Useless British police again

Shopkeeper’s fury after being made to hold for 30 minutes by the police while trying to report sighting of rape suspect

A frustrated shop worker gave up trying to report seeing an escaped rape suspect to police after calling three times and being put on hold for 31 minutes.

Police have launched an internal investigation after Karl Tomlinson, 39, was unable to get through to an officer to report seeing the half-naked fugitive in the street behind his store in Plymouth, Devon.

Mr Tomlinson contacted the police after returning home and spotting an appeal for information online about a man who had escaped from custody at Charles Cross police station, in Plymouth, and believed the man he saw was the fugitive.

But he was passed from pillar to post as he tried, in vain, to report what he had seen. He first phoned 999 - as the police appeal requested - at around 6.25pm but was told by the operator to re-dial 101, the police’s non-emergency number.

When he called the number at around 6.30pm the operator said they would put him through to another department. He was then put on hold for more than six minutes before he hung up.

A short while later, at around 7.20pm, he decided to call 101 again and he stressed that he was calling about a man who had absconded. This time he was put on hold for 31 minutes - and played classical music down the phone line - before hanging up again.

In the end he passed on his information anonymously to the charity Crimestoppers.

Mr Tomlinson was convinced his information could have helped police trace the fugitive’s movements and eventually catch him.

The escaped man, who Mr Tomlinson had spotted outside the shop bare chested and holding flip-flops in his hand at 10am on Saturday - was eventually found in Plymouth at 10.30pm that day. He had been on the run for 13 hours.

Mr Tomlinson said: 'After waiting so long on the phone I was in two minds as to whether to drive to the police station and tell them. 'But the feeling was that if they can’t be bothered to pick up the phone then why bother?'

Mr Tomlinson complained that he was not given a chance to explain why he was calling when he dialled 999. He said: “They told me to ring 101 instead, so straight away I rang that number.

'The girl said she would put me through to the right department [but] after being put on hold for several minutes I gave up.

'I went to have some dinner then came back and tried again. 'They put me through to the same department [and] that time I was put on hold for 30 minutes. 'Eventually, I tried Crimestoppers.'

Mr Tomlinson recalled the moment when the man appeared at the back of his shop. He said: 'One of my colleagues said ‘You all right there mate, do you need any help?' He said ‘I’m just going in for a look’ then went into the back of our store and started to walk through it.

'I caught up with him and said; ‘Excuse me, this isn’t a walk through. If you want to go to the front of the shop then go around on the street. 'He just looked at me and ran.'

Mr Tomlinson said the man struggled with a door before fleeing across the road still clutching his flip-flops.

'We were saying afterwards, either he was high or he’d been caught by the husband of some woman. 'We even joked he was on the run from the police.'

Superintendent Chris Eastwood, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said Information received from the public 'is always treated with the utmost seriousness and confidence.'

He blamed the delay in dealing with Mr Tomlinson's query to a high level of calls being received from people affected by flooding.

'When a member of the public calls 101 we should always be in a position to assess and appropriately deal with the information being given to us,' he said.

'On Saturday the Devon and Cornwall force was faced with a very high level of calls due to flooding across the area and demand for service was high.

'However, community intelligence is a vital tool in fighting crime and is critical in aiding operational policing. 'The circumstances around this incident are currently being fully investigated and we will be speaking to all parties involved to gather the facts of what has happened.'

A man has appeared in court charged with absconding from police. He did not enter a plea. The case was sent to Plymouth Crown Court and he was remanded into custody to appear before a judge on July 23.

Original report here




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