>A woman travelling alone at night and doing what you do is not good advice for others to follow

How is Tigger2 going to drive her night-bus if she isn't to travel alone into not-so-salubrious areas? She's well-trained in H&S, and probably sees more of 'real life' (whatever that is) than most of us here ...

There's an interesting article here about the hoax emails,it includes the paper on the back windscreen..

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/jun/11/women.ukcrime

In some cases the police have been so inundated with queries about email hoaxes that they have had to issue denials. The "gang initiation" email that I received quoted an officer from Strathclyde police who does actually exist, but had nothing whatsoever to do with the email; after many queries, that same police force recently issued a statement about the "paper on the rear window" carjackers: "It's just the latest in a long line of urban legends to have duped the public and the authorities," said a spokeswoman.

These emails usually end "BE AWARE" (excessive use of capitals is another dead giveaway). But it would be far more useful if women saved their concern for real problems, says Neate. The main thing to be aware of, he says, is that "the chance of warnings like this coming from the police is minuscule".

Gosh I better end my life it's so awful here in the UK I'm likely to get mugged, killed, carjacked etc anyway.



:-D Sorry, that just made me laugh!

Just caught up on this thread, and to be honest I can see things from all sides.

I can happily sit back and say life just isn't the way that posters like denese make it out to be, because my life doesn't involve muggers, druggies, gangs, that lifestyle and living area is completely alien and of course I can look up to the skies and say what is she talking about, gosh, worst thing to happen where I live is dropped litter. :-)

However, I have been on this planet a while and have a large circle of friends from all walks and works of life, including a family member in the probation service, friends in the police force and social services, whom offer a completely different world than the one I know, (to be honest it is where I get many of my real fears from) they scare me to death with their tales of life in some places and things that happen to some people, I know it's real, I don't fear for the life I have, but I do fear that this dark life out there and that it may spread and come into my life.

I've had friends whom have had terrible things happen to them. The more friends you have the more true experiences you get.

Like many on here and God I pray none of us go near these kind of alien worlds, we don't need to think or worry about this life some experience and know of.  But it is out there, it depends on the job you do to what you know, most of us walk around oblivious to what goes on in many places and often right under our noses and long may that continue, honest truth I don't want to know, but I would never say it is not there because it is.

Most of us will not see this world, will have nothing bad ever happen to us so there is no need to panic, yes I agree there are a lot of spoof e-mails and stories around but I store them up in my mind, you never know they may come in useful. There are bad people in this world and taking precautions not to meet them is good, but there are thousands more good people out there, so it all needs putting into perspective.

My mother-in-law for the first time in her life was burgled this week, it was a shock as she lives in a 'good' area and has the whole neighbourhood talking about it, it's like Wow! That has happend here!

To some this is everyday occurances, we all think differently and know different things and when it comes to the world of crime we are all on different levels too, depending on our lifestyles and our jobs. :-)

>you have been very lucky not to have a drunk turn on you, or a drug addict attack you, or someone with mental health problems attack you, or have your car stolen (this has even happened to police cars) and whilst you have been lucky so far I sincerely hope that one day you are not less fourtunate

Really? To say that you are very lucky for these things not to have happened to you is to suggest that most people have experienced them surely?

I consider myself cautious and am well aware of the dangers but refuse to be a trembling, housebound victim potential.  I too, go out at night on my own when I want to, and had to when for 11 years I was working evenings in another town.  Sorry, but in all that time I didn't see anything untoward and neither did my colleagues.  I know that drug addicts live around us all but the biggest danger from them is them leaving their dirty needles in public places. 

I know of a number of people with mental health issues and not one of them is violent or even mildly aggressive. 

Those you speak of are a small minority and to suggest otherwise is scaremongering.

Another of your wonderful posts Carrington, showing both sides of life and said as usual far better than I ever could, but convaying my feelings absolutly.

