[BBC News]Toilet block 'hotspot for crime'

[John Wright]

It was worse really. The CCTV footage was very poor. It was before taped interviews and Duty Advocates, most people arrested were bullied into confessions and namimg others (McArthyism spring to mind).

 

In fact no one could be properly identified but by then with confessions it was too late for most.

 

One person fought on for a long time and was acquitted because he had taken legal advice and not been bullied.

[Foxtrotlima]

I am going to be very careful with what I say here, as I don't wish my friend to be able to be identified, but he was one of the men arrested.

 

At the time of the incident, he was 15 years old. He was not aware of his legal rights, and had made a confession before he was even asked his age. I thank god that this is not able to happen now, but it saddens me that two men (as mentioned in thieawin's previous post) took their own lives. I am just glad my friend had the support network that he did. I just wish that the other people who found themselves in that situation had the same.

[Juan Kerr]

It's always been a bit of nudge nudge wink wink kind of joke to me up till now and I don't know what to say either.

 

Or perhaps nudge, nudge, w*nk, w*nk.

[matty]

Ex Chief Constable R Oake, with biblical zeal, had CCTV put up

 

If he ordered the installation of CCTV then could that be a criminal offence??

 

Some people think that what might have gone on in those toilets as being a bit weird - but nowhere as weird as putting a camera in public toiliets and recording what goes on!!!

 

Wasn't R. Oake big buddies with James Anderton - Manchesters "God's Cop"?

 

Personally I think religion should be kept out of policing and politics.

[Juan Kerr]

Ex Chief Constable R Oake, with biblical zeal, had CCTV put up

 

If he ordered the installation of CCTV then could that be a criminal offence??

 

If my memory serves me right the CCTV camera was outside the toilets trained on the doorway in, not inside. It is a gross infringement of human rights but then 15 years on we still have no Human Rights Act so strictly nothing illegal was done. They could do it again tomorrow and stay inside the law.

 

They claimed, as I recall, that the camera went up in response to complaints from the public who had noticed things going on. Is that not the excuse they use for speed camera's now ... all in the public interest, just doing our duty to protect the public.

 

It was handled appallingly, and people did sadly take their own lives and it was disgusting the way people were "named and shamed" before any proper evidence was produced.

 

I would point out though that I have used public bogs in the IOM only on two occassions in my whole life, and you did sort of get the impression that the Spannish trots must have been in town for a toilet so out of the way to have that much traffic in 2 days.

 

Nevertheless it was trial by media, and they absolutely villified many people on the filmsiest of evidence. It was the last great "witch hunt" of the old Isle of Man where human rights seemed to fly out of the window. You would like to believe it wouldn't happen again.

[Juan Kerr]

That never crossed my mind.

I never scanned the thread to see if they'd posted.

 

I was going to post a reply and thought better of it.

 

I would have expected better of MCB as "champion of the people". Its horrible dredging this stuff up, and I am sure people's memories fail them so long after wards. All people remember is the trial by media and the stuff that appeared in the newspaper week after week that seemed to bear little to actually charges pressed or evidence presented.