Police faced a social media backlash for posting a video of an early morning raid to issue a notice to a suspected homeless man sleeping in an abandoned boat underneath a bridge on the A10 near Littleport.
Policing East Cambridgeshire’s comment on Facebook that they were “not sure they appreciated the early morning wakeup call” prompted many to criticise police for their timing of the raid.
Early morning 'wake up call' to man living on abandoned boat by @CambsCops faces social media outcry – @CambsNewsOnline for story pic.twitter.com/pNAKoFBhNa
— John Elworthy (@johnelworthy) October 28, 2024
“We partnered with the Environmental Agency to issue the notice that requests the man moves out so the boat can be towed away or if he plans to live there, he needs to register it,” said a police spokesperson.
But critics, posting to the Policing East Cambridgeshire Facebook page, included one that said: “If he had come across the Channel in that boat he would have a hotel room”.
Another wrote: “I think a support worker that could offer housing advise would have been a good person to visit with.
“Also, I guess you went early to verify that they were sleeping there, but I do think these things need to be approached sensitively as it’s likely that person is homeless and needs support.”
One post read: “Shameful waste of resource. Most people would prefer the police deal with crime.”
Whilst another felt the “worst thing about this report is you are boasting about it!”.
One post suggested the raid had been carried out “for safety reasons; they have no clue if he will remain calm or become aggressive and secondly no idea how many on the boat.
“Thirdly they are right by water. If he became aggressive and decided to fight officers it’s safer to restrain him with multiple officers and also if any officers ended up in the water then would be enough other officers to detain him and rescue their colleague”.
One other said police “only ever turn up at unsociable hours! I know ignorance is no defence under law, but the river board could have posted a notice on the door to explain it needs to be registered.
“Also, if it’s abandoned how can someone be living in it?”
One woman, after pointing out she lived in a tent for five months after moving to the area, was met with the response from another post that said “then you have a good understanding of what this chap on the boat maybe going through.
“I used to work in street outreach; we used to verify people rough sleeping but would not dream of waking them up like the police did in this instance.
“We would go at a reasonable time and engage. Build relationships and then offer support options.”
One other post added: “If he has to move out of the boat will the local housing team put a roof over his head? Is he causing any harm apart from not paying a mooring/licence fee?
“Is he mooring at private, or land owned by the government?”
