As the end of another year rapidly approaches, I think we are all naturally inclined to pause – as much as we can amidst our busy lives – to reflect on the personal and professional journeys we have undertaken over the last 12 months. I would therefore like to use this week’s blog to take a look back at some of the most notable cases in which I have been involved this year and to reflect on what they meant to me and to my clients.
Shining A Spotlight on Unlawful Stop & Search
Because ‘stop and search’ is a lower-level power than an actual arrest, it is liable to be more frequently used, and hence abused. It is a power designed to keep our streets safe, but at the same time it can, if wrongly used, be a cause of fear and danger in itself, and I am pleased to have been able to win justice for many people this year against whom this power was misused or lazily invoked. Such Police misuse of stop-and-search powers is particularly a problem when coupled with racial profiling – for when Police carry out unjustified searches of young, ethnic minority males they are fuelling a vicious circle of distrust between such young men and the Police, which is entirely counter- productive to fighting crime. One of the most satisfying results which I achieved in this area was covered in my blog of 27/05/22 – in which I described how I won an apology and compensation from the Met Police for their unlawful search and handcuffing of a mixed race child – my client “Daniel”, who was aged only13 when this mistreatment occurred.
I was equally proud to achieve justice for my client Zac Sharif-Ali, whose story was covered in the Guardian newspaper in August. Zac, a young black man, fought a decade long legal battle against the Met after he was viciously assaulted by PC Duncan Bullock whilst out walking his dog in a public park. The Met were made to pay Zak damages of £30,000 but showed little true reflection or remorse upon their officer’s actions and offered only the most lukewarm of apologies.
Let us hope that Police leadership’s admission of the problem of racism in policing (see the joint statement of the National Police Chief’s Council and the College of Policing in the 2022 Police Race Action Plan) is not merely ‘public relations’ lip-service, but a true commitment to deep-seated cultural change.
Safeguarding Children from Arrest
In the case of ST v The Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police – in May of this year, the High Court sent an important message about the principal of safeguarding children from arrest except in cases of the utmost necessity, a principle which I was able to uphold on behalf of my 14 year old client “Harry”, as highlighted in my blog of 30/09/22.
Harry had been arrested on suspicion of a sexual offence against another teenager. As discussed in my blog, whilst the offence in question was a very serious one, there was no danger of immediate or continuing harm to the alleged victim, given the lapse of several months since the event was said to have occurred and this matter could and should have proceeded by way of a voluntary interview, thereby preserving Harry’s dignity and minimising the huge amount distress and anxiety caused to him and his parents. Furthermore, had the Police actually carried out full and proper enquiries with the alleged victim first, this matter could have been dealt with without Harry being subject to any Police interview at all, let alone arrest and detention, as the investigating officer herself concluded “there was no imbalance of power or threats…the CPS would not criminalise children for this.”
I trust that the Police Forces involved will take the lessons of these cases to heart and learn how to better protect the welfare of children in the future, especially to avoid their ‘adultification’ by unnecessary arrest.
Pressuring the Police To Improve Standards
Certainly not all cases which I handle arise out of active Police malice or aggression; many, sadly are caused by sloppy mistakes, or what we might call ‘schoolboy errors’ if their consequences weren’t so serious, such as-
- Lax investigations leading to legitimate vehicles being mistaken for clones and their owners subjected to midnight arrests or violent ‘stinger’ ambushes;
- Another wrongful arrest arising from a Court summons being sent to the wrong address;
- A data error leading to bailiffs pursuing an innocent person;
- British Transport Police informing the Disclosure & Barring Service that my client had a Reprimand (Youth Caution) for the making of ‘an indecent photograph on a child’, when in fact all he had on his record was a Reprimand for a minor criminal damage offence, committed when he was 15.
By bringing claims in relation to such gross errors, together my clients and I can hold the Police to account for misuse of their powers and encourage them to reform their practices and focus on the necessary staff training and attention to detail which will help to prevent future incidents of people having their lives turned upside down by something as ‘simple’ as a typo…
Questioning the Integrity of the Police Complaint System
In June of this year, I followed up on the story of my client Bryan Allden (for whom I won damages of £358,000 after a brutal Police baton attack) by reporting how the officer who attacked Bryan, PC Paul Knowles, had finally – though only indirectly – been served his just desserts and expelled from West Midlands Police, after he committed a data breach could have jeopardised a murder trial. The fact is, however, that the Police complaint system had already failed my client and the public by allowing Knowles to remain a Police officer after his 2015 assault against Bryan – despite the IPCC (forerunner of today’s Independent Office of Police Conduct) having found that Knowles had a case to answer for misconduct (and observing that the Officer’s overhead, downward baton strike upon Bryan could easily have caused fatal injuries). In fact, PC Knowles had ultimately received only the half-hearted sanction of ‘Management Action’ in the form of being sent on a First Aid refresher course for what he did to Bryan. This is a classic example of how too many Police Officers get too many second chances, as a result of a habitually toothless complaints and misconduct regime, enabled by a ‘watchdog’ in the form of the IOPC which is all too often a ‘poodle.
