Used to work at a kids' home
where we spent a lot of time trying to track down teenagers who ran off.

The TV series 'Band Of Gold' was popular at the time, and the kids stupidly believed that proz life was like that - you know, old tarts wi' 'earts o'gold takin' care o' the young'uns...

When in truth the career path involves standing around in the freezing cold for hour after hour, night after night, year after year, only kept awake by speed and always in debt to the pusher, counting the time in blow-jobs till you can fall into a grubby bed in a noisy shared bedsit, and so on.

The police would look out for girls or lads under 16, and bring them back, but after 16 they were on their own.

One time, I was sent from the gloomy North to Rose Road police station in Brum to collect a runaway girl. I got there at 3am and was asked to take back another girl too. They'd had a week or so of trying the 'Life'.

I wasn't supposed to take more than one in case they overpowered me and took the Social Services car, but I took pity and we were soon on way back.

They'd had a narrow escape. They'd been picked up by the police when a pimp's house was raided for drugs, and were under arrest for possession. This was actually for their own protection, as the charges would be dropped if they agreed to go 'home' with me.

In fact, the police had actually raided the house, not for drugs, but to 'release' some underage girls who were 'working' from there: they had to arrest them for something else as they couldn't get them out any other way.

'My' girl was still defiant and refused to co-operate, so one of the bobbies produced a file. He said, I'm going for a brew now, and I've carelessly left this file here. If you naughtily read it, you'd find out what your good friend the pimp is really like.

Of course she did look, and read about his string of convictions for assaults on girls her age in the course of his 'work'. She was glad to come back with me.

I'd like to think that she and the other girl learned their lesson, went back to school and became model citizens. More likely though, they're drug-addicted prozzies, in prison, or dead.
(Juan Quar is clinging to her front teeth on, Tue 15 Aug 2006, 18:38, Reply)