Category: Police

Ancell v McDermott: CA 29 Jan 1993

The plaintiff sought damages in negligence. Diesel had been spilled on the road. Though police officers saw it and took basic steps, the deceased was in a car which skidded on the diesel some time later.

Judges:

Beldam LJ

Citations:

[1993] EWCA Civ 20, [1993] 4 All ER 355

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Welton, Welton v North Cornwall District Council CA 17-Jul-1996
The defendant authority appealed a finding that it was liable in negligence from the conduct of one of its environmental health officers. The plaintiff had set out to refurbish and open a restaurant. He said the officer gave him a list of things he . .
Cited – Welton, Welton v North Cornwall District Council CA 17-Jul-1996
The defendant authority appealed a finding that it was liable in negligence from the conduct of one of its environmental health officers. The plaintiff had set out to refurbish and open a restaurant. He said the officer gave him a list of things he . .
Cited – Hertfordshire Police v Van Colle; Smith v Chief Constable of Sussex Police HL 30-Jul-2008
Police Obligations to Witnesses is Limited
A prosecution witness was murdered by the accused shortly before his trial. The parents of the deceased alleged that the failure of the police to protect their son was a breach of article 2.
Held: The House was asked ‘If the police are alerted . .
Cited – Hertfordshire Police v Van Colle; Smith v Chief Constable of Sussex Police HL 30-Jul-2008
Police Obligations to Witnesses is Limited
A prosecution witness was murdered by the accused shortly before his trial. The parents of the deceased alleged that the failure of the police to protect their son was a breach of article 2.
Held: The House was asked ‘If the police are alerted . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Negligence, Police

Updated: 27 October 2022; Ref: scu.262593

Ex parte Coventry Newspapers Ltd: CA 1993

Documents had been disclosed by the Police Complaints Authority under court order for an appeal against conviction. They related to an investigation of the conduct of police officers who had given evidence against the appellant. The newspaper, now being sued for libel by the same police officers, applied for the accused to be given leave to allow it to use the documents in its defence, on the basis that there was an implied undertaking which it was necessary to vary.
Held: The court acceded to the newspaper’s application. The interests of justice required the undertaking to be varied so as to allow the appellant in the criminal proceedings to hand over the documents to the newspaper upon its undertaking to use them only for the purposes of its defence. It was unnecessary to call those in whom the confidence inhered to consent to the disclosures.
Lord Taylor of Gosforth CJ said: ‘But for such proposed order the appellant would clearly be unable to hand over the documents: he would be subject to an implied undertaking, analogous to that arising on discovery in civil proceedings, not to use the disclosed documents otherwise than for the purposes for which discovery was given, here the pursuance of the criminal appeal, which is now, of course, successfully concluded.’ and
‘We summarise our reasoning thus. Given the central objective of this category of public interest immunity as ‘the maintenance of an honourable, disciplined, law-abiding and uncorrupt police force,’ given the grave public disquiet understandably aroused by proven malpractice on the part of some at least of those who served in the now disbanded West Midlands Serious Crime Squad, given the extensive publicity already attaching to the documents here in question following the appellant’s successful appeal, it seems to us nothing short of absurd to suppose that those who co-operated in this investigation – largely other police officers and court officials – will regret that co-operation, or that future generations of potential witnesses will withhold it, were this court now to release the documents to [the newspaper] to enable them to defeat if they can an allegedly corrupt claim in damages.’

Judges:

Lord Taylor of Gosforth CJ

Citations:

[1993] QB 278, [1993] 1 All ER 86, [1992] 3 WLR 916

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Mahon v Rahn QBD 19-Jun-1996
Directors of a London firm of stockbrokers brought libel proceedings against two Swiss bankers.
Held: The absolute immunity which is given to both witnesses and potential witnesses extends to all those taking part in a criminal investigation . .
Cited – Taylor and Others v Director of The Serious Fraud Office and Others HL 29-Oct-1998
The defendant had requested the Isle of Man authorities to investigate the part if any taken by the plaintiff in a major fraud. No charges were brought against the plaintiff, but the documents showing suspicion came to be disclosed in the later . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Defamation, Police, Information

Updated: 27 October 2022; Ref: scu.211382

Regina v Imran, Hussain: CACD 9 Jun 1997

The two appellants were among four convicted of robbery. Imran complained that the police had not disclosed the existence of CCTV coverage before the interview, and Hussain that a copy of the surveillance tape had been given to the jury after retirement.
Held: Leave to appeal was refused.
As to any obligation on the police to disclose all evidence: ‘it is submitted that the tenor of sections 34 to 38 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 require the police to give as full a briefing as possible of disclosing all material to a legal representative before the interview with a suspect commences. We do not agree. There is of course a duty on the police not actively to mislead any suspect, but it is in our judgment totally impossible to spell out either expressly or by any permissible implication from those five sections any such requirement on the part of the police.’
As to the tape, which had already been seen in court: ‘for the jury to view the tape again amounted to no more than a repeat of evidence which had been given.’ However, ‘in future if such a request is made to re-view evidence of police surveillance, it is better if it is done in open court where it can be seen that nothing untoward takes place.’

Judges:

Lord Bingham of Cornhill LCJ, Rougier, Maurice Kay LJJ

Citations:

[1997] EWCA Crim 1401, [1997] CLR 754

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 34 35 36 37 38

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Regina v Davis (George) CACD 1976
After retirement, the jury requested, and was inadvertently supplied with a copy of a statement made by a witness to the police. The statement had been used by defence counsel for the purposes of cross-examination, but the document itself had not . .
Cited – Regina v Stewart and Sappleton CACD 1989
After retirement, the jury requested provision of scales which were given. The defendants faced an accusation of importing cannabis of a certain weight, and claimed to have been unaware of the presence of the cannabis in their bags.
Held: Once . .
Cited – Regina v Rawlings, Regina v Broadbent CACD 19-Oct-1994
Guidance was given on the circumstances for showing video evidence to a jury a second time after they had once retired.
Held: It should be exceptional only, because of the risk of it attracting greater weight than other evidence. It remains a . .