As Baroness Louise Casey stated in October of this year, at the time of publication of her interim report into the Met’s failing misconduct procedures – “There are moments when I have looked at the cases with people I’ve listened to and I have wondered what exactly would constitute gross misconduct in order to get them out of the force”.
Breaking the Police Code of Silence
In June , I highlighted the continuing problem of the “Police Code of Silence” which is a counterpart to the prejudiced Police complaints process and is the reason why, after my client Ben Joynes was headbutted in broad daylight by PC Mark Knights of Derbyshire Constabulary, in the presence or vicinity of no less than 5 other officers, it took Anti- corruption campaigner Rob Warner of Crimebodge to initiate a criminal prosecution of PC Knights – with no help from either the Police or CPS.
Having successfully settled Ben’s claim for damages for a substantial sum of money, I felt compelled to make the point that this case wasn’t just about the actions of one rogue Officer but rather the complicity through inaction of all the other Derbyshire Officers who witnessed what PC Knights did to Ben, but who then failed to intervene whether to assist my client, to arrest PC Knights himself or even to report PC Knights’ conduct to their Professional Standards Department. None of the five other Police Officers who were present at the scene of this incident took any action against PC Knights at the time, nor subsequently reported his conduct, and the two of those officers who attended the Magistrates Court Trial refused to be drawn into criticism of their colleague. As I wrote in my blog, Ben’s faith in the rule of law and trust in the Police was severely shaken by PC Knights’ brutal treatment of him, and this of course impacted him in a psychological way that was worse than his physical injuries. This psychological impact could have been averted if other Officers had come to Ben’s assistance and the handcuffs that day had ended up around PC Knights’ wrists, rather than Ben’s.
As my blog of 11/11/22 also demonstrated, this is a very prevalent problem which is unlikely to be banished overnight – Whilst PC Neville Bridgewood, was found guilty at Birmingham Magistrates Court of assaulting my client, the disturbing fact is that there were four other Police Officers present – all of whom apparently ‘looked the other way’ and couldn’t recall important details about the incident. Throughout the Trial these officers seemed as reluctant as PC Knight’s erstwhile colleagues to comment as to the lawfulness of the use of force by their fellow officer. On an even more sinister note, the judge concluded that PC Bridgewood had tried to make sure that his colleague’s body camera footage was not before the Court (by Bridgewood effectively asking his colleague to destroy the footage).
What is most concerning is that Bridgewood apparently thought he would get away with this frankly criminal request.
Victims, lawyers and journalists must continue to make noise, until this code of silence is broken.
Pushing Back against Authoritarian Tendencies
A number of significant cases which I brought against multiple Police Forces in relation to abuse of their powers during the initial Coronavirus lockdown of 2020 came to a head this year, including that which I covered in my blog of 05/08/22 – £30,000 damages awarded to my client Desmond Acquah, a black British army veteran.
“What am I supposed to do, fly to my bedroom after work?” was Desmond’s memorable retort to Hampshire Officers as they wrongfully assaulted and imprisoned him when he was trying to make his way homeafter a night-shift on the railways.
As I commented in my blog, it is true that the Police had suddenly been required to regulate an emergency ‘curfew’ under the auspices of hastily, and in some respects inadequately, drafted legislation – but those very factors should have led Officers to proceed with care and caution in order to ensure that they did not exceed the limits of their powers. Sadly, all too many officers appear to have relished exercising their new ‘lockdown’ muscles, rushing in where angels feared to tread and overlooking the purpose of the legislation, which was not about unnecessarily criminalising normal activities, but simply about keeping people safe.
Officers aggressively demanding the personal details of law-abiding citizens – as they did with Desmond – is an infringement of democratic values and a step towards an authoritarian ‘papers please’ state. Many Police Officers seem to be of a mindset which draws them towards such overreach of power, and it takes brave people like Desmond to stand up to them and teach them a lesson – through the proper use, rather than abuse, of the law.
