School Crossing, 07:40
At 07:40 on a school morning, a delivery motorcycle travelling east on a two-lane one-way street in Malé hits a 12-year-old girl on a marked crossing near a school gate. The rider, 19, is on the ground with a bleeding arm; the girl is conscious but complaining of hip pain and cannot stand. The motorcycle has no number plate, the rider produces no licence, and a helmet is strapped to the back but not worn. About 40 people gather; the girl's father arrives and shouts at the rider. Traffic is backing up towards the harbour, and an ambulance is reported to be 12 minutes away. A nearby shop has a CCTV camera pointing at the crossing, and the shopkeeper says he will only release footage to an officer with a written request. A second officer is 5 minutes away.
1. What are the officer's priorities in the first ten minutes?
Read the worked answer
The order is safety, then medical care, then evidence, then traffic.
- Park to protect the scene, put on high-visibility kit, and confirm the ambulance with a precise location and a landmark.
- Do not move the girl unless there is immediate danger. Kneel beside her, keep her still, talk to her, and note her level of consciousness and exactly what she says about the hip. Ask a bystander with first-aid training to help and clear a space around her.
- For the rider, control bleeding with a clean dressing and gloves if available. He is a casualty as well as a possible suspect.
- Identify the father, separate him from the rider, and give him a clear task - travelling with the ambulance - so his anger has somewhere to go.
- Ask the shopkeeper now for the CCTV, note the camera position and the time offset, and ask him not to overwrite it. If he refuses, record that and obtain it later through the investigation.
- Start collecting witness names and numbers early, because the crowd will disperse within minutes.
2. Should the rider be arrested at the scene, and how should the crowd and the father be handled?
Read the worked answer
Detention is likely justified, but it must not look like punishment.
- He has no licence, the machine is unregistered, and there is a serious injury, so there is a real risk he will not be found later and an offence is apparent. Record the decision and the reasons.
- Arrest him once medical treatment allows, tell him why in a language he understands, caution him, and record the time. Use the least forceful option that is practical.
- Do not let the father or the crowd deal with him. Move him to the police vehicle and then to the station; explain to the father that the case will be investigated and give him a reference number and a contact.
- If the crowd becomes hostile, withdraw to a safer point and call for support rather than arguing. Filming by bystanders is normal; behave as if it will be published.
- Reassess after the hospital report. If the injury is minor, a summons might have been enough - but an unlawful or unnecessarily long detention cannot be undone, so record the reasoning at the time.
3. What evidence must be fixed before the road is reopened, and how should the CCTV be obtained?
Read the worked answer
The road can reopen once the essentials are fixed in place.
- Photograph the crossing, the motorcycle's final position, the helmet, any skid or debris marks, and the point of impact, with a scale and a fixed reference point such as the school gate.
- Measure from the kerb and the crossing lines, and record the weather, light, and traffic conditions.
- Obtain the CCTV as soon as possible. Note the time displayed and the real time, take a copy, and give the shopkeeper a signed receipt. If he insists on a written request, write it on the spot and note his condition. Do not rely on a promise to send it later.
- Take witness statements at the roadside where possible. For schoolchildren, take names and arrange interviews later with a parent or teacher present.
- Recover the motorcycle and record the absence of a plate, then check the rider's licence status and the machine's registration against the register.
Only then reopen the road and tell the traffic control room. Notes written from memory that evening are how cases are lost.