Many of my clients say that the most important thing about winning their actions against the police claim is knowing that they were justified in pursuing their claim and/ or complaint.
Often, they have never been in trouble with the police before and are shocked and disappointed by their treatment at the time of the incident and afterwards.
Here are some of the many different scenarios in which I have assisted victims of Police Misconduct to achieve justice:
Have you been the victim of police corruption or abuse of power/misfeasance? Has that led to arrest, investigation, prosecution or some other form of harm?
Have you been unlawfully stopped and searched by a police officer? The police do have the power to stop and search people and vehicles but only in certain circumstances.
Have you been wrongfully arrested or unlawfully arrested or arrested because of mistaken identity? The Police are empowered to arrest people with or without warrant but often make mistakes.
Have you been the victim of an unlawful strip search in police custody? The police are entitled to conduct a strip search in very limited circumstances and too often make mistakes.
Have you been unlawfully detained by a police officer? No matter how short the period of time, the police only have very limited powers to detain without arrest.
Have you been arrested by a police officer by mistake? Police forces often make administrative mistakes such as the Police National Computer (PNC) not being updated; or a postal summons, court summons, or postal requisition being sent to the wrong address or not at all?
Have you been wrongfully arrested by Police in England or Wales under a European Arrest Warrant, owing to mistaken identity or other acts of negligence?
Have you been the victim of police brutality, or the unlawful use of force by a police officer or a custody detention officer? Officers are empowered to use force where necessary but only to the extent that it is reasonable. I have represented people who have suffered injury and loss by reason of the unlawful use of unarmed force , handcuffs, baton, firearm, taser, shield , Pava, CS or pepper spray, police dog, or police pursuit/use of stinger device.
Have the Police unlawfully entered your home? Police Officers frequently misuse or misunderstand their power of entry and become trespassers. Too often, the Police enter a property without warrant or authority, raid the wrong address, or apply for a warrant on the basis of an out of date and inaccurate intelligence, or simply fail to execute the search warrant in accordance with the law.
Have you been sexually exploited, sexually abused, harassed, or the victim of inappropriate contact by a Police Officer or Police Force?
Have you been maliciously prosecuted for an offence of which the Police knew you were not guilty? Most frequently this involves false accusations of assaulting Police officers/ Emergency workers when they in fact assaulted you, or false allegations of disorderly behaviour in public.
Have you been the victim of a data breach or has your data been mishandled? As the custodians of some of the most sensitive personal data which exists about any of us – whether or not we have a clean criminal record, or if we do have convictions or cautions, what they relate to – the Police owe an unparalleled duty to protect such data and only disclose it to appropriate parties with the utmost accuracy.
Are you a police informant or witness in a criminal case whose identity/ personal information has been leaked by police mistake?
Have you been the victim of unlawful police surveillance? Even in the 21st century, an Englishman’s home, and private life, is still his castle and strict rules and regulations protect this principle – but the Police sometimes fail to abide by them.
Have you been discriminated against? The Equality Act allows any person who has suffered discrimination or harassment as a result of any of the following “protected characteristics” to seek restitution through an award of damages; age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation.
Have your human rights been breached by the Police? In particular, your right to liberty (Article 5 ECHR) and your right to privacy/ family life (Article 8). Article 3, which guarantees protection against inhuman and degrading treatment also protects those whom the Police have failed through negligent investigation of the most serious crimes, including murder, rape and sexual abuse.
Have you suffered injury as a result of negligent driving by a Police officer, including Police cars involved in pursuit or emergency response?
Have you suffered owing to mistakes by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) leading to a breach of your data and/or your wrongful arrest? CPS errors in failing to update Court records correctly can lead to people being arrested for matters which have already been dealt with, and the CPS can also breach your data rights/ right to privacy by disclosing information about you to the wrong people.
Or have you suffered from court staff errors in failing to update the Police National Computer as regards a change in bail conditions or discharge of a warrant, failing to provide a full copy of the relevant Court Order, inserting inaccurate information on a Court Order, or failing to update the Police of the discharge of a Non-Molestation Order? These can lead to an unlawful arrest.
Have you been wrongfully arrested/suffered loss of liberty owing to mistakes made by Electronic Monitoring (tag) Companies, such as Capita?
Have you suffered loss of liberty as a result of administrative errors by the Prison Service leading to your late release or unlawful detention? This might be for failing to give credit for days spent on tagged curfew, confusing a concurrent sentence with a consecutive one, or delay in actioning a Bail Order granted by the Court.
Have you been assaulted by a Prison Officer or suffered by reason of a Prison Officer’s abuse of power?
Have you suffered owing to administrative errors by the Probation Service for example an inaccurate recording of a home address or failure to update a change of address? Such mistakes by Probation Officers can lead to an unlawful arrest and/or recall to prison.
Have you suffered as a result of negligence by the National Crime Agency? NCA data errors can lead to “mistaken identity” arrests in which the wrong individual and/ or address (whether a physical or internet IP address) is targeted by Police acting under NCA direction.
Have you been unlawfully detained or assaulted by a private security guard? Often the individuals employed by private security companies are extremely aggressive and seem to belong more to the world of the Wild West than modern society. I have represented many people who have been seriously assaulted and/or wrongly detained by security staff in shops, restaurants/fast food outlets, at railway stations, holiday camps, and at festivals. I have successfully brought claims for entirely innocent individuals who have been accused of theft or wrongdoing whilst shopping in Tesco, Sainsburys, Co-op, Asda, and B & Q.
Have you suffered assault or trespass to your home by bailiffs and/or Enforcement Agents? Bailiffs quite often deliberately overstep the mark, knowingly exceeding their lawful powers and forcing entry to premises, particularly private homes, which they have no right to enter.
Have you been subject to false imprisonment in a taxi? I have represented young women who have been wrongfully detained by aggressive male taxi drivers owing to disputes over the fare.
The Environment Agency often works with local Police forces in criminal investigations, and errors made by the EA can give rise to wrongful arrests and trespass to people’s homes.
The RSPCA often seeks to collaborate with, if not direct, local Police in criminal investigations relating to alleged mistreatment of animals, and errors on their part and/or the aggressive pursuit of innocent individuals can easily lead to wrongful arrests and prosecutions.
