the only real option today.

Very different from when I was that age - one day we were performing a mock hanging of a close friend outside my house only to have an elderly couple pull up in their car and forcibly stop us. Good times :p
 
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