I don't normally feel emotional when bad things happen to other people but this tragic event is one of probably only 2 events that gets to me everytime I think of them (the other being Hillsborough and the ongoing fight for justice).
So why this event? I'm not quite sure. At 21, I didn't have kids then so can't relate to it as a parent. I was in The Special Constabulary at the time and we were allowed to be attached to other departments. On the Friday James went missing, I was working with the Traffic Police at Smithdown Lane. The duty Sergeant came into the duty room and gave the usual hand-over of events that day. One of the items was of a 2 year old boy who went missing from a shopping centre in Bootle. Hand-overs like this were quite monotonous and were just part of the routine at the start of the shift. This one struck a chord with me and I actually wrote down the details (description, etc) on a scrap piece of paper.
James Bulgers mutilated body was found 2 days later.
On the Tuesday or Wednesday the following week, I was walking back from Dale Street to Stanley Road Police Station to finish another shift when a call came out for assistance in Snowdrop Street, Kirkdale. A house was being targeted by an angry crowd as it was rumoured to be the home of someone involved in the murder.
When I arrived at the street, there was a large crowd, TV crews and newspaper reporters. It had to be explained to the people if the house was trashed it could destroy any evidence linking the boy who lived there to the crime. Emotions were clearly running high.
As it turned out, the boy who lived there had nothing to do with what happened but due to the events, the family had to move away.
I still feel emotional even after all this time when I think of James Bulger. I've even had to stop writing this piece after looking up certain facts and come back to it.
I don't know how Denise Fergus and Ralph Bulger have managed to cope after all this time I just hope they can find peace sometime.
Now, as the father of four kids, I'm relieved when my kids come home safe after playing out or coming home from school. Nobody should have to suffer the way Ralph, Denise and certainly not James have done.
James Bulger - Never Forgotten
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_James_Bulger
