Crack House Closure

[littlesally]

Need to alter what I said earlier.
Her daughter was not there, she was at her friends. But the police did not know that.
And one of the officers was female.

Sally x

[littlesally]

She lost.
The flat has been "crackhouse closed" for two months and was given 4-5 hours to get what she needs. The police said if she needs anything else in that time she must get their permission.
The housing association have already started proceedings to evict (which would've been halted if she had won)

Considering
1. The police officers evidence (which was hearsay) was rubbished,
2. The woman from the HA had nothing bad to say,
3. She had four letters from residents to say she was not a problem
4. I was a witness to her being verbally and physically abused,
5. Photo's of the inside of her flat (which is emmaculate)

It was accepted that the people that made the complaints did not need to come to be cross examined. That everything the community poiceman said was hearsay didn't matter, as he is an officer of the law so it must be true (that wasn't what was actually said)

In the summing up the magistrate said that while they could accept that Wills death had had an effect on my daughter, it was not acceptable that the neighbours had to live with it.

They did not refer to the drugs at all!

Her solicitor said we can appeal because of that. The use, supply or production of class A must come in to it. The latter two are not even being suggested, but the first is. As she does not use, nor ever tried heroin - and the police do not think she has - but Will died of an overdose then it is obvious where it came from.

My daughter does not want to appeal. She said she would rather live in B+B than stay there!

She aske the housing association woman if anyone had phoned the HA about the police being called twice this past week, totally unrelated to her. Once was an armed response!! No-one had rung them about it. She said "considering every time they even think the police have come for me, they ring you, don't you think it seems like victimisation?"
The HA woman agreed it was and said for her to go to the office as soon as she can.
That would sound hopeful, except they have already told me that if the closure goes ahead, they will evict.

Just to rub salt in the wound, when we drove up to her flat afterwards, there was music blaring out from one of the houses!
A neighbour said the community policeman had been there but did nothing and when she asked him to, he said for her to phone the station to complain!

Tonight my daughter is staying with a neighbour and grand daughter is with me.
I have told her that they can't stay at the flat for a while as the kitchen ceiling has fallen in. It actually has been on the verge of it for months. Everytime someone comes, they say they haven't got the right tools!!

She is quite excited about staying in B+B!!
The innocence of children.

Thanks for all your support and kind words in chat and PM's. It means a lot,

Love Sally xxxx

[iancognito]

Sorry Sal, but i can't help thinking she's better off out of it.

What happens now then?

[mistie]

AWWW Sally,

Im so sorry...but i think she may be best of out of it.

Is there a family homeless unit where she lives or near you.

Dont know how it works there but here they try to have familys in house or flats in approx 7 days....just something worth asking about.

My best wishes go out to your family..and hope it turns out good in the end.

mistie

[littlesally]

My job is helping homeless people but I have no idea what happens when the person has children.

Addicts, alcoholics and mild mental health but not children!

She already had an appointment to see the council housing tomorrow.
I think - so the prosecution told the magistrate when making the closure acceptable to them - that they will house them in B+B. In this area it is not meant to be for longer than six weeks.
After that I have no idea.
Will try to find out what she needs to do tomorrow, and hopefully the council will help. Will also ring the HA just in case there is any point in going to see them.

In the court waiting area I looked about and could see all the disrespectful behaviour of other defendants, some obviously not caring what the outcome was.

She is going to make an official complaint against the community officer which will stay on his record.

Got to look on the bright side ........

She is smoking far less weed.
Drinking less.
Snapped her out of the grieving stand still.
Not using cocaine.
Her furniture is being stored for free in the flat til the evicton!
It is a nasty place - armed response out at the weekend.
Her daughter hated it there.
Fresh start.

Not too bad!!

Bloody kids!

Thank you,

Love Sally xxxxxx

[veilside01702]

Hi sally.....was thinking about you all day....
I am sorry to hear she didn't win...
What a farce this seems to have been....
A court accepting hearsay....just because a waste of space part time police wannabe says he heard a rumour.....makes you proud of our legal system......
Thank god they both have you batting for them.....
Fingers crossed the HA finally realise it isn't her and sort this out.....
Take care and speak soon
Russ

[littlesally]

As a tax-payer I am angry that two whole days have been spent on this and the outcome was never in doubt.

Plus two days pay.

Even if HA say she can stay when closure has finished I doubt she will as the complaints will continue. If they can complain about music when no-ones in, find needles and blame her (if they ever existed) etc then she has no hope!

In a few months, when she has somewhere else to live, all this will be a bad memory, which we will be grateful for.
At the moment is hard, but she will get there.
If the council don't help, or offer her somewhere where they put unruly people - addicts, anti-social etc - I will have to take out a loan. She can get some help from the social security as well.

