You are NOT the Police.

A response to the Fetlife post “You are NOT the Police – The Hazards of investigating Consent or Abuse Allegations within the Scene” on FL here - https://fetlife.com/users/103811/posts/2179649

First – al-fucking right.   A-fucking-Men.  Finally.   Halle, paired with, lujah.   And so forth. 

Every time I hear this whole blathering shite about “WE should investigate allegations of abuse/consent-violations/trigger triggering!”, I really just want to plotz.   Especially when it’s followed with this twaddle - “We should do self-policing and investigation of claims within our own scene!”  

And if those particular British and Yiddish-isms aren’t enough for you – here’s some more.  The majority of the people yelling this “it must be investigated!” crap are great bloody minging twats. 

Thank you.   Moving the rant on. ..

Allow me to clarify – and if you can’t hear the sarcasm dripping down your screen, you really haven’t read enough of my rants in the past. 

See, there’s this group.   You may know them.    They are for the most part quite well intentioned and noble minded – they really do have your best interests at heart.   Even when they don’t seem like it.   They aren’t always all that knowledgeable about certain sub-cultures – but most of them are willing to listen and learn if you give them the chance and broach the topic without screaming.     

This group?   They have special skills.   Special training, even.   They have academic, forensic and procedural resources, along with psychological and sociological skill backgrounds.   They have advanced training in detecting inconsistencies in statements, reading body language, and determining falsehoods through biological evidence.  They’re even trained in this amazing little skill set called “(actual) investigation”.     

They are called, oddly enough, the Police.   (Funny name, that.   You can also call them the cops.   Or ‘the fuzz’.)  

Unless you are working in that particular field, in an active field or investigative role, you do NOT have that combination of training.   And you should NOT be trying to do your own version of it.   Nor should you offer up the results of your “investigation” to be “helpful”.    That’s not investigation.   That’s rumor mongering and invalidates any actual attempts to get the police involved. 

And by the way…collecting the stories of a dozen consent abuse victims to write together into a public “warning”?   Or, for the other side, gathering a dozen supporters of the alleged offender to start a flame war?    That isn’t investigating.   That’s slander (or libel) and the beginning of what might become a lovely little liability lawsuit.  

So, lesson so far:   You.   Are.  Not.  The.  Police.    You have no jurisdiction to preside over investigations.   You have no controlling legal authority to question, collect statements or detain.   You have no (field specific) training, no experience, no special skills sets or other resources to “investigate” any damned thing.   And as professional investigators will tell you – it ain’t ever as cut and dried as the witch hunts make it seem. 

The funny thing is – I don’t even have to add in “you aren’t the police, unless you are”.   I don’t, because real cops understand this concept of neutrality.   They are aware of this notoriously unreliable thing called a witness statement, and also know that (ironically enough) they cannot investigate in the scene either.   It’s called a conflict of interest.   

(A wonderful catch-22:  if you are a cop who is part of the scene, you can’t investigate those kinds of claims because you are…in the scene.  The act of investigating it yourself could taint any possible prosecution.) 

So.   Are there horror stories out there about police officers being perceived as being impolite, rude, or misunderstanding of scene people?   Absolutely.

I can also say for a fact (having lived a few of them myself) that there are people in the scene coming forward to file allegations, who treated the officers like jack-booted militant thugs who should feel honored to be allowed to take a victim statement.   

So – before you get all ranty about how the police never do anything for you – and you have to do it yourselves?

Here’s an inside glance into law enforcement – it ain’t nothing like you’ve seen on TV.  Cops don’t solve your allegations in 30 minutes or less, and they don’t toil tirelessly on your single allegation with only the tiniest shreds of information you’ve given them as their only clues.   A team of forensic investigators are not going to go barge into another person’s home to investigate your allegations that the person violated your consent.  

Unless the officer witnesses the alleged crime, charges aren’t even going to be filed without an investigation.    If there is an investigation, it has to be done by (or supervised by) a Detective (if his Lieutenant doesn’t tell him to drop the case for lack of evidence).   Then the detective has to convince the DA’s office to prosecute, and get a warrant from the DA or a Judge (depending on the size of the city/county).   Even then, depending on the criminal caseload of the DA’s office – they may still decline (even after arrest) to prosecute based on the strength or weakness of the evidence presented by the police department.   

That evidence?   Yep…there needs to be a lot of it.   Not just statements.   The real world isn’t CSI, where a fluff of rabbit hair and a used toothpick will convict a diabolical rapist.    And as a by-the-by…when you refuse to speak to police about anything in the scene?    That’s called denying evidence to the investigating officer.   Which makes it much more likely the case (and any future cases) will become a low priority for prosecution.  

Even if the officer witnesses the crime, there is still no guarantee of prosecution.   There will only be an investigation and criminal charges if there is enough preliminary information to flesh out a report that indicates there will be further evidence forthcoming.  

So.   Yeah.

Warning people on a personal basis?   Awesome.   That’s called vetting – I’ve written several “how-to” rants on it already.   Good on you. 

Telling your friends what happened to you?   Brave, courageous even.   I hope they support you and help you go to the police about it.  I hope your family, leather or blood, is there for you as you need them. 

You investigating yourself?   Not valid.   Could taint any future prosecution. 

You creating a long ass list of people who are “abusers”, all on the hearsay statements of others?   Not a good idea.   Could leave a bad taste in newbies mouths, and it risks civil liability.

You saying “fuck the police” and refusing to speak to or go to them?   Not helping.  Makes us seem like a community that doesn’t care about assisting with prosecution of our own criminals. 

-End Rant