"Good old-fashioned detective work" (i)
Surrey Police, warts and all (part one)
Introduction
“Good old-fashioned detective work”
I quote Detective Inspector Paddy Mayers, star of the first of two Surrey Police ‘Killer at the Crime Scene’ documentaries from 5STAR (Paramount Global) that aired in Sept 2021 [Season 1, Episode 3].
DI Mayers served as Senior Investigating Officer for Surrey & Sussex Major Crime Team between Mar 2015 and May 2019, with this first TV production offering an insight into the team’s full expertise; a behind-the-scenes account of the investigation into the murder of Scott Wilkinson on 27th Jul 2016. It recounts the investigation that led to a conviction on 8th Mar 2019 at Guildford Crown Court after a five-week trial.
Brothers Shane & Lenny Crawt were sentenced to a minimum of fifteen years for murder, and their cousin Charles Smith who was acquitted of murder, was jailed for thirteen years for manslaughter.
A clue to whet your appetite follows at the end of this post.
Surrey & Sussex Major Crime Team
This key team is a specialist unit made up of officers from Surrey Police and Sussex Police who collaborate together. The police forces remain two separate legal entities and employers, so the best of the best who are selected to serve within this unit are on different terms and conditions in accordance with their respective employer, be it Surrey Police or Sussex Police.
With regard to both made-for-TV productions to showcase the incredible work Major Crime Team have performed over the years, they chose to feature cases led by Senior Investigating Officers employed by Surrey Police.
The highlighted murder of Scott Wilkinson occurred in Walton-on-Thames (Surrey) in 2016, and the highlighted murder of Nigel Chapman occurred in Horley (Surrey) in 2020. The latter production of 5STAR’s ‘Killer at the Crime Scene’ aired a year later in Aug 2022 - Season 2, Episode 3 - and starred Detective Chief Inspector Chris Friday.
A follow-up post and second part to this blog will highlight specific content from each of the two productions that’s sure to prove baffling and prompt further clarification from the producers. Profound inconsistencies that only the greatest detective minds of our time might resolve.
However, before setting sights too high in reviewing accomplishments of this expert team that so many detectives on the force aspire to be a part of, we need to start at the ground floor. After all, even highly-trained detectives have to earn their stripes before they can be accepted into such a key team. They must build a track record to demonstrate first-class investigative abilities, in addition to any particular allegiance that goes without saying.
“I (name) ...of (address)... do solemnly and sincerely declare and affirm that I will well and truly serve The King in the office of constable, with fairness, integrity, diligence and impartiality, upholding fundamental human rights and according equal respect to all people; and that I will, to the best of my power, cause the peace to be kept and preserved and prevent all offences against people and property; and that while I continue to hold the said office I will to the best of my skill and knowledge discharge all the duties thereof faithfully according to law.” [police oath]
There’s theatre, and then there’s THEATRE. 🎪 It may surprise much of the public that some oaths supercede others. If I may oversimplify for the time being, in a nutshell it comes down to spiritual faith in ‘God.’ Many serve an alternative Deity and there lies the crux to all the challenges that manifest in the physical world around us.
Aspiring detectives
Many honest and hardworking officers have a standard social media profile to proudly display their career background with hopes to continue to progress onto roles that carry greater responsibility. Therefore, it may be more engaging from a reader perspective to consider a police detective without any social media profile by way of example to evaluate progress towards a coveted role within the Major Crime Team. To assess performance towards building a portfolio of investigative brilliance that might serve to open the necessary doors for promotion.
Detective Rejoiners
Existing detectives are currently faced with competition from colleagues both past and present, as can be seen from Surrey Police advertising for ‘Detective Rejoiners.’ They’re hosting a Detective Transferee and Rejoiner Open Evening on 22nd Jan 2025 as part of an advertising recruitment campaign that includes the slogan:-
“There’s no better time to re-join policing and to do so with Surrey Police.”
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) teams are based out of Guildford, Reigate and Staines in Surrey and the journey that awaits each new hire is depicted on this informative roadmap.
This recruitment campaign indicates a number of existing vacancies to join a wider team of detectives that include DC Kitto and DC Stockdale based out of Staines. If you need a reminder, they’re featured in my linked post from Jul 2024, tasked as they were with providing the illusion of a criminal investigation at the behest of parties external to the police, via intermediaries that are only now starting to become visible.
