The weight of the world...

A link my email is on the top right of my sidebar. This means I receive on average 2-3 emails per month about one of the following:

1. Can I explain why the police took so long to turn up to the sender's burglary last week.
2. The sender was arrested last night over a domestic where all he did was push his partner, and he was kept in custody for NINE hours. This was ridiculous. I am asked to advise how he can claim compensation and have the officers in question fired.
3. A police officer wearing a poorly-ironed shirt told the sender to move his/her car out of an are where the sender really thought he should have been able to park. When the sender politely queried whether this was necessary, the officer issued him a ticket. Please can I account for this behaviour.
4. Why, even though the sender in no way wanted anyone prosecuted, did police insist on arresting his cousin for a heated scrap over a mutual relative? This has ruined a good relationship and is my fault personally.

Sometimes I reply to these emails. Sometimes I point the sender in the direction of my blog. It frustrates me that, no matter how much police bloggers talk about it, the public still do not seem to grasp that front-line police officers are just as pissed off with bureaucracy and jobsworthiness as they are. Or that we are not each responsible for everything that anyone wearing all or part of a police uniform does.

You might wonder why I leave my email address up there.

Well, I get other emails too. I hear from rape victims confiding in me about how the criminal justice system treated them. I hear from the families of people who have been murdered, whose killers received a pittance in jail time, and how it has affected them. I also sometimes hear from the families of the killers, and that can be just as moving. I hear from people who support my- our- efforts, and who appreciate that the job we do each day will always have beneficiaries and losers. I keep all the emails, and sometimes I read some of them again.

Keep getting in touch.

As long as you don't expect me to rescind your speeding ticket/sympathise with your wife-battering/pay you compensation, all emails will be carefully considered and your privacy respected.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Diary of an On-Call Girl' is available in some bookstores and online.