moondevil

What she said.....made me mad when it was on the tv in the uk, i hope she gets what she deserves :curse:

seanyg

Without meaning to hijack the thread (well it's kind of on the same theme) I will openly admit to having cried my eyes out for a good half hour yesterday when I heard the horrific story of baby P.

Over 60 visits by social services / the police, a paediatrician who MISSED the fact that the baby's back was broken (and he was paralysed from the waist down) - just 2 days before he died, and the images on tv... oh my goodness it brings tears to my eyes now just remembering all the horrible details... the poor mite had a broken back, a gouge in his head, a ripped earlobe, was paralysed (as mentioned), had a few fingernails missing, tip of finger cut off... they found bloodied clothes in a drawer...

I am 110% in favour of the death penalty for these despicable b@stards, and I hope they die a horrible death (hopefully at the hands of their fellow prisoners who will rip them to shreds when they hear what they did). Oh, and they should also arrest the social workers / doctor who missed the vital clues to the child's torture. There is NO excuse for them having missed it.

I have a 22 month old and am pregnant with 2nd child, and I would DIE for my children - I would hand-on-heart let myself be tortured before ANYONE laid a hand on my babies...

Anita

(Sorry for the rant, I can't remember the last time I was this upset over a news story...)

sans

Totally agree with everything you have said ........apparently social workers were going in twice a week.......According to the news just now, someone else that lived in the house said that they use to bash him constantly with a shoe in his genitals, just to see how much pain he could take......Poor little sod it makes my blood boil

nikki dreaming

not a rant at all Anita, completely agree with everything you have said on this, made me cry last night too

Something major is being covered up within the system and I just hope for the sake of that small little boy he gets a tiny bit of justice.

An animal would probably have received intervention from the authorities in this situation, what the hell happened in this case for a 17mth old baby

There are NO excuses in my eyes

treehavn

Don't apologise. I'd actually consider myself quite hard-hearted about children - (though I'm a sucker for any story involving dogs) - and when I read the details about what that poor little kid had to suffer I nearly threw up.

ann m

I read about this child and it seems they had a truly sad and horrific short life.

To an outsider reading this, the fact that there were some 60 points of contact with all the agencies would ring alarm bells.

I wonder if we have a social worker on the board that would be willing to explain just how difficult it is to remove children from their parents under the current system, which is often, with hindsight, berated for not putting the child first. All I understand is that is it extremely difficult to remove a child from the parents and the burden of proof is high.

Is anyone willing to explain some of the procedures? - and I understand they would not be "making excuses" - but to your average layman, it seems so obvious, doesn't it? A neighbour complains or a police officer or doctor submits a report, and you just go and remove the child, right? Wrong!

There have been failings, but with the systems we have in place at the moment, I can see how these failings occur, and will continue to do so

jempee

Read this story in the paper yesterday also. Husband heard all about as soon as he came in the room. I was so angry i vented for ages. But i also read that those in charge of the baby (at social services ) did get a written warning so all is ok and put right in the world :curse: NOT :curse:

I believe it is the same social service agency that neglected to see the abuse suffered by victoria colombie (not sure thats the correct spelling!) so they obviously learn't a lot from that mistake.:curse:

These truly sick people should be put in 'general' population in jail and then they will see what it feels like to be constantly abused and defenceless!

oh and Sans, if some one else felt he could comment on the disgusting abuse he witnessed why did he do nothing to stop it for gods sake! what sane person would sit there and watch that? its beyond me for sure

sans

Yes i know I watched them interview this guy on the news and it was his daughter or niece?? She lodged in the house with them, she'd told him she use to have to go outside and have a fag......because she couldn't watch Errr FFS I just carn't get my head around this ......They'll all be protected, they are hiding all their faces on camera now, so they wont be recognised :curse:

Cookie

Every few years a story similar to the baby's comes to the surface in the UK. Yet again, the family were under under social services so called 'supervision'.

It makes me sick to my stomach that a social work department would rather keep a 'family' together than protect the child when there is obvious signs of abuse. It's appalling and sickening!!!

Social work department must also be held responsible and they should also be charged with neglect for failing to protect a minor

fledermaus

This case is terrible, there's no argument from me about that.

I really want to say something about the professionals involved in such cases. They do a very difficult job, a mistake can cost dearly, but in any job mistakes happen. If you are going to insist that those who make mistakes are prosecuted, then no one will do those jobs.

There's a difference between an error in professional judgement and negligence.

jempee

Surely an odd bruise here or there may lead to an error of judgement...but skin/nails missing! bruising, broken ribs/back, bite on the top of the head. HOw could one not be accountable for missing such appalling and numerous injuries

dingbat

Well....I don't work in the UK at the moment, so I cannot really comment on how hard it is to remove there. The police seem to do all of the actual investigative functions; I do that here and can remove a child without a warrant, based simply on the likelihood of harm. Gathering enough evidence to remove a child is hard - but, I have yet to lose a case in court. Sometimes, just sometimes, all the risk assessments and fancy language do not count for anything, and social workers are snowballed, either through lack of training, incompetency or poor supervision. I have no idea what the hell happened with this poor baby. This family were very intimidating and, according to the police, they knew the system, were very clever and knew how to milk it. In cases like these, you need a very strong and assertive social worker and supervisory team. If you drop the ball, so to speak, it is very difficult to get back into the home in investigative mode. Sixty contacts is frankly, total b.s. No way. There is no way that you can easily miss that level of torture or neglect after sixty contacts. I always pick the babies up and have the parents strip them down, when I suspect physical abuse. I have insisted a child be bathed (to remove chocolate pudding, as in this case). You cannot ask to do that in the UK. I have seen seven year olds covered in makeup to hide bruising. I have had cases like this, thankfully there was no fatality, but I have walked into the home and walked out again with kids under my arms. It can be a very dangerous call. The police do that part in the UK, however, so I am baffled as to how this child was left to suffer so long?

What I will say, is that the culture of risk averse practice, being too PC in the UK and the rights of inadequate and abusive parents seems to have taken an upward turn, to the detriment of the most vulnerable. When I go back to the UK, I will go back into teaching, because I refuse to work with one hand tied behind my back. Those of you judging the workers, however, need also to realise that neighbours and residents in the home saw the abuse and did not report it until after the child's death. Why was that? We all have a responsibility to these tiny ones, and leaving it to hamstrung authorities sometimes does not cut it. Social workers are human, we make mistakes, though I cannot defend this one. RIP little one.

kate white

yeah and guilty as charged I had to laugh nuts total nuts

Flogger

So they shouldn't be sacked?

seanyg

excuse me??