Sarah (not her real name) was 15 when I first met her. A stunningly beautiful, popular young woman, succeeding in school, and who from outward appearance had the world at her feet should never have been coming to police attention. But come to police attention she did, and became a near constant feature of my early years as constable in the then Northern Constabulary.

Sarah was drinking, taking drugs and was regularly missing from home. We long suspected she was being abused by her stepfather, although there were never any allegations to investigate. Her mother would occasionally suffer pangs of guilt and phone the police only to be struck by either amnesia or silence by the time we got there. Sarah never said much about what went on at home but it was obvious alcohol was the most important thing in the house, and the inconvenience of raising a teenage (step)daughter was never going to interfere with that.

Read more by Calum Steele

The cursed but mythical “system” was failing Sarah at every turn. She wasn’t neglected in the sense that she had a roof over her head, food in her belly, and clothes on her back, but at the same time it was obvious she was very much being neglected. Her age, fast approaching “adulthood”, and parents savvy enough to mollify social work concerns meant she wasn’t enough of a “problem” to force more strident intervention. The depressing hand-washing of responsibility as she turned 16 was as predictable as the tides. Sarah........

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