We were asked go to the local police station to help with arresting someone. The arrestee (is that a real word?) was an 80+ year old male who was accused of recently committing a crime that I would suggest required some amount of physical strength. We were to follow along because the person had heart and breathing problems – so much so that he had bottled oxygen in his house.
We met with the police officers (9 in total, and all rather scary looking plains clothes types) at the police station, before following them to the address in question.
Once the police had made their entrance we were called forward to give the patient a clean bill of health. We watched as this frail man slowly dressed, needing help from his son to tie his shoelaces, we watched as he struggled around the house and wondered how he could possibly be guilty of any crime that needed any form of physical exertion. The patient’s son was also a bit put out by the allegations, and promised to have a good laugh at the police's expense when the truth came out.
Throughout the arrest the police were polite, helpful and behaved in a thoroughly professional manner at all times.
The patient/arrestee was also calm throughout and the whole thing went, as far as I could see, very smoothly, and our ambulance followed the car in which he was taken, until it entered the police station and the police F.M.E took over.
Then the next job we went to was to outside the same address, a woman had been mugged and the police who were searching the address had called us as she had a rather large bump on her head. Unfortunately the mugger managed to get away. It surprises me that you can get mugged outside a house full of police and the mugger can still escape.
Want to hide something, do it in the open, nobody but nobody looks at a thing or person that is so obvious that it appears to belong. first rule of spying, blend. For 10 years I went in and out of hospitals with many years value of my pay check with equipment thru the front door and never questioned once, but one day I slouched around with nothing in hand and got the third degree.As for the Bowstreet runners they were just following protocol so that that a positive mark on the promotion sheet and that satisfies the front office mob with their degrees in crime provention surly.
P.S. I have some sand bucket stories that fit that scene.
roll up the ball and …Dungbeetle.
The hospital where I work has a large Mental Health Unti and I am friendly with the manager of the unit. One day in the hospital canteen we were eating lunch when a bedraggled, thin chap sidled by, eyes downcast looking very unsure of himself. My colleague leaned across to me and whispered “He's one of the most dangerous men in Britain” He looked like one of the most insignificant men in Britain. Scary.