Posing as police officers in order to thieve from people as appears to be the case regarding the fake cops in Barking is bad enough, but Sussex Police have revealed that they have a fake cop case on their patch that is much more serious. According to a statement from Sussex Police, a man has been arrested for posing as a police officer in order to kidnap a 14 year old schoolgirl. The incident happened on Wednesday and a man has been arrested for kidnap and impersonating a police officer.
Sussex Police said:
In a statement about the incident, which happened in Crawley, Sussex Police said: “It was just after 8am on Wednesday when a 14-year-old girl, on her way to school, was approached by a man wearing a yellow hi-vis jacket, who took her to an adjacent area off the road and searched her clothing before cycling off.
“Following police inquiries and further information, a 32-year-old local man was detained in the town at 11.15am on 14 October.
“He was arrested on suspicion of kidnap and of impersonating a police officer and is currently in custody for interview and further inquiries.”
Other than what Sussex Police have said, we don’t know an awful lot about the details of this particular case. This could be theft related or the police impersonator was a nonce or he’s possibly just some Walt who fancies himself in uniform. As time goes by we should learn more about this particular case.
What this case and the earlier Barking case show is that when stopped by those who claim to be police then you should ask to see some form of identity proof, preferably a warrant card. People should also be very careful when approached by a lone ‘police officer’ because there’s the strong possibility that the person may not in reality be a police officer and a much lesser chance that the person stopping you is a rogue officer intent on doing harm. Personally I would advise that anybody, especially a woman, who is approached by a lone individual claiming to be a police officer and who doesn’t show a proper current warrant card then they should run like hell. This might sound counter-intuitive but if a supposed ‘police officer’ can’t show the card then it’s likely that they are not a police officer.
For many years, as a serving Police officer, I advised everyone, especially lone women, to challenge anyone who claims to be a Police officer. If in a car, and flagged down by a car following you with blue lights, stop if you must, lock the doors, wind the window down enough to speak but not enough for them to get their hand through the gap. Lean away from the window so they can’t grab you or try and spray some obnoxious substance. If still in doubt, tell them you will drive to the nearest Police station and they may follow if they wish. Under no circumstances get out of the vehicle. We also used to give away rape alarms with a pull out fob which then gave an ear splitting sound. Of course, these days, there are few Police stations, only council offices, closed at night, and the free rape alarms have been stopped. If Sarah Everhart had had one, and been able to use it if she became suspicious, perhaps she may be alive today.
Very very sound advice there.