I fell foul of the Greater Manchester Police ‘Stop And Search’ rulings today, (Wednesday 22cd August 2007). For no other reason that I was sitting by a public fountain.
Having been for an abortive job interview in North Manchester in the morning, and as I was due to attend a course on improving job-hunting skills in mid-afternoon, I found myself with about an hour to spare, so I decided to have lunch by the fountains in Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens.
I ate my sandwich quickly, read the free newspaper I had been handed as I stepped off my bus, and just chilled out without a care in the world.
The fountains are a regular perch for me, as they are close to the bus stop I travel home from. I can see the clock on Debenhams, my bus arriving, and watch the water patterns of the fountains themselves.
As it was a hot day, lots of people were running about in the flumes of the fountain. This is not unusual. I have even done so myself on occasion.
With about fifteen minutes to go before I was due on my afternoon course, I noticed that the police had arrived and that they were closely questioning a man over the other side of the fountains. He seemed angry and nervous, but co-operative. I wondered what he had done wrong. After a while, the two policemen wrote out a form of some kind and handed it to him. He went away. They started to walk round in my direction, and after a moment I realized that they were heading directly towards me.
They stood either side of me, and asked me how long I had been sitting around. I told them honestly, but they were adamant that it must have been much longer. I asked why I shouldn’t be there all day if I wished, as it was a public park. They now told me that complaints had been made that a man had been watching the children who were among bathers in the fountains. I told them that I couldn’t careless about the kids. They asked me why I had been seen on CCTV taking pictures of them. I asked how this was possible, as I wasn’t even carrying a camera or a camera-phone of any kind, and never do. I don’t even have a camera.
I had little doubt that the previous man questioned had heard thus very same routine. Though they didn’t accuse me directly of anything, they insisted that I move away and that I should not be seen in the Piccadilly gardens area again. I have in effect, been barred from a public open space in my own city centre.
They insisted that I show them proof of my identity, and allow them to search my bag and my coat pockets. I allowed it, having nothing to hide from them. They then filled out a form similar to that I had seen being handed to their immediately previous target. It gave as the reason for the ‘stop as; (IN BLOCK CAPITALS)
“INFORMATION PASSED BY SECURITY & CONCERNED PARENTS SAYING MALE IS LOOKING AT CHILDREN”.
Note that it doesn’t say ‘A MALE’ or ‘THIS MALE’ or make any direct accusations against myself, by name or otherwise, or anyone else. It leaves everything horribly ambiguous. Handed the form, I was now told not to be seen in the Gardens again. The police, as I left (now almost late for my course anyway due tot heir chat) immediately pounced on another randomly picked gentleman with an identical spiel.
I read my yellow copy of the stop and search form, which indicates that I was stopped but not that my coat and bag were searched. (And that nothing felonious was found). Asked for my height, I told the police that I was five foot nine, but they logged it as five foot ten. For my build, they just write ‘FAT’ which is true in some respects but also rather derogatory and offensive in its expression. My ace shape has been left blank, indicating that I have none, and where it asks if I have any facial scars they say no, indicating a complete failure at point blank range to see the eighteen stitches long groove on my left cheek. These are the men who apparently say that I was seen using a non-existent camera to take shots of children.
I was asked if I have frequented the gardens before. I have and I said so. It is a convenient beauty spot for me to wait for transport, and directly between many locations and myself I head to in the city centre. I had in fact been in the gardens earlier the morning of the later search; despite they’re being no children and the fountains being totally inactive. If my only purpose in visiting the Gardens and Fountains was to stalk children, why was I happy to be there when there were none around? The CCTV camera footage should confirm that only myself, and a chap carrying large music speakers (which he had been using to play religious music earlier elsewhere in town) present.
What was going on? I have no doubt that I was not showing any interesting any children in Manchester. That they are going to be attracted to a public park area is inevitable. Neither myself nor anyone else should be expected to avoid allowing them into our field of vision.
I have every appreciation for the police wanting to protect us all, but without specific evidence and direct accusations by witnesses willing to step forward and be counted, they should not be hassling people for just being in a public park or water feature area. The idea that single adult males or anyone else should vacate an area like this because children wish to enjoy the facilities is a blatant infringement of my public rights. I found myself swept up in a police challenge to at least two other men, who as I saw it, were just picked out randomly for not being with other people or at least with children of their own.
I wish to know whether I have any right to continue to visit my city centre and for any period of time of my choosing, be it a matter of minutes or hours. I object to the rationing of my right to use any public park, or seating facility. If allegations were raised about anyone posing any kind of threat or a cause for concern to children then the accusation needs to be investigated properly, specifically and professionally. For the police to simply target any men just quietly minding their own business, or being in an area for any period of time, shows a lack of realism in the approach concerned. A vague notion that I, or anyone else was sitting around for too long is an accusation with its foundations in nothing.
Looking online I see that the police are highly criticised for over-using the stop and search tactics on the Asian community – they seem to be artificially boosting the Caucasian tally with such ill-founded accusations –
I am entitled to be in any open public space for as few or many hours as I wish irrespective of any other people using the area, unless for some specific hired closed audience event, such as a pay to view concert – hearing that someone unidentified as a possible child watcher is not a basis to drive any and all men away from any public location. Without specific, incontrovertible evidence I believe that there was no reason for me to be challenged and had any such evidence against me existed then I should have been arrested rather than just intimidated into going away.
Didn’t tell them I write erotica for grown ups – they might have got the wrong idea there too. Talking of which, my next Scarlet story is due out in tomorrow’s (September) issue.
