It was a clear-cut case, or so Claude thought. Come the day of the trial the offender performing the act pleaded guilty and was sentenced. Miss Hudson defending the man on the receiving end of the act requested an adjournment to another day, which was granted.
The second trial commenced some weeks later, Claude and his colleague gave evidence of what they had seen and produced photographs of the toilet including the dividing wall. Their evidence was not disputed and those present wondered why and how Miss Hudson hoped to get off her client in what appeared to be a hopeless case for her to defend.
When she rose to defend the case she asked Claude if he knew the width of the brick in the adjoining walls between the cubicles to which he replied four inches to four and a half inches. She accepted this and then said no further questions.
She then rose again and said, “I have here a statement from my clients doctor who has measured my clients penis when erect; you will see it is three inches. I therefore put it to the court that in this case as the brick is wider than my clients erect penis there could not possibly have been any penetration. I can call the doctor to give evidence if you wish.”
The case was dismissed.
It was a little of a fallacy for the man having placed his bottom against the space in the wall meant part of his body would in fact be within the hole. It was of little consequence the case was lost, though when knowledge of the case spread amongst the young men from the town the alleged offender was somewhat a figure of fun. One assumed the females were not interested in view of the circumstances of the case.
On another occasion a youth appeared in court on a charge, clearly he had done it but he pleaded not guilty. During the case another youth admitted the offence, the first was found not guilty. Some weeks later the second youth was dealt with but was not charged as there was no evidence other than his brief admission in the court, he was defended by the same Miss Hudson and made the usual “No Comment.”
Both youths escaped conviction.
The first youth, later told Claude his solicitor had said, “You have two convictions and as you are on a bender, (suspended sentence) you will go do down. You need someone to admit it that has no convictions. The writer will leave the reader to consider this and come to a conclusion of their own.
These are examples of when a new solicitor arrives on the scene with the intent of winning cases at all costs and thus enhancing their reputation in the longer term increasing the work and income for the legal firm that is what matters. Claude recalled how Miss Hudson had once stated of solicitors.
“Any fool can defend and get off the innocent
The secret to being a successful and wealthy solicitor is to get off the guilty.”
Her tactic was to aggressively attack police officers in the witness box. It was alleged years before she had been prosecuted for drink driving as a student. Having been stopped she was found not guilty after alleging the arresting officer was not wearing a hat and the law stated the officer must be in uniform. Seemingly having taken off the hat the officer was not in full uniform and the case was dismissed. Since that time she had held a grudge against the police.
One day she visited a court in a small country town some miles way and after accusing the police officers giving evidence of lying, the chairman of the bench had commented to her after finding her client guilty. “Don’t you come here accusing our police officers of lying?”
She didn’t take kindly to the, “Our police officers.”
Attempting to keep good police relations could prove essential with the weak enforcement of laws ever more popular mainly from do gooder groups who often received more publicity and therefore influence than their cause or numbers justified. Criminals ever more either getting away with it on technicalities and therefore repeating their crime resulting in legal defence firms becoming ever wealthier normally on legal aid payments from the taxpayers and one should not over look the victims. It was prudent for the police to foster good relationships with those in authority. Some months after the “Don’t accuse out officers of lying,” incident a man arrived at the enquiry desk at Ashton Police station seeking to use the toilet.
When he arrived at the enquiry desk Claude saw him through his office window and he asked if he could use the police station toilet. The civilian counter clerk refused, the man turned to leave. Claude hearing this rose from his seat rapidly and followed the man outside apologised and brought him back inside permitting him to use the staff toilets.
Returning inside he updated the clerk as to the identity of the man being the chairman of the county magistrates and added, “A good cop always has to give himself an edge, just like lawyers but legal.”
In the far off days when prisoners didn’t have an automatic right to immediately see a solicitor when in custody it was often the practice to refuse a solicitor access until a person had been interviewed as incredible as it is in the modern times. There were often special courts held at police stations over the weekend when a magistrate attended.
On arrival magistrates would say to the senior police officer, “What do you want doing with the prisoner bailed or remanded here till Monday.”
It was common practice if a search warrant was required to visit the home of a magistrate inform her or him of the case, swear an oath after which the magistrate would sign the warrant. This would of course not be permitted these days when all such requests go through official channels of the magistrates’ clerks’ office.
There were advantages and disadvantages for the residents of the community when such solicitors arrive and practice in such a manner. Those who regularly get into trouble most of their crimes not personally affecting the police but the offender’s fellow citizens. Once they constantly get way with it or receive light sentences there is the desire to repeat their conduct. This puts more money in the bank account of the legal firm, most from legal aid or the victims as taxpayers. The effect upon the victims, especially in small communities is that their lives are made more unbearable.