It is so true that when you meet, mix with, and have friends from all walks of life you will have a far more rounded view of the world. There are good people out there, and there are bad people out there, good things happen and bad things happen. You don't need to be scared or terrified to be aware of the area you are in and take care. may common sense prevail.

Those you speak of are a small minority and to suggest otherwise is scaremongering

To give differing views of what has actually happened, and experiences gathered, is adding to knowledge, things may not have happened to the small minority that you personally know(small as in the whole population), and others may well beg to differ. Are people scaremongering to say what has occured to them or others, no not really. Just pointing out what has happened, and that can be seen on many news reports for example, actual events not emails circulating. Maybe papers do over emphasise, but the bare facts that someone has been assaulted, and killed, are true.

> Are people scaremongering to say what has occured to them or others, no not really.

Are you saying you actually believe this happened to Denese's daughter despite the astonishing similarities to the Snopes scam?
The only true accounts that I have found convincing is Trigger2s.

How is Tigger2 going to drive her night-bus

obviously she has to do her job, but giving advice that it is safe to get out and deal with the many problems along the way, for a lone person it can be dangerous. Drunks can be 'incapable' one minute, then a nasty pain the next, they can throw up, insist on getting in the car, people subject to mental illness who have not taken their meds, or mixed them with alcohol can be unsafe, there are a huge manner of things were it is wise to leave the trained professionals to deal.

Are people scaremongering to say what has occured to them or others, no not really.

As this post has gone on to general terms, that is the basis of my post which is obvious. I personally have no idea if the post by Denise is true or false and I'm not going to call her a lier because i don't know. Only she will know if she has posted in good faith or not.

The only true accounts that I have found convincing is Trigger2s

maybe that is because you have a small view of the world and don't accept that all the things bad that happen are based on any degree of fact, maybe if you personally knew people who have suffered dire consequences you may be better informed.

> maybe that is because you have a small view of the world

No, it's because this is the only convincing account of real events offered in this thread :-)  but in actual fact it does also most closely match my own experiences of living in a inner city although I cannot claim to have ever been as brave as Trigger2 :-)
If you are still uncertain I suggest you have a look at the Snopes story :-)

Hand on heart when I tell you this because it is going to sound like I am making it up.  As a teenager, drugs were very much part of the lives of some people I knew.  I grew up in what a lot of people think is a 'posh' town.  My best friends included the daughter of a pair of alcoholics, whose brother was a drug addict and whose sister's partner died of a heroin overdose.  The father used to beat up the mother and my friend used to run the house for all of them.  Another friend and her sister were being sexually abused by her father.  The father eventually killed himself as did their mother. 

I knew quite a few people on drugs when I was a teen and had been offered them as a matter of course because of the availability of them.  The story in those days was that you could tell the purity of the heroin by how close to our town it was being dealt in, although I was never offered heroin and in actual fact never felt tempted to take any other drugs either. 

A close school friend died of alcohol poisoning and another died as a result of drugs abuse.  Such lovely, lovely people whose lives and whose families lives were ruined by drug and alcohol abuse. Being an addict doesn't automatically make you a criminal or a nasty person, although I acknowledge drug abuse can lead to crime to feed the addiction

In the course of my work I regularly meet with people with mental health issues and I have to say I think this tends to conjure up such negative thoughts in people who really don't know what they are talking about.  Mental health problems cover a massive range of problems which for the vast majority only affects them and their families, not the wider public.

To be continued ...... need to take a phone call

Anyway, I just wanted to point out that not everyone who is a drugs addict or alcoholic or has mental health problems are bad, sad definitely, but not necessarily bad.  Usually they are victims of the society we all live in. We can't just shove those we don't want to live with into institutions or delete them, they'd be hardly anyone left.  Just be grateful if you haven't had any of these problems touch your lives and if you do have any interaction with them, learn from them and don't jump to judge them.

