A Family Court practice described as “barbaric” allows police to take children from their parents with no prior warning. The removals are used to enforce parenting orders, but are they harming the children the system is meant to protect? Melanie Reid and Cass Mason report.
Night terrors
Police show up unannounced, during the night, at the home of a 5-year-old girl’s mother. They have a warrant, issued by a Family Court judge, for the removal of the child, by force if necessary – and it is clear the police are not leaving without her.
The child screams, cries for her mother, and tries to escape the officers by hiding behind a couch. Inevitably, she’s caught, lifted into the air and carried through the living room, kicking and wailing. Her mother films the scene, as the girl’s grandfather pleads with police not to hurt her. One of the officers calls the grandfather an “idiot” and as the girl is taken into the night she screams: “I’m going to vomit”. [Read Full Article]