Sally x

[Paule]

just because a waste of space part time police wannabe

I object to this comment

The OP said it was a Community Policeman, ie an Officer whose role lies within the community.
They are a full time Officer, not part time or wannabe.

I Think you are refering to a Police Community Support Officer or 'PCSO', who is also a full time postion.
The work the PCSOs do is invaluable to the Police force, and without it, they would be ven more crime and and
less resources.

This is a friend & ex colleague of mine who is a PCSO.
Should they have to put up with this:
BBC NEWS | England | Manchester | Officer stabbed during eviction
BBC NEWS | England | Manchester | Officer moved from intensive care
BBC NEWS | England | Manchester | Man convicted of stabbing officer
Crime and Disorder - Stalybridge News

I am a Special Constable within Greater Manchester Police.
I have all the authority that a Full time Officer has, but without the pay.
I have the same equipment, resources etc and have to deal with all the same situations.
The fact is that I do this for Free, for my community, to make it a better place.
I am part of a Neighbourhood team, and while you think that we are part time wannabes
thats your opinion, but we provide a valuable resource to to both the Police and the
community, of which they are extremely grateful.
I only hope that you never need any community support.

I could go on, but I think ive said enough.

I just hope this isnt the attitude of the majority.

[littlesally]

I don't want this to be an argument about police, in all their various guises.

In this particular case, if the community policeman had treated my daughter as part of the community i.e. visiting her when her partner died, letting her know there were complaints before things got to this, then maybe things would not have reached this stage.
It was also his choice that the people who complained were not in court. Hesaid it was because he did not want them identified - but it was obvious who they were from where they lived in connection to my daughter, when they moved in, things discribed. The only reason I can think of that makes sense, is that 3 out of 4 are related, and one of those is proven to have lied before.
If they were on the stand all that would've come out.
Also that they fell out years ago when this woman would not let my grand daughter play in the communal garden.
Instead, I feel as he was new to the area, he felt he had to take sides.

I hope all community police are not like this.

Where I work one of the residents (an alcoholic) died in his sleep.
The community police man there came in to check the staff and other residents were ok.
To me, that is community, not asking people to make complaints in writing.

I guess he has scored a few brownie points with those four - though when he needs to arrest her grandson for driving without a licence that may change! He already knows about this as quite a few residents have complained.

I hope he never becomes a "proper" (for want of a better word) policeman.

Sally x

[Paule]

I was adressing a comment made by another member with regard to the police, and was not refering to your incident in anyway.

I do not wish to comment on your situation as I it would be wrong without knowing all the detail.

[littlesally]

Actually that was a comment and if you think the way she has been treated is fair, then you are right, I don't want to know.

Hearsay, no physical evidence and witnesses who are proven liars, are not good enough.

Half a gram of heroin that she has not even been charged with!
Some big dealer.

I personnally think it's a farce.

Sally x

[littlesally]

Thank you for changing your post

Sally x

[littlesally]

Well we found out yesterday that this area do not pay for B+B!
Which I found strange as my place of work refer people too vulnerable to stay at the nightshelter to B+B, but aparently they are now hostels.
There was only the one placement available. If that had already gone I dont know where they would've been expected to go.
On the street?
It is a small room, with two single beds, a fridge, shared kitchen.
My daughter went there yesterday and said it was not too bad, I was at work on a late shift so am going today.
The council said she will be there until a council place comes up, which could be years!

There isn't really anything else to add as she says she is not going to appeal - as she says, it is impossible to live there now.

Going to try and raise the £1,500 needed as deposit to private rent.

Also ring other housing assosiations.

Wish this thread could have ended on a "she won" note!
Maybe in some ways she has.
She is away from there and can start afresh.

Writing complaint about community officer, which I hope will stain his record.

Thank you for all your support.
It meant a lot,

Sally x

[littlesally]

Just an incidental .......

My daughter went to her flat today to get her post. She knew she would not be able to get in so took a long stick, put it through the letter box and pushed it towards her, under the door. Then went to her friends near by.
10 minutes later three police cars turned up!!
The woman who has been the main complainent went out to them - not too scared to let my daughter know it was her who rang them!!
Then a couple of them came over to my daughter.
She explained she needed her mail, they said no problem and went.

Without my daughter there to watch all the time, what is this woman going to do?!

Sally xxx

[mistie]

Hi sally,

has your daughter thought about asking the postal delivery office to keep her mail till she can collect it. It is free of charge, she just has to sign thats what she wants them to do.

saves her having to deal with this everytime she goes to collect her mail.

mistie