On the other side of the coin if the victims become offenders or need legal advice they too will seek the aid of Miss Hudson or those like her, for they “Get them off.”
Claude was aware of conversations with certain Magistrates who not agreeing with the methods of Miss Hudson admitted in private if they required a solicitor, she was the one to whom they would go to.
Whilst on foot patrol in the town centre one sunny mid morning, it was a Friday market day, the streets were packed. One can never judge what is around the next corner or what may occur from one moment to the next.
Walking along the High Street Claude saw a large group of people standing on the wide pavement outside the Woolworth’s store. He approached and on looking couldn’t believe his eyes with what he saw.
A young man was standing in the shop doorway masturbating in full view of the mid day shoppers. When Claude arrived no one spoke, neither to complain or moan realising Claude’s presence would bring the show to a conclusion.
The day of the personal radio had arrived and so Claude called the police station and asked for the station vehicle to be sent. He arrested the young man but he was later not charged but committed to the county mental hospital.
One evening, Claude was on patrol when he heard a scream coming from the ladies toilet. He ran inside and met a distressed lady shouting, “Get him, he is in there.”
Claude eventually found a man dressed as a woman in the toilet. He was arrested for conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace. These days it would not be a major thing but in 1966 it was. The man having been arrested was charged with the offence and appeared before the court. He gave the explanation he had the desire to dress as a female, and when his wife was out unknown to her he would dress in her clothing, put on her make up and parade in the town.
He needed to use the toilet and took a chance that using the ladies gave him a better hope of not being recognised, he failed. He was bound over to keep the peace and agreed to under go treatmen
t at a mental hospital.
Looking at the news recently Claude had seen items where the police had chased and with a complicated set of manoeuvres involving several police cars they had brought the chase to a conclusion. This caused him to think of those years ago when in such circumstances the police had not used such ingenious tactics.
He recalled the night he was on foot patrol and a message was received that a stolen car was being chased from Copton.
He and his colleague were directed to block the road. The method was simple for at that time there being no motorways the local roads were in constant use by day and at night by heavy goods vehicles one after the other.
Claude stood in the road put up his arm and the driver of the flat backed lorry carrying a load of sheet steel stopped. The driver was informed and thus assisted the police by pulling his lorry across the road so that the trailer completely blocked the road. The street was well illuminated as it is today. Claude went down the road with his torch and soon heard the approaching two-tone horns. As the vehicles approached Claude waived his torch indicating the driver of the stolen car to stop, it failed to do so of course until the driver was confronted round the corner with a John Summers twenty tons lorry across the road and its load of sheet steel. The offending vehicle would either stop or hit the trailer. Claude was pleased to recall it did stop and the occupants arrested, if it had not, well, their lies speculation.
Lorry drivers often assisted the police and many knew the officers as they used the route regularly especially at night. It was common practice for the Inspector to see someone on the road thumbing a lift and he wanted them out of his area. He would direct an officer to check out the person, verify his name and address and if he was not wanted and all was Ok a lorry was stopped and the driver requested to give the walker a lift until at least the county boundary.
The exception was anyone found in the area from Liverpool. In those days Ashton was frequently visited by criminals from Liverpool. As a result, the police put into operation procedures to detect the crimes committed by them.
One such scheme was the ring around system in shops, it worked as follows. The shop staff would hear the customers normally several youths speaking with a Liverpool accent. The manager would ring the shop next door and inform the manager there. A call was made from shop to shop so within minutes all shops were aware and each shop only had to make one call.
The normal practice of such young men was to have someone asking questions of the staff mostly for something they didn’t have; meanwhile the others would steal items.
The next procedure involved anyone from Liverpool who having been detained on any matter was always kept in custody. Any such person’s normally young men found simply in the town and checked in the night were to be arrested and detained. Failure to do this would result in the officer being called from bed to explain the reason if he had checked them and entered details in the persons seen at night book but there were no bodies in the cells.
There was one electrical shop in the town which was regularly attacked by travelling criminals but over the years the detection rate was 100%. The criminals were nearly always arrested somewhere between Ashton and Liverpool.
People especially the offenders must have often wondered why. The reason was nothing to do with police diligence. After all these years Claude was about to reveal the answer.
There was an old lady who lived in a flat nearby she was a light sleeper. She always heard the voices and made a note of the vehicle and its number then dialled 999 to report what was happening. The police control room simply passed the details to Cheshire and Merseyside Police as the crime was in progress.
They despatched vehicles along the 40 miles to Liverpool and such was the time available the thieves were always caught. No statement was ever requested from the witness who assisted the police until her death well over 20 years ago.
