Shape of Snakes

Dear Sergeant Drury,

Re Miss Ann Butts, 30 Graham Road, Richmond, Surrey

Following numerous conversations with you, both in person and on the telephone, I have become increasingly angry about your refusal to investigate the possible theft of property from Miss Ann Butts prior to her death on 14.11.78. In the absence of any other explanation, I am forced to conclude that Richmond Police are as indifferent to Miss Butts today as they clearly were at the time of her death.

It is unacceptable to say, as you did on the telephone this morning, that 'anyone as mad as Mad Annie could easily have blown a fortune on drink over a nine-week period.' As your own report from the time states, she had L4,000 in her bank account and L15,000 in a building society. Therefore there was no necessity for her to sell her prized possessions as you claim she must have done. Nor can I stress too strongly that Tourette's syndrome is not a form of insanity, but rather an inability to control certain motor functions, and the fact that Miss Butts made faces and muttered to herself in no way affected her intelligence.

I am now convinced that her extraordinarily rapid decline must have been due to her house being ransacked in the week before her death. I have said to you many times that an invasion of her property would have triggered extreme anxiety because of her compulsive-therefore uncontrollable-obsession with home and personal security, and it is pointless to keep arguing that she would have called the police if such an invasion had happened. All strangers worried her, including officials in uniform (c.f. John Howlett's letter, dated March 7, '83) and if you and your colleagues treated her while she was alive with the sort of indifference you seem to be demonstrating now, she would have had no reason to trust you. In this one respect-trusting strangers-Ann's behavior could be described as irrational but only because obsessive behavior is compulsive. In all other respects her behavior was normal.

I hesitate to say that your indifference amounts to contempt, although I am angry enough to believe that that is what it is. Yes, Ann suffered a neuropsychiatric disorder, and yes, she was black, but neither fact should influence your decision to pursue belated justice on her behalf.

Of course it's true-and I am quoting your own words-that the cost of pursuing her alleged robbers will far outweigh any benefit to the taxpayer from the recovery of her possessions, but since when did justice have anything to do with cost? Justice is, and should be, impartial, yet your remark suggests that the police are selective in how, when and for whom they enforce the law.

Yours sincerely,

Sheila Arnold

Dr. Sheila Arnold

c.c. Police Superintendent Hathaway, Richmond Police

Rt. Honourable William Whitelaw, home secretary

FROM THE OFFICE OF:

POLICE SUPERINTENDENT A. P. HATHAWAY,

METROPOLITAN POLICE, RICHMOND

Dr. Sheila Arnold

39 Lyvedon Avenue

Richmond

Surrey

June 21, 1983

Ref: APH/VJ

Dear Dr. Arnold,

Re Miss Ann Butts, 30 Graham Road. Richmond

Thank you for the copy of your letter of May 25 to PS Drury, together with photocopies of correspondence and notes of telephone conversations, all of which I have read with interest. I have since discussed the case at some length with Sergeant Drury and, while I have some sympathy with your contention that Miss Butts was robbed prior to her death, I also agree with Sergeant Drury that no purpose would be served by investigating it.

Sergeant Drury admits that the inquiry in November 1978 did not take into account the possibility of robbery, however he stresses that at no time was it suggested to him that the situation found inside Miss Butts's house was unusual. Quite the reverse. There was considerable evidence, already on record following complaints from her neighbors, that the house was overrun with cats: that there was a continuous unpleasant smell from the premises: and that her living conditions were unhygienic and squalid. In these circumstances I do not consider that Sergeant Drury was either indifferent or negligent in his handling of the case.

The incidence of theft and burglary in England and Wales is rising at over 15 percent per annum, with few successful convictions resulting from police investigations. These figures are a matter of public record, and politicians from all parties are now demanding tougher sentencing policies and increased funding for police forces in order to stem what has effectively become a crime epidemic.

In such a climate it would be unreasonable to order an investigation into a burglary that may or may not have happened five years ago; where the alleged victim is no longer alive to give evidence; where there is no accurate inventory of what was in her house: and where the chances of successful closure are zero. While I realize this is not what you want to hear, I hope you will understand the reasoning behind this decision. It would be different had there been any question marks over the manner of Miss Butts's death, but the inquest verdict was unequivocal.

In conclusion, let me assure you that Richmond Police take their responsibilities to all members of the public extremely seriously, irrespective of race, color, creed or disability.

Yours sincerely,

A. P. Hathaway

Police Superintendent A. P. Hathaway

*4*

'One of your letters to the RSPCA inspector mentions a going-away present that Annie gave you,' I said to Sheila Arnold when she and her husband came to lunch the following Sunday. 'What was it?'

She extended an arm. 'A jade bracelet,' she said, turning a pale green bangle on her slender wrist. 'There was a set of them on her mantelpiece and she chose this one for me because she thought it suited my coloring. I had red hair in those days.'