Cited by:

Cited – Regina v Thirwell CACD 14-Feb-2002
The defendant appealed his conviction for murder. He said that three pieces of evidence should have been excluded. The police station interview had been conducted against a background where his solicitor had been denied access to a post mortem . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Criminal Practice, Police

Updated: 26 October 2022; Ref: scu.150856

Regina v Chief Constable of the West Midlands Police, Ex Parte Wiley Etc: CA 30 Sep 1993

Police complaints documents’ use may be restricted in civil proceedings.

Citations:

Times 30-Sep-1993, Independent 08-Oct-1993, Gazette 08-Dec-1993

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Appeal from – Regina v Chief Constable of West Midlands Ex Parte Wiley; Regina v Chief Constable Notts Ex Parte Sunderland QBD 24-Feb-1993
Police were not to use a complaint statements in civil litigation. . .

Cited by:

Appeal from – Regina v Chief Constable of West Midlands Police Ex Parte Wiley; Other Similar HL 14-Jul-1994
Statements made to the police to support a complaint against the police, were not part of the class of statements which could attract public interest immunity, and were therefore liable to disclosure.
Lord Woolf said: ‘The recognition of a new . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Litigation Practice, Police

Updated: 26 October 2022; Ref: scu.86368

Regina v Chief Constable of West Midlands Ex Parte Carroll: CA 10 May 1994

A Chief Constable was wrong to dispense with a probationer’s services without giving him a chance to reply.

Citations:

Ind Summary 06-Jun-1994

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Kay, Regina (on The Application of) v Chief Constable of Northumbria Police Admn 18-Jan-2010
Having succeeded in her claim as to the lawfulness of the decision of the defendant to end her appointment as a probationary constable, the claimant now sought an order mandating her continued employment by the defendant. She had been acquitted of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police

Updated: 26 October 2022; Ref: scu.86369

Davidson v Chief Constable of North Wales Police and Another: CA 31 May 1993

A store detective said the plaintiffs had stolen from the store. He was wrong. The plaintiffs sought damages from the defendant for false imprisonment.
Held: If the police use their own discretion to arrest a suspect, an informer is not liable for false imprisonment. The intervention by the police breaks any causation of the store detectives. The officer was not liable under the 1984 Act. The question was whether a defendant to a claim for false imprisonment had ‘himself been the instigator, promoter and active inciter of the action (namely, the arrest that followed)’.
Sir Thomas Bingham MR said: ‘Accordingly, as it would seem to me, the question which arose for . . Decision . . was whether there was information properly to be considered by the jury as to whether what [the defendant] did went beyond laying information before police officers for them to take such action as they thought fit, and amounted to some direction, or procuring, or direct request, or direct encouragement that they should act by way of arresting [the plaintiffs].’
The test of the store detective’s conduct was whether he: ‘went beyond laying information before police officers for them to take such action as they thought fit and amounted to some direction, or procuring, or direct request, or direct encouragement that they should act by way of arresting these defendants.’
As to the case of M, Laws J’s reasoning was approved but not the conclusion: ‘The judge goes straight from a finding that the hospital managers were entitled to act upon an apparently valid application to the conclusion that the applicant’s detention was therefore not unlawful. That is, in my judgment, a non sequitur. It is perfectly possible that the hospital managers were entitled to act on an apparently valid application, but that the detention was in fact unlawful. If that were not so the implications would, in my judgment, be horrifying. It would mean that an application which appeared to be in order would render the detention of a citizen lawful even though it was shown or admitted that the approved social worker purporting to make the application was not an approved social worker, that the registered medical practitioners whose recommendations founded the application were not registered medical practitioners or had not signed the recommendations, and that the approved social worker had not consulted the patient’s nearest relative or had consulted the patient’s nearest relative and that relative had objected. In other words, it would mean that the detention was lawful even though every statutory safeguard built into the procedure was shown to have been ignored or violated.’

Judges:

Sir Thomas Bingham MR, Staughton LJ

Citations:

Ind Summary 31-May-1993, [1994] 2 All ER 597

Statutes:

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 24(6)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Overruled – Regina v Managers of South Western Hospital and Another, Ex Parte M QBD 24-Mar-1993
The patient was detained on the application of an AMHP. In purported pursuance of section 11(4) the AMHP had consulted the patient’s mother as her nearest relative. However, the patient’s mother was not ordinarily resident in the UK, and, according . .

Cited by:

Cited – Keegan and Others v Chief Constable of Merseyside CA 3-Jul-2003
The police had information suggesting (wrongly) that a fugitive resided at an address. An armed raid followed, and the claimant occupant sought damages.
Held: The tort of malicious procurement of a search warrant required it to be established . .
Cited – ID and others v The Home Office (BAIL for Immigration Detainees intervening) CA 27-Jan-2005
The claimants sought damages and other reliefs after being wrongfully detained by immigration officers for several days, during which they had been detained at a detention centre and left locked up when it burned down, being released only by other . .
Cited – Prison Officers Association v Iqbal CA 4-Dec-2009
The claimant, a prisoner, alleged false imprisonment. The prison officers had taken unlawful strike action leaving him to be confined within his cell and unable to be involved in his normal activities. In view of the strike, a governor’s order had . .
Cited – TTM v London Borough of Hackney and Others CA 14-Jan-2011
The claimant had been found to have been wrongfully detained under section 3. He appealed against rejection of his claim for judicial review and for damages. The court found that his detention was lawful until declared otherwise. He argued that the . .
Cited – Commissioner of Police of The Metropolis v Copeland CA 22-Jul-2014
The defendant appealed against the award of damages for assault, false imprisonment and malicious prosection, saying that the question posed for the jury were misdirections, and that the jury’s decision was perverse. The claimant was attending the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, Torts – Other

Updated: 26 October 2022; Ref: scu.79827

Regina v Malik: CACD 2000

Lord Bingham said: ‘If there is clear evidence that a police officer, whose credit and credibility are significant in the case before the jury, has been guilty of serious malpractice on an earlier occasion, that necessarily damages his credibility when it falls to be judged on the second occasion, even though the malpractice alleged on the second occasion is of a different kind.’