Desmond’s case was also a prime example of another disappointing and perplexing tendency in Police misconduct claims: the decision of the Chief Constable to refuse Desmond’s offer to settle for a significantly lower sum of damages, if that payment was accompanied by an apology. However, rather than saying sorry for this abuse of power – and attempted criminalisation of a heroic key worker – the Chief Constable was prepared to put public money where her mouth should have been.
Sorry That the Police Can’t Say Sorry
Such a Police refusal to apologise – or, what is perhaps worse, their disingenuous dressing up of an excuse in the thinnest veneer of apology – is a very common theme of the ‘emotional’ response which Police Forces often show to Claimants, displaying the bruised and rather aggressive pride of institutions with egos.
As one of my clients, Brett Chamberlain, succinctly commented at the conclusion of his successful claim against Devon and Cornwall Police – “Funny how they’re not too fussed about dishing out £5K but a letter of apology is just too much to ask…there is little to no chance of reforming the Police when they can’t even admit their mistakes in a relatively trivial case. That’s why guys like you do a great job of holding them to account…”.
The Police could make things so much easier for themselves and everyone else, by issuing early, forthright and genuine apologies.
Assisting Victims of Sexual Violence and Misconduct
In my blog of 11/02/22 I explained how I helped a victim of rape to sue the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service for damages of £40,000 after both of those organisations were complicit in the negligent release of my client’s home address to the very man who had raped her. A severe and shocking case from which the Police Force concerned and the CPS have hopefully both learned important lessons. There is no sensitive data which needs more carefully protecting than the personal information of victims of sexual violence who have put their trust in our law enforcement institutions.
Sadly, many women who consult me having suffered sexual abuse are victims of Police Officers themselves. One such was my client “Laura” a domestic violence victim for whom I was able to recover damages of £10,000 after she was sexually harassed by the Suffolk Police Officer appointed to deal with her case.
It does seem that barely a week has gone by this year without multiple news stories about Police Officers charged with sexual offences – usually the targeting of vulnerable women, often domestic violence victims, whom the Officer has come into contact with and who he marks as ‘easy prey’ for his own sexual gratification. This form of abuse of power is frankly endemic in our Police Forces and all too many women who call 999 risk inviting emergencies into their lives in the form of abusive/exploitative Officers – wolves in sheepdog’s clothing.
Educating people about their rights
I hope that my blogs throughout the year have also helped to educate people about their civil rights, and encourage them to seek legal advice if they think those rights have been infringed.
This year I have written about how to sue the Police if you are detained under Section 136 of the MHA, or if as a victim of Police brutality you are subsequently convicted of a crime committed around the same time, and are faced with a Police denial of liability under Section 329 of the CJA.
Other essays have highlighted how the Police may not in fact have the right to enter your house under Sections 17 or 18 of PACE which they claim to have when they force their way in through your front door…
Of course, every case turns on its own particular circumstances; and my blogs are illustrative of matters which might lead you to seek formal legal advice; they do not of course constitute exhaustive advice in themselves on all aspects of such issues.
Protesting Against Police Abuse of Strip-Search Powers
Another sadly common form of Police abuse of power, and an issue about which I feel extremely strongly is that which was the subject of my blog of 02/02/22 regarding my client Yvonne Farrell, who was interviewed by BBC Newsnight.
The Police have powers to strip-search detainees on ‘welfare grounds’ in order to identify/ remove items with which they might harm themselves or others. All too often, however, Custody staff use this particularly degrading and humiliating act of battery as a ‘punishment’ designed to pressure a person to provide their personal details, or to silence their (often highly legitimate) complaints . In my opinion it is a low level form of torture, cynically and brutally enforced to break a person’s spirit – and many of my clients, who are quite properly indignant because they know they have been wrongfully arrested, are further victimised by this practice.
Thankfully, justice can be won – as it was for Yvonne and many others for whom I have acted.
And Upholding “An Englishman’s Home Is His Castle”
The principle enshrined in that saying ‘An Englishman’s home is his castle’ is in my opinion one of the foundational tenets of British justice and liberty – the right of a person in the privacy of their own home to be safe from unreasonable interference and intrusion by the State, whether ancient or modern. I am frequently called upon to uphold that principle by seeking restitution for clients who have suffered what can frankly be called ‘home invasions’ by Police Officers; and two of the most notable examples of this type of case on which I reported in 2022 involved Englishwomen defending their castle…
In February I discussed the case of my valiant client Hannah Currie who suffered a brutal attack upon her home when a gang of officers forced entry at multiple locations and used force against her, including threatening Hannah with a taser whilst she was holding her baby son in her arms all on the basis of bogus ‘welfare’ concerns. West Mercia Police subsequently admitted liability for trespass to land, wrongful arrest and assault and battery against Hannah and agreed to pay her £20,000 damages.
