The Boys in Blue.

I have a fifteen year old brother. He's no angel, he can be a cocky little gobshite, but compared to some of the kids I see and hear hanging around he is a good lad. He's not the studious type but is very hard working. He has had a grueling paper round since he was 12 gets up at half five every morning and does the work of, what used to be 3 paper boys and for this he gets the equivalent of the wage of two paper boys. He is also mad about cooking and has decided he wants to become a chef. When he's not in school or delivering papers he works at a hotel close to home. He started off preparing salads and now he works alongside the head chef and even runs the kitchen himself if the head chef is off, there are people in the restaurant, more qualified who defer to a 15 year old boy. The head chef and hotel managers are in the process of arranging for him to have an apprenticeship. He is all set to attend college 1 day a week and work at the hotel restaurant for the rest of the week. He will continue to be paid a proper wage and not the apprenticeship (or whatever it is called these days) paltry token rate. He considers himself unbelievably lucky to be getting paid for something he absolutely loves but the school do not see it this way and are constantly harassing him and the hotel because they think he is working too many hours at the hotel. People who's job it is to nosey into these things keep phoning the hotel and turning up to the restaurant see if my brother is working. The fact is even if he is not working he is there anyway. They would prefer him to spend his free time hanging around bus shelters with a bottle of cider like the rest of the kids his age and as I said he is no angel, and sometimes he does. As of yesterday he has been arrested 6 times. Each time he has been locked up for a couple of hours, interviewed and bailed. Each time he has been told to re-attend the police station at a later date and each time they tell him all charges have been dropped and to be on his way. On the last occasion he was accused of throwing a beer bottle at a car. One thing about my brother is that he is stupidly brutally honest and if he had done it he would have held his hands up and admitted to doing it. The facts are these. He was walking home from work at half ten at night, Five minutes away from the house a police car stopped, Two police officers got out and told him that he had thrown a bottle at a car. He said he did not. Mr Plod begged to differ and he was hauled to a building containing Police Officers but never open to the general public and thrown into a cell. At this point it seems that the police failed to realise that a fifteen year old boy expected home at half past ten might have a family wondering about his whereabouts... At half past midnight my frantic mother received a call from the police station requesting that she pick my brother up. On her arrival she hears a policeman explain to my brother that he has been bailed and must re-attend the station in one week. Reminds me of a Criminal Law question about PACE. Advise Lawdent's brother.