Judges:

Lord Bingham

Citations:

[2000] 2 Cr App 8

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Regina v Livingstone CANI 25-Jun-2013
The defendant appealed against his conviction for murder, saying that police officers had fabricated a confession, and had severely mistreated another detainee to concoct further evidence.
Held: The appeal was allowed. Had the material . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Criminal Evidence, Police

Updated: 26 October 2022; Ref: scu.535594

Keegan and Others v Chief Constable of Merseyside: CA 3 Jul 2003

The police had information suggesting (wrongly) that a fugitive resided at an address. An armed raid followed, and the claimant occupant sought damages.
Held: The tort of malicious procurement of a search warrant required it to be established both that there was no reasonable or probable cause for requesting the search warrant and that there was some improper motive. However bad the intelligence, the tort was not in this case proved. An improper motive might sometimes be inferred from an unreaonably obtained warrant, but such inferences must be rare. It was not supported here. The entry was lawful, being an execution of the warrant which had been obtained.

Judges:

Lord Justice Kennedy Lord Justice Ward Lord Philips Of Worth Matravers, Mr

Citations:

[2003] EWCA Civ 936, Times 17-Jul-2003, Gazette 11-Sep-2003, [2003] 1 WLR 2187

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Gibbs and others v Rea PC 29-Jan-1998
(Cayman Islands) The respondent worked for a bank. He disclosed a business interest, but that interest grew in importance to the point where he resigned in circumstances amounting to constructive dismissal. His home and business officers were raided . .
Cited – Three Rivers District Council and Others v Governor and Company of The Bank of England (No 3) HL 22-Mar-2001
Misfeasance in Public Office – Recklessness
The bank sought to strike out the claim alleging misfeasance in public office in having failed to regulate the failed bank, BCCI.
Held: Misfeasance in public office might occur not only when a company officer acted to injure a party, but also . .
Cited – Gizzonio and Another v Chief Constable of Derbyshire CA 26-Mar-1998
A decision by a police station custody sergeant whether or not to grant bail to a suspect after charge, and on what terms, has immunity from action so long as it forms part of the process of prosecution. No abuse of process or malicious prosecution . .
Cited – Glinski v McIver HL 1962
The court considered the tort of malicious prosecution when committed by a police officer, saying ‘But these cases must be carefully watched so as to see that there really is some evidence from his conduct that he knew it was a groundless charge.’ . .
Cited – Darker v Chief Constable of The West Midlands Police HL 1-Aug-2000
The plaintiffs had been indicted on counts alleging conspiracy to import drugs and conspiracy to forge traveller’s cheques. During the criminal trial it emerged that there had been such inadequate disclosure by the police that the proceedings were . .
Cited – Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police v Hepburn CA 13-Dec-2002
The claimant sought damages from the police. They had executed a search warrant, and one officer detained the claimant during the raid.
Held: A person who mistakenly restrained an individual in the mistaken belief that he had been lawfully . .
Cited – Kuddus v Chief Constable of Leicestershire Constabulary HL 7-Jun-2001
There is no rule of law preventing the award of exemplary damages against police officers. The fact that no case of misfeasance in public office had led to such awards before 1964, did not prevent such an award now. Although damages are generally . .
Cited – Johnson v Whitehouse 1984
There is a relevant distinction between suspecting and believing in a police officer’s mind: ‘the dictionary definitions of those words . . of course, do show that the word ‘believe’ connotes a greater degree of certainty, or perhaps a smaller . .
Cited – Davidson v Chief Constable of North Wales Police and Another CA 31-May-1993
A store detective said the plaintiffs had stolen from the store. He was wrong. The plaintiffs sought damages from the defendant for false imprisonment.
Held: If the police use their own discretion to arrest a suspect, an informer is not liable . .
Cited – Martin v Watson HL 13-Jul-1995
The plaintiff had been falsely reported to the police by the defendant, a neighbour, for indecent exposure whilst standing on a ladder in his garden. He had been arrested and charged, but at a hearing before the Magistrates’ Court, the Crown . .
Cited – O’Hara v Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary HL 21-Nov-1996
Second Hand Knowledge Supports Resaobnable Belief
The plaintiff had been arrested on the basis of the 1984 Act. The officer had no particular knowledge of the plaintiff’s involvement, relying on a briefing which led to the arrest.
Held: A reasonable suspicion upon which an arrest was founded . .
Cited – O’Loughlin v Chief Constable of Essex CA 12-Dec-1997
Police, when using force to enter premises, must still give their reasons for effecting their entry, to the occupant, unless this was impossible or undesirable.
Buxton LJ said: ‘This paragraph strictly speaking did not apply in the present . .
Cited – Kuddus v Chief Constable of Leicestershire Constabulary HL 7-Jun-2001
There is no rule of law preventing the award of exemplary damages against police officers. The fact that no case of misfeasance in public office had led to such awards before 1964, did not prevent such an award now. Although damages are generally . .

Cited by:

Appeal from – Keegan v United Kingdom ECHR 18-Jul-2006
The claimant had been the subject of a raid by armed police on his home. The raid was a mistake. He complained that the English legal system, in rejecting his claim had not allowed him to assert that the police action had been disproportionate.
Cited – Fitzpatrick and Others v The Commissioner of Police of The Metropolis QBD 11-Jan-2012
The claimants, two solicitors and their employer firm sought damages alleging trespass and malicious procurement by police officers in obtaining and executing search warrants against the firm in 2007 when they were investigating suspected offences . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, Torts – Other

Updated: 25 October 2022; Ref: scu.184224

R Cruickshank Limited v The Chief Constable of Kent County Constabulary: CA 13 Dec 2002

The claimant had sought damages from the defendant for unlawful interference with contractual relations, and for misfeasance in public office. It now appealed against an order striking out its claim. It claimed that the police had unlawfully abused their power causing it damage to its goodwill and business.
Held: Three Rivers established two forms of claim for public misfeasance, acts of bad faith targeted against the claimant, and acting knowingly in excess of his powers, and causing damage to the claimant. Here the alternative claim of interfering in contractual relations was hopeless, following Lhonro. It would be wrong to water down the requirements of public misfeasance by reference to an economic tort. The case for public misfeasance was not unfit for trial, and should be allowed to proceed.