Both the eager detectives were from the word go at a disadvantage as neither possessed background information, nor any interest in the roles assigned to them, as was the intention. Not the brightest pair, but the penny ought to have dropped when the fullest account was provided on the record at a formal police interview. A clear red flag that their assigned victim (myself) may be able to turn the tables on the ruse.
Talking of intermediaries, we take the opportunity and the month of Mar 2024 to gauge how well a Detective Sergeant Rob Way is achieving in his potential quest for opportunity to be promoted to Major Crime. There are two standout efforts from this month earlier in the year that ought to have fed into his annual performance review.
March 2024 - DS Rob Way
From a neighbourhood policing perspective, we can consider his response as Investigating officer to robberies that were reported to have taken place in Ashford which lies within Spelthorne Borough in Surrey. This same month we have his earlier decision on 7th Mar 2024 to have myself arrested at home in nearby adjacent Elmbridge Borough in Surrey.
[1] Ashford robberies - 17th Mar 2024
The Facebook witness appeal gives a thorough overview of the crimes reported.
Whether DS Rob Way can read the room is another matter, however the comments posted in response to this appeal from local residents convey everything you need to know:-
“These boys up and down Ashford every day causing carnage. Always in black and probably up to other stuff”
“Ashford has become a laughing stock like Staines over the past few years especially. Get a grip Surrey Police. Turning into a farce!”
“Well maybe get yourselfs patrolling ashford high street. They are there riding up and down on a daily basis. I See them all the time”
“Their have been 3 e scrabbled type bike coruseing problems up and down feltham hill road dressed old in black with covered heads and faces”
“There is never police anywhere”
“Honestly pathetic, the only time police are in Ashford is to pop into greggs, and usually when they do, there’s a group of like 8, same group as usual that terrorise shops, ride dangerously in the middle of the road then get a bus to staines, causing problems in the bus, then causing more problems and the moving in staines. Useless honestly.”
“Been at least two robberies by people with E bikes. Yet apparently that isn’t enough to get any patrols? Big yikes”
“There are too many of these e-bikes in Ashford ridden by (normally) a group of 4, all in black and fully balaclava covered. The bikes are also modified as I have been overtaken by them whilst doing 30mph.”
“I see them everyday when i walk from work. Saw them yesterday same clothing as described.”
“They're always riding round Ashford/Stanwell area 😡 don't know how they've not been stopped yet, or run over 🤦🏻♀️ Always weaving in and out of traffic.”
“Here's a thought, now it's just a suggestion, an opinion persay. But if you actually did your jobs properly then you wouldn't need help from the public, right?”
“The same guys are on those bikes being seen around! So easy to identify and catch them. They have to stop terrorising residents. Disgraceful. What police is waiting for??!! I worry about my children !!!”
“I see them all the time on Chesterfield Road. Police need to catch them before someone else does… vigilante style. The residents are sick to the back teeth of these “kids” just getting away with everything they do”
“It seems all surrey police do nowadays is sit in the office await a call from the public and then plaster it all over socials and ask for OUR help. How about we see You back out on the streets in force like the old days doing your job and being seen! Nope can't remember the last time I see a good police presence around spelthorne.”
The message is clear enough that there’s no visible policing presence whatsoever. Everybody knows who these juvenile delinquents are who continue undeterred to make the lives of ordinary residents a misery day in, day out. Perhaps local residents that pay council tax to fund the police don’t appreciate the challenge faced, given the police have to juggle priorities.
Rest assured, every last resident of Surrey will have an opportunity in 2025 to understand how police resources are stretched nowadays. Notably, an insight into how DS Rob Way fared by contrast just ten days earlier with the deployment of a team of police constables that seamlessly handed over to his handpicked detective constables.
[2] Arrest that man, send everyone! - 7th Mar 2024
As part of this operation, almost certainly working on a need-to-know basis, our intrepid Detective Sergeant is unlikely to have the first idea as to the identity of his end client who’d been elected to provide Surrey Police with the initial online report five days prior on 2nd Mar 2024.
