The victim of crime is always our top priority (From Warrington Guardian)

The victim of crime is always our top priority

5:20pm Friday 6th November 2009 in News By Miranda Newey

NO stone is left unturned by officers in the Criminal Investigation Department.

And Detective Sergeant Gordon Wilson, from Warrington CID, said it is officers that are hard working and have an inquisitive nature who secure a job in the CID.

Det Sgt Wilson said: “The disruptive lifestyle still exists. You can’t just go home at 5pm. If a rape case comes in you have to stay. That is the commitment you are looking for. It can lead to a short shelf life (for some people).

“Because of the complex nature we have the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act (CPIA). It is the duty of the police to investigate all responsible lines of enquiry.

“If you have a rape or manslaughter to investigate no stone is unturned.”

The department sees up to 30 people covering Warrington and Halton, with each person juggling up to eight cases at one time.

Training to secure the position, which involves investigating the most serious of crimes such as rape, attempted murder, burglary and fraud, involves 12 months of training, an exam and further one-on-one tutoring.

Det Sgt Wilson said: “Any line of inquiry is followed up. The victim is always a priority whether it loses evidence or not.

“Our job is to get people prosecuted and, if the evidence is there, to make sure we get it. If there is enough they will get charged.

“I would rather somebody walked free than push for something that isn’t there. It can be frustrating if you know someone has done something but you can’t get enough evidence.”

Det Sgt Wilson’s proudest moment since joining the police 11 years ago was seeing a paedophile locked up indefinitely for indecent assault, downloading and possessing indecent images in July 2006.

He said: “Scott Worrall had never been in trouble before. He groomed an 11-year-old boy from a broken home. It was such a horrible case. He was considered that dangerous he would have carried on raping young boys.”

For Det Sgt Wilson the worst aspects of CID are attending child post mortem examinations and going through indecent images of children after they have been seized from offenders.

“You deal with very bad things. You have got to not let it affect you.,” he said.

“My wife has got used to me being quiet if I have been to a bad post mortem examination. It’s horrendous – a lot of the people in CID have kids too.”

Getting justice for victims and protecting the public from dangerous offenders is the drive for the officers.

“It is a real sense of reward putting dangerous, sexual or violent people away, making Warrington a safer place. These are people you don’t want walking around the streets. You get a feeling that you are helping people find some justice,” he added.