Judges:

Lord Justice Brooke, Lord Justice Sedley, Lord Justice Tuckey

Citations:

Times 27-Dec-2002, [2002] EWCA Civ 1840

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Three Rivers District Council and Others v Governor and Company of The Bank of England (No 3) HL 22-Mar-2001
Misfeasance in Public Office – Recklessness
The bank sought to strike out the claim alleging misfeasance in public office in having failed to regulate the failed bank, BCCI.
Held: Misfeasance in public office might occur not only when a company officer acted to injure a party, but also . .
Cited – Lonrho plc v Fayed CA 1989
There had been a battle to purchase the share capital of the House of Fraser which owned Harrods. Lonrho alleged that the Fayed brothers had perpetrated a fraud on the Secretary of State, and thereby secured permission to buy the company without a . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, Torts – Other

Updated: 25 October 2022; Ref: scu.178444

Akenzua, Coy (Administrators of the Estate of Marcia Zena Laws (Deceased)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, the Comissioner of Police for the Metropolis: CA 23 Oct 2002

The claimant sought damages for misfeasance in public office. The defendant had been involved in the release of a person known to be violent from custody, and where he had subsequently killed a member of the claimant’s family. The family appealed a strike out of their claim following the decision in Three Rivers. Held Following that case, and in cases where the result was personal injury, it was no longer necessary to allege that the victim was to be identifiable, either himself, or as a member of an identifiable group, before the act complained of as a misfeasance. It was sufficient to aver that the person could not be identified until the act of violence. What mattered was showing that if released it was predictable that the person released might well kill someone. It remained necessary to show that the actual violence inflicted was of a kind with that which might be known to the defendant.

Judges:

Simon Brown, Sedley Scott Baker, LLJ

Citations:

Times 30-Oct-2002, Gazette 05-Dec-2002, [2002] EWCA Civ 1470

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Three Rivers District Council and Others v Governor and Company of The Bank of England (No 3) HL 22-Mar-2001
Misfeasance in Public Office – Recklessness
The bank sought to strike out the claim alleging misfeasance in public office in having failed to regulate the failed bank, BCCI.
Held: Misfeasance in public office might occur not only when a company officer acted to injure a party, but also . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Torts – Other, Police

Updated: 25 October 2022; Ref: scu.177841

Regina v Cooke (Stephen): CACD 10 Aug 1994

A sample of hair taken without the suspect’s consent was not an intimate sample, and did not require the associated permissions and procedures. Evidence derived from such a sample was accordingly admissible in evidence.

Citations:

Ind Summary 05-Sep-1994, Times 10-Aug-1994, Gazette 07-Oct-1994

Statutes:

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 65

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Police, Criminal Evidence

Updated: 25 October 2022; Ref: scu.86435

Bhatti and Others v Regina: CACD 30 Jul 2015

The defendants appealed against their convictions for conspiracy to facilitate breaches of immigration law, saying that they had been based on evidence obtained by the police from credit reference agencies in breach of their rights under the 1984 Act.
Held: The appeals failed. The defendants had expressly agreed in their credit applications and finance agreements that their data could be shared for the purpose of crime detection, prevention and prosecution. That was sufficient basis for the officers to obtain and use the data, and they had not needed to rely on the 1984 Act. It was lawfully obtained and fairly used.

Judges:

Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd CJ, Simon, Patterson JJ

Citations:

[2015] EWCA Crim 1305, [2015] WLR(D) 346

Links:

Bailii, WLRD

Statutes:

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, Data Protection Act 1998 29(1), Criminal Law Act 1977 1(1)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Regina v Griffiths and Others CCA 1965
A supplier of lime and his employee were accused of conspiring with seven farmers to defraud the Ministry by submitting excessive subsidy claims. They were also charged with fraudulently obtaining money from the Ministry. There was no evidence that . .
See Also – Bhatti and Others v Croydon Magistrates’ Court and Others Admn 3-Feb-2010
The claimant challenged the valiity of search warrants used at his home. He said they were deficient in not including the information as required by the Act. The police said that they were in accordance with the Home Office guidance.
Held: . .
Cited – Regina v Greenfield CACD 1973
Where a general conspiracy is charged in a single count, it is not bad for duplicity only because the evidence offered to prove it includes proof of the subsidiary conspiracies entered into in carrying out the general conspiracy. Duplicity is a . .
Cited – Mehta v Regina CACD 31-Dec-2012
The defendant appealed against his conviction for conspiracy to defraud. His co-defendant and alleged co-conspirator had been acquitted.
Held: The appeal against conviction failed. The defence knew that they were going to have to deal with the . .
Cited – Dhall v Regina CACD 27-Sep-2013
The appellant said that his conviction for assisting breaches of immigration law in his work as an immigration adviser by creating false documentation to support clients’ applications for extensions of leave to stay was not itself an allegation of . .
Cited – Serious Fraud Office v Papachristos and Another CACD 19-Sep-2014
The applicants challenged their convictions and sentences for conspiracy to corrupt. They owned a company manufacturing fuel additives. Technology developments meant that they came under increasing pressure on sales. They were said to have entered . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Criminal Evidence, Information, Police

Updated: 25 October 2022; Ref: scu.551037

Gldani Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses Others v Georgia: ECHR 3 May 2007

The applicant claimed that the police had known in advance of an attack upon the applicants by religious opponents, which he said would constitute inhuman or degrading treatment, but that they had failed to take any preventive action.
Held: The Court reaffirmed the existence of a positive obligation upon States under article 3, in the terms set out in Z v United Kingdom and added at para 96 ‘This protection calls for reasonable and effective measures’.

