Disclaimer: Orange is the New Black does not belong to me. I am merely borrowing the characters.
A/N1 Ever since I read Piper Kerman's book, and even more since I saw the Netflix series, I have wondered what her experience would have been like if she had committed her crime in the jurisdiction of England and Wales. I live in London. Although our incarceration rate is under a quarter of that of the United States, it is one of the highest in Western Europe. Additionally the prison population has more or less doubled over the last 20 years, a time when the crime rate has halved according to the British Crime Survey. I am planning to write two fics on this. This one describes what I think is the most likely scenario, that following the Police investigation the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decide that it is not in the public interest to prosecute. The other one will look at what happens if she were prosecuted and found guilty.
A/N2 What I describe in this chapter are standard British Police procedures for a planned arrest where minimal resistance is expected.
It was Saturday morning at 6:30 am. Piper Chapman and Larry Bloom where in bed. They had had a heavy session at the local pub the night before, both were hung over and probably still over the legal alcohol limit for driving.
Larry was woken by the door buzzer followed by the sound of fists pounding on the door. He groggily got up from the bed and looked out of the window. What he saw sobered him up. There was a Police van and three Police cars. About ten Police Officers, some in uniform, others not, were standing outside the front door, one was pounding his fist against the door. A battering ram was at the ready.
One of the Officers looked up and saw him at the window.
"UGHH what is that noise?" Piper asked groggily, waking up herself. Her head was pounding.
"Lots of Police knocking on our door! I'd better go see what they want." he replied.
He put on a dressing gown and went downstairs. When he opened the door he was flattened against the wall as eight officers rushed into the house.
"Where is Piper Chapman, sir?" a uniformed Sergeant asked.
"Upstairs still in bed!" said Larry, his voice registering shock.
Three female officers, two in uniform, ran up the stairs.
The Sergeant showed Larry a piece of paper. "This is a warrant to search these premisses, sir." he said.
Upstairs Piper was getting out of bed when the door burst open and the three women entered. One of the women was in plain clothes, although she wore a stab vest. She spoke.
"Your full name please, madam?"
Piper was desperately trying to cover her naked body. "Piper Chapman. Who the fuck are you?"
"I am Detective Sergeant MacDonald." DS MacDonald showed Piper her Warrant Card and continued "Piper Chapman, I am arresting you on suspicion of Conspiracy to Import Class A Drugs contrary to section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977. You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. This officer will stay with you while put on some clothes." She indicated a tall, heavy set, tough looking woman in uniform.
Piper grabbed a bra and knickers from the floor and put them on quickly trying to cover herself with the duvet while she did so. She then put on a top and a pair of jeans. The officer took the handcuffs from her belt. Piper was cuffed with her hands in front of her. Her arms were crossed with her left hand pointing to the right and her right hand pointing left. The cuffs had a wide solid bar covered by black plastic connecting them with the result that she couldn't move her hands from the position they were in.
She was led downstairs. A shocked looking Larry was still in the hall. It was now ten minutes since the Police had entered the house. The specialist search units were arriving to begin their work.
Piper looked at Larry with shock and fear on her face.
"Don't worry darling. I'll ring my dad." was all Larry managed to say as she was led out of the house to the waiting van.
Larry turned to the Sergeant.
"Where are you taking her? And why?" He was trying desperately to hold it together and remember the questions that had gone in with his baby food but that he had thought he would never need.
"Piper Chapman has been arrested on suspicion of Conspiracy to Import Class A Drugs and is being taken to Kettleford Police Station sir." The Sergeant said.
"Can I phone our solicitor?" Larry asked.
"You have one, sir?" the Sergeant sounded surprised.
"My dad, Howard Bloom of Bloom, Jones and Partridge." Larry replied.
"You may do so, sir." said the Sergeant.
Larry phoned his parents, hoping his mother would not answer, she did.
"Hi mum."
"Larry! What are you doing ringing so early on a Saturday morning." It was more a statement than a question.
"Can I speak to dad? Is he there?"
"Your father's here. When are you going to bring that lovely girl to meet us again? It's been two weeks! Too long! Some children come to see their mothers."
"Yeah, sorry, can I speak to him?"
"Ahh you don't want to speak to me? Some sons speak to their mothers!"
"Mum this is urgent! Please please let me speak to him."
Howard came on the phone.
"Larry what is so urgent that you have to wake me on a Saturday morning?"
"The Police are in my house. They've taken Piper in handcuffs."
"My boy! Is this a joke?"
"No dad it is deadly serious." Larry was beginning to sound desperate.
Howard switched to professional mode.
"Do you know which station they've taken her to?"
"Kettleford. She been arrested for Importing Drugs of all things."
"OK I'll get dressed and drive there."
"Thankyou dad!" Larry sounded so very grateful.
"The really bad news is that your mother would like to speak to you again!"
As this was going on Piper was arriving at Kettleford Police Station. The van stopped in the yard at the back of the station. DS MacDonald and the uniformed officer who had driven got out. The back door of the van was opened and then the inner cage door was also opened and Piper was lead out of the van and through a back door into the station building. She was barefoot.
She was then lead down one flight of stairs. They were buzzed through a door into an area in which a uniformed sergeant stood behind a counter with a computer on it. The DS spoke.
"This is Piper Chapman of 22 Aschburn Road, London E22. Arrested on suspicion of Conspiracy to Import Class A Drugs. I am the arresting officer. I am requesting detention for interview and to secure and preserve evidence."
"The relevant time for PACE is 07:10." the Sergeant said as he typed at his keyboard. He then asked Piper her date of birth and told her she had the right to have someone informed of her arrest and to a phone call. A printer printed a form that he handed to the DS.
Piper was now released from the hand cuffs and the Sergeant came round the counter and guided Piper down a corridor on both sides of which were formidable looking doors which had small blackboards alongside them. On some of the blackboards names and offences were written. The Sergeant stopped outside a door that was open with no name on the board.
"You are to wait in here, madam." he said.
She walked into the cell. The door shut behind her with a loud metallic clang. She heard the sound of a key turning and a heavy lock engaging. She then heard the observation hatch close and a latch being secured.
Only now did tears begin to fall. Through the tears she took in her bare surroundings. Only a waist-high shelf with a very thin mattress and two threadbare blankets on it and a stainless steel toilet with no seat or cover for company. She sat down on the shelf which she supposed was meant to be a bed.
Outside the words "Chapman, Conspiracy Import Class A" had appeared on the blackboard by her cell door.