In February 2021 Michael was arrested for harassment by Officers of Wiltshire Constabulary, at the behest of Surrey Police, and taken to a Police Station for interview.
He was subsequently granted Police bail with a condition of residence at a specified address in Cheshire, which belonged to Michael’s parents.
In April 2021, Michael advised the Officer in charge of the investigation, DC Roberts, that he had been offered work in the South of England and therefore planned to relocate (albeit avoiding Surrey).
On 21 April, DC Roberts asked my client to let her know his new address, stating that she would then update his bail conditions.
On 29 April, Michael duly notified DC Roberts of his new residential address in Sussex.
That same day, DC Roberts advised that she had emailed the Wiltshire ‘Custody Team’ to ask if Michael’s bail address could be changed from the Cheshire address to the Sussex address.
Subsequently, DC Roberts requested that Michael provide proof of the new address, and he did this by way of email.
On 30 April, DC Roberts advised Michael that his new address had been approved and provided a new ‘bail sheet’ and asked if he would also like it sent via post. The new bail sheet confirmed that my client’s approved residence was now the Sussex property, and that was where he must live and sleep each night.
On 8 May, Michael received confirmation that a decision had been made to ‘release him under investigation’, which meant that his bail conditions no longer applied. That notification was also sent via post to his Sussex address.
All appeared to be well. Two months later, having heard nothing further, Michael emailed DC Roberts for an update as to the investigation. On 21 July, DC Roberts advised in response that the case was with the Crown Prosecution Service for review, and she would update him in due course.
Then in Saturday 25 September, Michael drove to Cheshire to visit his parents.
On arrival late that afternoon, Michael found a letter addressed to him at the Cheshire address which at first looked like ‘junk mail’, but which when he opened, to his horror, contained a Postal Requisition/Summons requiring him to attend Court in relation to the charge of harassment on 15 September 2021 – some 10 days previously. Michael was understandably shocked/surprised, but also exhausted given his long drive and the time of day, and decided he would try to resolve the issue the next morning. He knew this must have been an error, as the Police had been fully notified of his Sussex address.
However, at approximately 9.30am on 27 September, my client’s father woke him with the news that there was a Police Officer downstairs with a warrant for Michael’s arrest. Michael got up, whereupon he was arrested for failing to attend Court on 15 September.
Michael sought to explain that there had been a mistake, but to no avail. He was transported to a local Police Station, where he was detained in a cell all day and all night.
The following morning, Michael’s fingerprints were taken before he was then transported in handcuffs to Court, where he spent a further 4 hours in detention in a Court cell.
At Court, it was quickly accepted that there had been a ‘clerical error’ and Michael was then immediately released, and a new hearing date set for the original matter.
Following submissions, Surrey Police agreed to pay my client £6,500 damages together with his legal fees.
All names changed.