Judges:

J-P Costa, P

Citations:

71156/01, [2007] ECHR 1160

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights

Jurisdiction:

Human Rights

Citing:

Cited – Z And Others v The United Kingdom ECHR 10-May-2001
Four children complained that, for years before they were taken into care by the local authority, its social services department was well aware that they were living in filthy conditions and suffering ‘appalling’ neglect in the home of their . .

Cited by:

Cited – Re E (A Child); E v Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and Another (Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and others intervening) HL 12-Nov-2008
(Northern Ireland) Children had been taken to school in the face of vehement protests from Loyalists. The parents complained that the police had failed to protect them properly, since the behaviour was so bad as to amount to inhuman or degrading . .
Cited – Eweida And Others v The United Kingdom ECHR 15-Jan-2013
Eweida_ukECHR2013
The named claimant had been employed by British Airways. She was a committed Christian and wished to wear a small crucifix on a chain around her neck. This breached the then dress code and she was dismissed. Her appeals had failed. Other claimants . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Human Rights, Police

Updated: 24 October 2022; Ref: scu.277875

Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police v Hepburn: CA 13 Dec 2002

The claimant sought damages from the police. They had executed a search warrant, and one officer detained the claimant during the raid.
Held: A person who mistakenly restrained an individual in the mistaken belief that he had been lawfully arrested is liable for trespass to the person. The terms of the warrant had to be carefully applied. The warrant provided for a search of the premises, but included no power to detain a person found on the premises. A citizen’s freedom of movement is inviolable save under express power: ‘honest belief in a non-existent state of affairs does not excuse a trespass to the person’. An obstruction could give a power of arrest, but there was no implied power as suggested by the Chief Constable. Late amendments of the sort allowed here should be discouraged.

Judges:

Lord Justice Brooke, Lord Justice Sedley, Lord Justice Tuckey

Citations:

[2002] EWCA Civ 1841, Times 19-Dec-2002, [2002] All ER (D) 214, [2002] Po LR 38

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Keegan and Others v Chief Constable of Merseyside CA 3-Jul-2003
The police had information suggesting (wrongly) that a fugitive resided at an address. An armed raid followed, and the claimant occupant sought damages.
Held: The tort of malicious procurement of a search warrant required it to be established . .
Distinguished – Director of Public Prosecutions v Meaden Admn 1-Dec-2003
The defendant had been charged with assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty. The prosecutor appealed a finding of no case to answer. He had been present in a house when the police executed search warrants. He had refused to obey an . .
Cited – Ashley and Another v Sussex Police CA 27-Jul-2006
The deceased was shot by police officers raiding his flat in 1998. The claimants sought damages for his estate. They had succeeded in claiming damages for false imprisonment, but now appealed dismissal of their claim for damages for assault and . .
Cited – Ashley and Another v Chief Constable of Sussex Police HL 23-Apr-2008
The claimants sought to bring an action for damages after a family member suspected of dealing drugs, was shot by the police. At the time he was naked. The police officer had been acquitted by a criminal court of murder. The chief constable now . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, Torts – Other, Litigation Practice

Updated: 24 October 2022; Ref: scu.178445

Regina v Denton: CACD 15 Feb 2002

The appellant was an illegal immigrant from Jamaica. He had been acting as a police informer. He came to be convicted of murder. He complained that his lawyers had not been told of his role, and the information he had supplied to the police about a relative of a prosecution witness, giving her a motive to lie. During intervals of the investigation process he was also in contact with his police handlers. There was a suggestion that an earlier discontinuance had been at the instigation of another police branch. The crown argued there could be no duty on the prosecution to disclose to the defence matters within the defendant’s own knowledge.
Held: The duty of disclosure is now as set out in the 1996 Act. However the evidence even without this witness, whose evidence had in any event largely been discredited, remained overwhelming. Appeal dismissed.

Judges:

Lord Justice Mantell, Mr Justice Bennett, And, Mr Justice Mccombe

Citations:

[2002] EWCA Crim 272

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 3

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Regina v Langley CACD 21-Mar-2001
. .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Criminal Practice, Police

Updated: 24 October 2022; Ref: scu.167625

West Yorkshire Police v Lincoln Crown Court and Another: Admn 27 Apr 2005

Police officers had unlawfully tape recorded private and confidential conversations between a suspect in custody and his solicitor. The police officers who had been asked to investigate the complaint appealed against an order saying that the tapes were to be withheld from examination by the police because of the abuse.
Held: The tapes could be released to the investigating team’s expert provided this was done in such a way as to prevent any further breach of the suspect’s legal professional privileges.

Citations:

[2005] EWHC 843 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Regina v Lushington ex parte Otto QBD 1894
The end of a criminal trial is not necessarily the end of the court’s power to control the evidence submitted. . .
Cited – Regina v Derby Magistrates Court Ex Parte B HL 19-Oct-1995
No Breach of Solicitor Client Confidence Allowed
B was charged with the murder of a young girl. He made a confession to the police, but later changed his story, saying his stepfather had killed the girl. He was acquitted. The stepfather was then charged with the murder. At his committal for trial, . .
Cited – Regina v Cain HL 1985
The sentencing judge had exceeded his powers by making a criminal bankruptcy order. S40 appeared to deny a right of appeal against such an order.
Held: There is a strong presumption that except by specific provision the legislature will not . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police

