Manhunt for Ethiopian asylum seeker sex offender accidentally released

NotSpaghetti

I think, if I remember correctly that this is a remand prison so they will probably have many discharges every day.
He apparently told the van driver he was supposed to be deported and had no idea what to do as the prison had turned him away... Who knows, if he can find a police station he may well hand himself in.

I hope he does... before someone murders or maims him.

That (your last sentence) is what I am hoping too. He doesn't deserve to be murdered for what he did, but I fear there are vigilantes around who might take the law into their own hands.

I'm sure I recall a time when most things worked reasonably well most of the time. Trains, power, education ,care.

Not rose tinted specs.

GrannyGravy13 the "remaining" SureStarts were not the same. They had been diminished in every way it seems to me.

Iam64

StripeyGran, imo it was an ideological approach. Cameron talked about getting rid of ‘pen pushers’ in public bodies. The result is a lack of admin staff, so call eg the DWP and hold in for 45 minutes before speaking to a human.
He closed SureStart family centres on the basis, he said, families like his used them and didn’t need them. These family centres saved public money by supporting vulnerable families in areas of deprivation. We have more children in care because we lost our good support services, including drug, alcohol, mental health. More homelessness, It really isn’t rocket science 🙈

There were still 2,204 Sure Start centres in England in 2023.

1,400 were closed not all of them.

StripeyGran, imo it was an ideological approach. Cameron talked about getting rid of ‘pen pushers’ in public bodies. The result is a lack of admin staff, so call eg the DWP and hold in for 45 minutes before speaking to a human.
He closed SureStart family centres on the basis, he said, families like his used them and didn’t need them. These family centres saved public money by supporting vulnerable families in areas of deprivation. We have more children in care because we lost our good support services, including drug, alcohol, mental health. More homelessness, It really isn’t rocket science 🙈

Someone upthread commented on getting rid of more expensive senior/experienced staff and bringing in cheaper new staff (who often leave quickly).

The prison was (like most prisons) understaffed and under pressure.

I never really understood Austerity. Was it supposed to be some sort of collective belt tightening for the greater good? Only some people didn't have a belt.

The whole concept of " services" is no longer in existence. Every damn thing I need I pay through the nose for over and over again. Food banks are the norm. It's all wrong.

Well sarnia, 14 years of Tory neglect will take a lot of undoing.

like far too many things in the UK it is not fit for purpose

As was predicted when Austerity was announced as a means of saving money. Inevitably, one side effect of running down public services was the way public servants were seen. An increasing lack of respect, with police, teachers, nhs staff sneered at by government and subjected to abuse by many people.

Recruitment and retention of police, social work, probation, education, health, prisons is an increasing problem. It’s not one our country can turn round easily or at speed

Yes, this is not a 'one person' mistake, but a 'whole systems' failure. In fact, many systems.
He was apparently trying to get back in. An opportunity there and then for the error to be rectified.
He doesn't appear to be running away, or trying to hide. Plenty of CCTV coverage.
Stated upthread that this is not the first time a wrong release has happened. And so, you would expect protocols to be in place, to correct this asap. Nothing.
Because of the heightened coverage, things should now change and improve.
'Bought in' temporary workers, probably covering for staff absences , would not get the same amount of training as new recruits. Not worth the investment. Happens in lots of situations.

I think, if I remember correctly that this is a remand prison so they will probably have many discharges every day.
He apparently told the van driver he was supposed to be deported and had no idea what to do as the prison had turned him away... Who knows, if he can find a police station he may well hand himself in.

I hope he does... before someone murders or maims him.

I have a family member working in the Ministry of Justice and the entire system is a mess. Like far too many things in the UK it is not fit for purpose.

Iam64

This incident confirms what prison governors and those interested in our criminal justice system have been saying for years. Getting rid of more experienced staff and replacing them with 18 year olds was not, never could be cost effective

I’ve just heard some Conservative MP demanding a oubkuc inquiry into how this incident happened. What a ridiculous suggestion. Spend yet more public money to establish what governors and frankly anyone with knowledge of our prisons has been saying

Really stupid - well how thought through was that?

. Spend the money on more prison staff, training, etc.

BTW, "bought in" staff would be agency staff I presume, whose training may not be to an acceptable level, particularly when it comes to complex procedures like this one.

But were the prison staff given the right orders in the first place?
The troops were according to Wellington “drawn from the scum of the Earth” - and if you move on in history, not infrequently subject to poor leadership as in the Charge of the Light Brigade.
Poor recruits means an impoverished pool to draw on for management positions.
A mix of poor management and inexperienced prison officers with often less than 2 years’ experience - what could possibly go wrong?

The difference with the troops at Waterloo was that they obeyed instructions, held the line, literally, and won the battle.

nanna8

Has he been found yet ? You wouldn’t make it up !

Not yet, and the police are appealing to him to give himself up!

Has he been found yet ? You wouldn’t make it up !

I mean odd in the sense of the "accidental" release and that he was still walking around in daylight (well until around 5:00 pm) in east London five hours after the Met were put on alert ... and still they can't find him.

Have they talked to staff at the library to see if he spoke to them or used a computer in which case there will be a history of what he looked at. The delivery driver at the prison said he understood that he was to be deported, wanted to be deported but didn't know where he had to go.

This incident confirms what prison governors and those interested in our criminal justice system have been saying for years. Getting rid of more experienced staff and replacing them with 18 year olds was not, never could be cost effective

The problem of staffing as in the police and the armed forces seems to be the calibre of those applying and the rapid turnover of those who do. And inevitably brings into question the motivation of too many applicants.
Why is this?
It’s very tempting to talk about silk purses and sows’ ears but these are our public servants, people we rely on for our own personal safety and the fabric of society. Do we want our law enforcers like our squaddies to be drawn from the violence- seeking dregs of our young people? To inspire that famous comment by I think the Duke of Wellington as he surveyed his British troops “I don't know what effect these men will have upon the enemy, but, by God, they terrify me".

He seems confused. A witness is reported as saying he tried to return to prison 4 ir 5 times but the guards sent him away.

Something odd about all this.

Very odd. I wonder if he has friends in this country and he's trying to contact them so he can be helped to go to ground?

I don’t know. The police officer in charge of ops said Kebatu had been travelling around London and CCTV images would be released later today. There is a clear video of him inside Dalston Square Library, Hackney said to be around 6 pm yesterday, five hours after he got off the train at Stratford. This is not a man trying to hide. This looks like a man seeking assistance (or maybe trying to get access to the internet). London is awash with CCTV. Something odd about all this.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Our best chance to catch him is if he pours his coffee down a drain.…

😂

PaynesGrey

Indeed, growstuff. Why would he?

Police know that he caught a train at 12:41. The Met were informed just 16 minutes later at 12:57 that he had been released in error.

That train stops at Stratford at 13:06 and London Liverpool Street 13:14. Probably too late to mobilise officers in time to apprehend him at a station but he will be easy to track though CCTV.

I’d be very surprised if he wasn’t apprehended today (Saturday).

Well, any hopes along those lines appear to be dashed.
There is a British Transport Police Office at Stratford. Nine minutes is surely plenty of time to get to the platform exit.
Seems like he isn't that easy to track through CCTV, so what's going on?
It's nearly Sunday - unless we hear anything in the next hour ...... or maybe two, seeing as the clocks are going back tonight!

Our best chance to catch him is if he pours his coffee down a drain.…