I am glad I had the friends I had, they were and are great people.  I feel richer for my experiences and grateful that I am able to educate my children with my first hand experiences of living, working and playing with people from all walks of life and not be bound by heresay and silly emails.

As for people who do invaluable work for social services and such like I think the negative side to that job is that most people you meet will have poor lives which may well cloud your judgement when viewing society as a whole. My neighbour policelady immediately thought a chap running through the park must have commited a crime because he wasn't wearing shorts or carrying a dog lead - I ask you? For pity's sake - which incidentally, is what I said to her :-)

> Drunks can be 'incapable' one minute, then a nasty pain the next, they can throw up, insist on getting in the car, people subject to mental illness who have not taken their meds, or mixed them with alcohol can be unsafe

Yes, fine they throw up..it may be unpleasant but hardly life threatening (unless you wash your face in it)! To be honest I've found that people respond to the way you speak to them, even drunks and people high on various substances. If you come across a drunk and aggressively/officiously tell them to wake up, get up etc things are probably not going to go that well. I speak to everyone as if they're my best friend, 'you ok mate, can I give you a hand there, looks like you've had a good night'.... This is a nightly occurrence for me, and has been for the last 7 years with no major incidences at all.

It's the exact same with some of the 'rougher' kids that get on the bus, smile at them and treat them decently and you'll have no problem. If they start smoking, throwing buckie bottles at people I'll stop the bus and go and speak to them. I speak quietly only to them, explain to them that I've been tolerant so far but any more nonsense and they're off - I rarely actually have to fling people off. .

I'm not saying that innocent people are never victims, but it's unusual. If you go about your own business, treating people the way you'd like to be treated then I doubt you'll ever have anything awful happen to you.

Even drunks and drug addicts have boundarys. Someone who is a perfectly "normal" (whatever that is) person in real life will not turn into a muredering loony just becuase theyve had a drink or a drug. Im perfetly happy to be around people under the influence.

Mental health issues are a completely different kettle of fish though

. My neighbour policelady immediately thought a chap running through the park must have commited a crime because he wasn't wearing shorts or carrying a dog lead - I ask you? For pity's sake - which incidentally, is what I said to her

But this is something she is trained to watch out for, she would have a minds eye description of him just in case. Its the 'little things' like this that help detect crime. That he 'must have' committed a crime is a little strong, but maybe she simply over emphasided the relevance of it, or maybe you took the comment wrong? :)

>My neighbour policelady immediately thought a chap running through the park must have commited a crime because he wasn't wearing shorts or carrying a dog lead - I ask you?
>But this is something she is trained to watch out for,

It's like the lunacy of Telford Town Council, who have recently issued instructions that any adult in the town's parks without a child should be questioned on suspicion.

Can't quite work out the highlighted post JG, but are you saying telford Council are saying anyone in a Park without a child are to be questioned on suspicion? On suspicion of what, questioned by whom, and where would the people who do the questioning get their powers to stop and question from? is it a local bylaw or something?

Political correctness gone mad

Wow. Found the pages, thats amazing! How is that going to stop paedos, all it will do is anger everyone who uses the park, young or old. Very often in towns the only green area are the parks, and what nicer way to spend an hour or so. Why should people be harassed simply by using a place which has been recreational for all for many years. This is total stupidity.

But I don't think Police Training is any example of this, a Police Officer has to go round with their eyes open, and are trained to look for anything that may be out of the ordinary. I don't think telford Council is an example of this :)

>I don't think telford Council is an example of this

It's an example of the knee-jerk extremism and paranoia that's in danger of denying ordinary people the freedom to live ordinary lives.

I meant telford Town C being an example of police work or training. :)

It's an example of the knee-jerk extremism and paranoia that's in danger of denying ordinary people the freedom to live ordinary lives.

sure is :) Mind you, they are going to demonstrate, can't say I blame them.  and I'd love to know what would happen if an adult said NO and walked off from the questions....or the 'little old lady'...