Updated: 23 October 2022; Ref: scu.224938

Haggarty, Re Judicial Review: QBNI 9 Mar 2012

QBNI ‘The applicant challenges the refusal of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to provide him and his solicitor with tapes of police interviews conducted with him as an assisting offender following the making of a written agreement with a specified prosecutor pursuant to section 73 (1) (b) of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA). The applicant contends that the refusal is unlawful for three principal reasons: –
(A) The PSNI failed to provide the interview tapes in accordance with its obligation under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) Code of Practice E;
(B) The applicant had a legitimate expectation that the tapes would be provided to his solicitor because:
(i) he was advised that the interviews were being carried out in the spirit of PACE;
(ii) he was supplied after the interviews with a notice under PACE telling him that he or his solicitor could arrange to listen to the tapes if he was prosecuted; and
(iii) his solicitor indicated that the usual practice of the PSNI was to provide tapes immediately and in any event no later than two weeks after the conclusion of the interviews.
(C) The reasons given by the PSNI for the refusal to provide the tapes are concerned with confidentiality and are irrational since the applicant was present at all of the interviews, his solicitor was also present and free to take notes, the refusal will result in delay to criminal proceedings against the applicant and portions of the interviews have already been disclosed to the defendants in another case.’

Judges:

Morgan LCJ, Higgins LJ and Treacy J

Citations:

[2012] NIQB 14

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

Northern Ireland

Police

Updated: 22 October 2022; Ref: scu.457662

Lake v British Transport Police: CA 5 May 2007

The claimant challenged dismissal of his claim of having suffered an unfair detriment having made a disclosure with regard to his employers. The employers had said that as a constable, his employment was outside the scope of the Act, and the decision of the Police disciplinary Board could not found his claim.
Held: the paragraph of the tribunal’s finding suggesting that decision of the police disciplinary board could not found a claim was struck out.
Maurice Kay LJ said: ‘Immunity from suit protects those to whom it applies from being sued or otherwise subjected to mandatory process – for example by way of a witness order. There is no question of the Board or its members being sued or so subjected in the present proceedings in the Employment Tribunal. It seems to me that, for the reasons given by Lord Justice Pill, the respondents have taken a false point and the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal fell into legal error when they acceded to it. ‘

Judges:

Wall LJ, Pill LJ, Maurice Kay LJ

Citations:

[2007] EWCA Civ 424

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Employment Rights Act 1996 103A, Police Act 1996 47B 85

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Trapp v Mackie HL 1979
Dr Trapp had been dismissed from his post by the Aberdeenshire Education Committee of which Mr Mackie was chairman. Dr Trapp petitioned the Secretary of State for an inquiry into the reasons for his dismissal. An inquiry was set up, and in the . .
Cited – Darker v Chief Constable of The West Midlands Police HL 1-Aug-2000
The plaintiffs had been indicted on counts alleging conspiracy to import drugs and conspiracy to forge traveller’s cheques. During the criminal trial it emerged that there had been such inadequate disclosure by the police that the proceedings were . .
Cited – Heath v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis CA 20-Jul-2004
The female civilian officer alleged sex discrimination against her by a police officer. Her complaint was heard at an internal disciplinary. She alleged sexual harrassment, and was further humiliated by the all male board’s treatment of her . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Employment, Police

Updated: 21 October 2022; Ref: scu.251771

AB, Regina (on The Application of) v Hampshire Constabulary and Others: Admn 17 Dec 2019

Claim for judicial review concerning the investigation of alleged criminal offences against the claimant. In summary, in August 2017, the claimant was a 15 year old boy with Down’s Syndrome, autism and communication difficulties. A few days after he spent some time at a respite care centre, he demonstrated actions that caused his parents to believe that he may have been subjected to a serious sexual assault, possibly rape. The police were contacted and an investigation carried out. Ultimately, the police decided that no further action could be taken.

Judges:

Dame Victoria Sharp P

Citations:

[2019] EWHC 3461 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Police

Updated: 20 October 2022; Ref: scu.648107

Wilkinson, Regina (on the Application of) v Police Complaints Authority and others: Admn 19 Mar 2004

A complaint was to be investigated by the Merseyside Police. They obtained permission from the Police Complaints Authority to dispense with the investigation when the complainant had gone missing and therefore the complaint could not be investigated. The complainant turned up shortly after and his solicitors asked the PCA to re-open the investigation. The PCA agreed to the matter coming before the Administrative Court and agreed an order quashing the decision to dispense with the complaint. The police argued that the PCA could not agree to its order being quashed. Held; Gage J disagreed. He said: ‘It seems to me on general principles, that if the first defendant has made a dispensation under the appropriate regulations . . there must be power in it to review that dispensation and, having reviewed it, to revoke it.’ Gage J then quashed the dispensation.

Citations:

[2004] EWHC 678 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Dennis, Regina (on the Application of) v Independent Police Complaints Commission Admn 6-May-2008
The claimant was stood at her door when she was taken by police officers, an armed gun pointed at her, laid on the ground and her hands bound. She was held for fifteen minutes. She was entirely innocent, but the officers were looking for armed . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police

Updated: 19 October 2022; Ref: scu.195564

Lyons v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire: CA 24 Apr 1997

The Chief Constable appealed against an award of damages for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment. A witness to a robbery had identified the complainant as responsible, but the claimant’s mother had told the officers that her son would have an alibi. After arrest the alibi was confirmed. The claimant was released, but then made his claim, saying that the officers had no reasonable ground for their suspicion.

Judges:

Evans, Hobhouse, Hutchison LJJ

Citations:

[1997] EWCA Civ 1520

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Police, Torts – Other

Updated: 19 October 2022; Ref: scu.141916

Waters v Commissioner of Police for Metropolis: CA 3 Jul 1997

Citations:

[1997] EWCA Civ 2012

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Appeal from – Waters v Commissioner of Police of Metropolis EAT 17-Nov-1994
. .