In October, Nottinghamshire Police paid £40,000 for the invasion of my client Sharon’s home. In this case, the Police took the side of a bailiff in a minor civil debt dispute. The lead officer, Sergeant Flint shouted at Sharon “Give me your keys or I’ll spray you” – before he and his colleague forced her to lie on her front on her living room floor, prised her house keys from her terrified grip and handcuffed her. All of this apparently so that PS Flint could then invite the bailiff to – “Come on in and help yourself to whatever”.
Sharon’s case was also yet another stark example of our dysfunctional Police complaints system. Investigated for gross misconduct arising from these events, Sergeant Flint was actually twice dismissed from the Force – and twice reinstated, ultimately being allowed back into uniform by the Police Appeals Tribunal and sanctioned only with a ‘final written warning’. This ineffectual process lasted for some four years, further traumatising Sharon who had to attend multiple misconduct hearings, during which she was subject to cross-examination that made her feel like she was the one who was on Trial and pulling her from emotional pillar to post.
Yet further, at no stage did Nottinghamshire Police offer any apology to Sharon, notwithstanding the fact that by the end of the process the Force themselves apparently wanted to see the Officer sacked…
Out With the Old, and In With The New
“You have to come to the conclusion there must be hundreds of people that shouldn’t be here, who should be thrown out. There must be hundreds who are behaving disgracefully, undermining our integrity and need ejecting”
– Sir Mark Rowley, Met Police Commissioner, October 2022.
In the fight for justice against Police misconduct I am one player in a bigger team which includes other lawyers – including my brilliant colleague John Hagan – journalists, medical experts, judges and jurors and – most importantly of all – those brave members of the public who are the victims of Police violence and abuse of power and who are nevertheless prepared to go round after round against the Police until they achieve the ‘knockout’ blow.
It is the courage and determination of my clients which I would most like to highlight and salute at this time of year. It goes without saying that none of my work would be possible without the trust, bravery and determination of these men and women and it is a pleasure for me to work with you all to hold the Police to account and help thereby to maintain the health of our liberal, civil democracy and the British principles of liberty of the person and fair play which are at the heart of it.
The battle will continue next year – but am I being optimistic when I sense that there may finally be winds of change blowing through our Policing institutions?
There has never been a time when Police misconduct issues have been more in the spotlight nor higher in public awareness than they are now – which is as a result of a number of shocking scandals and tragedies, combined with the modern prevalence of video recording technology and the admirable work of civil rights journalists and professional bloggers, amongst whose numbers I am proud to place myself.
Our Country’s previous ‘top cop’ Cressida Dick claimed that rogue and criminal Officers in the Met were just a few ‘bad apples’ and presided over a stagnant culture of racism, authoritarianism and toxic masculinity with a misconduct and complaints system so inefficient and pro-Police that it was an active part of the problem, rather than being anything close to a solution.
Now however, the new Commissioner of the Met – Sir Mark Rowley appears to have a much more realistic and honest attitude about the state of health of the biggest Police Force in England and Wales to such an extent that I recently commented – In this season of Christmas Carols, I find the #Met Police chief singing from the same hymn sheet as me: “The Met is harbouring hundreds of racists, misogynists and convicted criminals who cannot be fired due to weak misconduct procedures.”
Of course, it is the year to come which will begin to show us whether Sir Mark is paying more than merely lip service to these problems.
Furthermore, regardless of the best intentions of Police brass, it remains the case that there are structural political problems which impact on Police integrity, quality and performance – as highlighted this week by a former occupant of Sir Mark’s hot-seat, Lord Hogan- Howe, who during a House of Lords debate warned that the current Tory administrations reversal of previous Tory cuts to Police manpower risked letting the wrong people in the door through the ‘inevitable’ poor vetting and lowering of standards which rapid recruitment surges were likely to cause/ encourage.
Reform of Policing culture recruitment, training, supervision and misconduct practices are long overdue, and must begin with giving us Professional Standards departments which will zealously and impartially investigate civilian complaints against Police officers, rather than being fronts for the Police Federation. Perhaps the current coterie of Chief Constables, in response to public outcry and justified outrage are going to finally start Policing the Police and genuinely aim to deliver the 21st Century Police Force which we all deserve.
Regardless as to whether they do, I will certainly do my part to bring that about – as I know that thousands of you will as well.
Happy New Year to you all.
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