My two young sons Daniel aged six and David aged ten got on really well, they were out and about on their bikes or playing football together all the time, they always felt safe. But everything changed one day last year, when they came home and told us they had been assaulted by a young person.
We called the police straight away. Uniformed police officers came to our house and were very good with the boys. They were patient and both David and Daniel felt able to give them a statement, separately, there and then.
Around four weeks later, the boys had interviews with the Child Interview team. Before the interview we were shown the room where the interviews would take place and the equipment that would be used to record it. I could see that both boys felt comfortable. We couldn’t stay in the room for the boys’ interviews, but me and my husband were given updates and we felt very much in the loop. The interviewer was very child-friendly and the boys were given loads of breaks.
However, Daniel would have felt safer and might have been able to say more, if I could have stayed in the room with him. The interview team were very understanding but Daniel struggled and had to stop half-way through. I understand why parents aren’t allowed in the room for the actual interview, but I wouldn’t have answered for Daniel as it’s his story. David was able to complete the interview, perhaps because he’s a bit older, he was more able to understand why he had to be on his own for it.
Daniel was offered another date to try again but he feels like he shared his story fully when the police came to our house. When he asks: “why do I have to do it again?” it’s very difficult to explain why. How do you explain to a child why he has to keep reliving this awful thing that happened to him?
The police have said that Daniel’s interview was not detailed enough so they have taken it to the Procurator Fiscal to decide if they have enough evidence for a prosecution, along with David’s interview.
Two months after the assault the police called us to say they hadn’t interviewed the accused or his parents. It was hard to understand why nothing had been done in all that time. It was so frustrating.
We still don’t understand the reasons they gave us for not speaking to him. They don’t give us regular updates. All Daniel and David can see is that the person who hurt them is still running around our local community. He has said things to scare and insult them. He even threatened that “the police will take them away” if they talk to anyone. The impact on my children is huge. They are terrified and they don’t want to go out anymore. We’re frustrated and angry and we’re concerned for other children in the local community.
Despite going to the police, our children aren’t safe – this to us is unacceptable.