Cited by:

Appeal from – Waters v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis HL 27-Jul-2000
A policewoman, having made a complaint of serious sexual assault against a fellow officer complained again that the Commissioner had failed to protect her against retaliatory assaults. Her claim was struck out, but restored on appeal.
Held: . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, Discrimination, Negligence

Updated: 19 October 2022; Ref: scu.142409

Segalov, Regina (on The Application of) v Chief Constable of Sussex Police and Another: Admn 23 Nov 2018

Request for judicial review, challenging decisions made by the first defendant and the second defendant which resulted in the refusal of his accreditation to attend the Labour Party Conference held at Brighton in September 2017. Reasons for the refusal had not been supplied at first. The policy under which refusal had been made was also not published.
Held: The claim against Sussex police succeeded

Judges:

Simon LJ, Warby J

Citations:

[2018] EWHC 3187 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Police

Updated: 15 October 2022; Ref: scu.631210

Director of Public Prosecutions v Haw: Admn 6 Aug 2007

The defendant had held a permanent demonstration in Parliament Square against the war in Iraq. The prosecutor appeal against the dismissal of its allegations under the 2003 Act.
Held: The Commisioner was able to delegate his own power to set conditions for demonstrations in Parliament square and the conditions were lawful.

Judges:

Lord Phillips CJ

Citations:

[2007] EWHC 1931 (Admin), Times 11-Sep-2007

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 134

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Crime, Police

Updated: 14 October 2022; Ref: scu.258825

McHarg v Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police: ChD 9 Jan 2004

The claimant police officer sought damages for malicious prosecution. The defendant applied for the claim to be struck out.
Held: There was insufficient evidence to establish malice. The claim was struck out.

Judges:

Tugendhat J

Citations:

[2004] EWCh 5 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Matin v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis CA 20-Jun-2002
The claimant sought to have restored his claim for malicious prosecution.
Held: ‘The fact that there might be an arguable case that the prosecutor was activated by malice, that is to say, to prosecute for an improper motive, does not of itself . .
Cited – Glinski v McIver HL 1962
The court considered the tort of malicious prosecution when committed by a police officer, saying ‘But these cases must be carefully watched so as to see that there really is some evidence from his conduct that he knew it was a groundless charge.’ . .
Cited – Herniman v Smith HL 1938
The court considered the tort of malicious prosecution.
Held: It is the duty of a prosecutor to find out not whether there is a possible defence, but whether there is a reasonable and probable cause for prosecution. The House approved the . .
Cited – Hicks v Faulkner 1878
Before charging a prisoner, a police officer must have ‘an honest belief in the guilt of the accused based upon a full conviction, founded upon reasonable grounds, of the existence of a state of circumstances, which, assuming them to be true, would . .
Cited – Telnikoff v Matusevitch CA 1991
The court considered the element of malice in a defamation defence: ‘If a piece of evidence is equally consistent with malice and the absence of malice, it cannot as a matter of law provide evidence on which the jury could find malice. The judge . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, Torts – Other

Updated: 13 October 2022; Ref: scu.191232

Director of Public Prosecutions v Patrick O’Neill: Misc 7 Oct 2013

(Dungannon Magistrates Court) The defendant said that he had made admissions on the basis of re-assurance given to him by the police officers that he would face only an informal warning.

Judges:

MC Conway DDJ

Citations:

[2013] NIMag 1

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Criminal Practice, Police

Updated: 11 October 2022; Ref: scu.517210

Regina v Uxbridge Justices, ex parte Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis: CA 1981

The applicant was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for handling stolen currency notes from travellers at an airport. The police retained cash from his house, which he claimed. He applied for its return. The police not having opposed the application, now sought judicial review of the award of his costs.
Held: Lord Denning would have held that the justices had no jurisdiction to award costs, but Sir George Baker and Sir Stanley Rees disagreed.
Lord Denning MR said: ‘I must say that I am most surprised by the order of the justices. The police had done nothing wrong at all. They had taken possession of these currency notes – absolutely properly – because they were reasonably suspected by them to have been stolen. They retained them pending trial equally properly. They were absolutely right not to deliver them without a court order. If they had given them up to Mr. Prasad and the true owners had turned up afterwards, the police would have been liable in damages to the true owners. Only by a court order would they be protected. Viewed in the eyes of the civil law, the police were bailees of the goods. Their custody was like that of a sheriff – custodia legis. Faced with a claimant, the sheriff is entitled to inter-plead and to get his costs as a first charge so long as he acts properly, but he is never bound to pay any costs. So also when the police have goods in custodia legis, and act perfectly properly in regard to them, they should not be ordered to pay costs.’
Sir Stanley Rees said: ‘The proceedings before us do not include any issue or argument as to the propriety of the exercise of the discretion of the justices to make the order for costs which they did in favour of the complainant. Nevertheless, I share the considerable degree of unease in regard to the order for costs which is evident in the judgments delivered by Lord Denning M.R. in this court and in the judgments delivered in the Divisional Court by Donaldson L.J. and Kilner Brown J. [1981] 1 W.L.R. 112. If, as I am satisfied is the case, the justices are empowered to make an order for costs in proceedings by complaint and summons under the Police (Property) Act 1897 where there is a complainant and a defendant, their discretion must be exercised having regard to the exceptional and perhaps unique nature of the order sought and to the respective roles of the parties concerned. In a case in which the police have clearly indicated that they do not oppose the making of the order sought and are merely attending before the justices to confirm their attitude and to ensure that an appropriate order is made before the property is delivered to the complainant, it would indeed be difficult to justify any order for costs against the police. Even in a case in which the police do not consent to the order sought by the claimant or claimants but attend the hearing and the justices are satisfied that it was reasonable for them to do so in order to assist the court to assess the validity of the claim or claims made to the ownership of the property, it would be proper for no order for costs to be made against the police, even if the order for delivery of the property sought by a claimant were made. In short, in my judgment, the proper approach to an application for costs in such proceedings should most certainly not be on the basis that costs should simply follow the event, but rather that the discretion to award them should be sparingly exercised, having regard to the exceptional nature of the role of the police as custodians of the property in issue, who require an order of the court to protect them before the delivery up of the property to a claimant.’
Sir George Baker said: ‘I have had the advantage of reading the judgment about to be delivered by Sir Stanley Rees and wish to say that I entirely agree with him about the undesirability of justices making orders for costs in cases like the present.’