Not to digress (too much), but in Greek mythology when Perseus set out to kill the Gorgon Medusa, he came to the lair of the Graeae. This refers to three sisters that possessed only the one eye and one tooth, which they shared among themselves. On capturing their eye, he forced them to reveal information about the Gorgons. As a fan of Greek mythology they come to mind, as in this case the trio from the team in question appear to share but the one brain cell. Amongst themselves, it was decided to elect the team member that lives in North Wales, as if that might work to obscure the set-up. A team that continues to be protected so as not to reveal their sponsors that are considerably closer to home. I’d wager DS Rob Way doesn’t have visibility to any of this himself, but he knows someone who does.
After the initial ‘allocation’ of a cooperative police constable, a number of days then pass that leads to a fine-tuned final statement that incorporates proven lie, after lie, after lie. Finally, DS Rob Way who it must be assumed is satisfied with the created work of fiction, devoid of a shred of substance to corroborate a single word (…..because it’s all made up!), requests a team of officers to make my arrest. House raid at midnight. Perfect.👌🏻
The skilled and diligent investigator that he is, and aware that six days of deliberation without a shred of anything tangible would look odd under any scrutiny, the fresh assignment to two handpicked detective constables on the morning of 8th Mar could provide the required cover to obscure the build up. Important, since it was also necessary to have me placed me on bail that evening after more than eighteen hours in custody. The formal Surrey Police records include this rationale:-
“During the investigation the victim has referenced some specific posts however we do not have these and we are waiting these from the victim.” [DC Kitto] 👏
Lest it not be said that Surrey Police don’t have the necessary resources to manage effective policing. By the 8th Mar there had been eight officers deployed (and still counting) to initiate their fake criminal investigation as directed.
Major Crime Team
The good news for DS Rob Way is that the grass might not be greener on the other side as many might believe.
That clue I mentioned at the outset by way of leading onto part two, when I aspire to punch above my weight and offer a perspective on key content surrounding the two most high profile cases that warranted documentaries be produced.
Imagine an individual that has to rely on an opportunity to orchestrate a staged photoshoot to pretend he’d assisted “the case by finding crucial evidence.” He must be particularly pleased with this deception, as it makes up his profile picture on both his personal Twitter account and company Facebook page.
In Nov 2024, just last month, we were treated to the same schtick by the impostor’s scripted act in the BBC’s ‘Expert Witness.’
Next up, we’ll be sure to look that bit harder at the “excellent detective work by Surrey Police” to which Peter Faulding refers.
Even Lancashire Constabulary may have a trick or two to learn.
Wrap Up
In my opinion Detective Sergeant hasn’t displayed sufficient signs of investigative brilliance to pave the way into the Major Crime Team at this time, but this may not be the great loss after all.
Nonetheless, should another child have a bike snatched or a woman a handbag snatched, he’s more than qualified as the go-to investigator to issue a social media appeal to provide the barest illusion that the police can be arsed.
To finish on a positive, let’s show him the love for trying. From 1966, the evergreen Nancy Sinatra🤩
Thanks for reading. 🙏Have a fabulous festive period.
Happy Holidays 🎁
Good old fashioned detective work appears to be in the past.
Staring at a computer and watching cctv appears to be the main reason for becoming a detective.
Most seasoned criminals know how to avoid cctv.
Covert surveillance is more crucial for crime detection so long as it’s not sitting in car with a monocular ramming in another Greggs pasty talking misogyny.
Aye guv I’ve got the eyeball.
Seasoned criminals have eyes buying kids electric scooters knowing you’re sitting there.
Good detectives mingle into surroundings being seen but not seen.
Bad detectives spend too much time drinking and burping in pubs and clubs.
Police academy and Blue Oyster Club always comes to mind when I see bad coppers.
IT IS THE BEHIND THE SCENES CRIME ANALYSTS AND FORENSICS THAT ALWAYS
MAKES AN SIO LOOK GOOD.
THEY RARELY RECEIVE ANY RECOGNITION.
On an another sour, note police should only receive bravery awards in the line of duty.
CBE Collective of belligerent establishment.
OBE Order of belligerent establishment.
MBE Member of belligerent establishment.
The pay we receive is recognition for our service.