On one occasion the thieves were not stopped until they arrived in Liverpool itself. They were taken into custody and detained overnight. The following day Claude and a detective were sent to interview the men.
They arrived in what to them was a massive police station and cells area. A local officer was appointed to assist and he was of great help explaining the local set up.
It appeared criminal gangs into their own area or manor divided a large area such as Liverpool up. Although the place was large the area in which each gang worked was small and so they became well known to the local police. They were unable to operate in another gang’s area. This was the reason they headed south to Ashton where they were not known and where there were few police resources.
Whilst Claude and his colleague were in the cell area there was continual banging and shouting until eventually an officer in a white shirt arrived, the crown on his shoulder flash told Claude he was the superintendent. The cell door was opened and he spoke to the man inside.
“I am the Superintendent I believe you want to speak with me, what do you want?"
“I want to get out of this fucking place,” he replied.
“Why are you here?” asked the Superintendent.
“I did a burglary,” said the man.
“Ah yes you did,” replied the Super, “And in doing so you beat up an 85 year old lady in her own house, let me tell you if keep banging this door I will come back down here and you will find you are beaten up, now shut the fuck up and keep quiet.”
Claude looked and so the liaison officer said. “I served in your force all the superintendents finish at 5pm. The next day, if someone complains about patrolling officers, they go out of their way to get the officers. Its not like that here, the bosses work around the clock, they attend all the incidents. See that one; only weeks ago a woman hit him on the head with a stiletto heal outside a club. We all work together here; we have to, to survive.”
Back in Ashton there were often trials and tribulations it being a small town. One day whilst on foot patrol Claude was stopped by a member of the public whom he had just reported for traffic offences.
“You want to get in the that pub,” he said very agitated “There is a sergeant and a copper in there in uniform, drinking pints.”
A look inside confirmed the complainer was correct for there was a sergeant and a constable drinking what appeared to be pints of beer.
Ironically some weeks later Claude was in company with the drinking on duty sergeant, visiting licensed premises.
The following day a member of the public stopped him and said, “I saw you visiting the pubs last night, in the one that the sergeant gave a rollicking to for drinking after hours, the other sergeant was standing behind the door holding a pint.”
History would show there was some ill feeling between the sergeants, one drinking in one pub the other in another.
The drinking after hours pub was again visited but on this occasion, when the two police officers arrived they found the place empty.
What they did not realise was, all the customers had run upstairs into the private quarters of the landlord.
The stairs and bedrooms all being crammed with illegal customers and presumably the other sergeant, who by the way eventually resigned unable to attain promotion he left to keep a pub himself.
All Claude could do was to promise himself he would not permit himself to be in such a position, he didn’t but knew some officers who did and their drinking habits would follow them to eternity.
Claude hesitated, then thought back to a time some years ago when he had read a book entitled The Real History of Policing. The police forces as we know them were set up by act of parliament in the year 1840.
The County Magistrates were tasked with setting up the new organisations. There had been local constables for many years but they were untrained and unpaid. It follows the new organisation although professional would take the name of constable. The new heads were to be known as chief constables.
Advertisements were placed and the new chiefs who were appointed were mostly ex officers from one or other of Hi
s or Her Majesty’s forces. The new organisations would follow military lines with the use of the word, Sir, there was saluting and marching, smartness in appearance and discipline.
Once the chief had been appointed he set about arranging his force into divisions, again another military term.
In the Copton Police area there were 35 men, no women, appointed to serve as police officers in the year 1840. There was found to be a problem many of the new officers were dismissed after a short period, the overwhelming reason being the misuse of alcohol, mostly whilst they were on duty.
Claude returned to his current writing and having thought one day he would write a book on the history of the local police he now turned to the comments made to him concerning his two colleagues drinking in uniform in a public place. The problem was not so wide spread in modern times as it was in the 1800s but never the less although the numbers of officers misusing alcoholic beverages whilst on duty was much fewer it did exist.
He cast his mind to a time years ago whilst at 2am one morning he had been walking passed the office of a senior officer and on hearing a movement inside, investigated the reason at such a time. It was the senior officer still in uniform asleep slumped on his desk, the room smelled of stale drink.
Other members of the public and some officers had raised concerns that the occasional officer was seen in public drinking intoxicating liquor.
Among the cases Claude was told of or knew from his own experience were officers drinking early evening then arriving for duty after 10 pm, being late, the worse for drink, their uniform covered in mud they having fallen down. A sympathetic sergeant or one who realised if he made an issue of it he would not get the backing from above. It was more likely he would be blamed for lack of supervision so he might well have sent the offending officer home as being sick!
Police Memories Page 29