Judges:

Lord Denning MR, Sir George Baker and Sir Stanley Rees

Citations:

[1981] 1 QB 829

Statutes:

Police (Property) Act 1897 1(1)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Perinpanathan, Regina (on The Application of) v City of Westminster Magistrates Court and Another CA 4-Feb-2010
The appellant’s daughter had been stopped entering the country with andpound;150,000 in cash. The police sought an order for its forfeiture, suspecting a link with terrorism. The magistrates found no evidence of such, and declined to make the order, . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, Magistrates, Costs

Updated: 07 October 2022; Ref: scu.401965

Privacy International and Others v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Others: CA 9 Mar 2021

Is a policy which the appellants say ‘authorises’ officers of the Security Service (MI5) to run undercover agents who participate in the commission of criminal offences unlawful? Its difficulty is shown by the very fact that, on that question, two of the five members of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (‘the Tribunal’), whose decision is under appeal to this court, dissented from the majority view.

Judges:

Lord Justice Davis, Lord Justice Haddon-Cave and Lord Justice Dingemans

Citations:

[2021] EWCA Civ 330

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Police

Updated: 06 October 2022; Ref: scu.659370

Salimi, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for The Home Department and Another: CA 4 Apr 2012

The claimant wished to assert that, during his removal from the UK to Iraq, he had been assaulted by the British escorts.

Judges:

Longmore, Kitchin LJJ, Sir Mark Waller

Citations:

[2012] EWCA Civ 422

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 14

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Police, Torts – Other

Updated: 06 October 2022; Ref: scu.452474

South Wales Police Authority v Morgan: Admn 8 Oct 2003

A police officer said that his depression had been caused by overwork. After he became depressed, it was made worse by stress and anxiety from an investigation into an injury suffered by his three year old foster son, and financial difficulties experienced during sickness absence and the resultant reduction in pay.
Held: In relation to the second and third of those, they could not be said to be injuries received in the execution of duty. On the other hand, the first – stress and depression caused by overwork – gave rise to different considerations and if it were a substantial cause of disablement the disablement could be an injury received in the execution of duty.

Judges:

Stanley Burnton J

Citations:

[2003] EWHC 2274 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Merseyside Police Authority v Police Medical Appeal Board and others Admn 23-Jan-2009
Two police officers had been granted additional retirement annuities on the basis that they had been injured in the execution of their duty. The chief constable denied this. A police officer who was on annual leave was injured whilst exercising the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police

Updated: 05 October 2022; Ref: scu.186716

Morgan, Regina (on the Application of) v Justices of Dyfed Powys Magistrates’ Court: Admn 18 Jun 2003

Money had been taken by the Police, but after the applicants had been acquitted, they sought it to be returned. Their action was struck out after long delays. They applied to the Magistrates who turned down the application.
Held: The money should be returned ‘ . . once it is clear that the claimant is entitled to possession of the money, then he must, within the terms of the 1897 Act, be treated as the person appearing to the court to be the owner thereof. It does not, of course, mean that he is necessarily the owner; and there is an opportunity for someone who claims to be the owner to take proceedings within six months against the person in possession of the property.’ The magistrates had been wrong to concentrate on possible but unproven misbehaviour, and the money should be returned.

Citations:

[2003] EWHC 1568 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Police (Property) Act 1897 1(1)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Michael v Gowland 1977
The case stated procedure has a strict requirement that it be begun within 21 days. There is no discretion to extend that time limit. . .
Cited – Webb v Chief Constable of Merseyside Police CA 26-Nov-1999
The Police had confiscated money suspected to be the proceeds of drug trafficking, but no offence was proved. The magistrates had refused to return the money under the 1897 Act. The claimants now sought to reciver it under civil proceedings.
Cited – Regina (on the application of Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police) v Daventry Justices 2001
Appeals against decisions by magistrates under the Act can be by way of application for judicial review. . .
Cited – Regina (on the application of Carter) v Ipswich Magistrates’ Court Admn 2002
Mrs Carter had paid a man to murder someone. The man was an undercover police agent. In time Mrs Carter was convicted of soliciting to commit murder, but Mr Carter was acquitted. She disclaimed all interest in the money she had paid in favour of her . .
Cited – Costello v Chief Constable of Derbyshire Constabulary CA 22-Mar-2001
The police seized a car from Mr Costello, believing that it was stolen. The seizure was lawful at the time, by virtue of section 19 of PACE. The police never brought any criminal proceedings against Mr Costello, but they refused to return the car to . .
Cited – Raymond Lyons and Co Ltd v Metropolitan Police Commissioner QBD 1975
A suspected thief had left a valuable ring with the claimant jewellers for valuation. They reported the matter to the police and handed the ring to them. The suspected thief never reappeared, and no-one claiming to be the true owner emerged. The . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, Magistrates

Updated: 05 October 2022; Ref: scu.185612

Jude v Her Majesty’s Advocate: SC 23 Nov 2011

The Lord Advocate appealed against three decisions as to the use to be made of interviews where the detainees had not been given access to lawyers. In each case the prosecutor now appealed after their convictions had been overturned in the light of the decision in Cadder.
Held: (Lord Kerr dissenting) The prosecutor’s appeals failed. No time bar applied under section 100 of the 1998 Act. Criminal appeals under section 57(2) were made by virtue of the 1998 Act. The legislation distinguished beween bringing proceedings on the basis of Convention rights, and relying on them ‘in any such proceedings.
In two cases the appeals failed, but the defendant Birnie had been offered and had declined legal assistance at the police station, and the appeal by HMA succeeded.
Lord Kerr dissentimng, said: ‘For a waiver to the right to legal assistance to be effective, there must be a knowing and intelligent decision to waive the right. I do not understand the majority in this case to suggest otherwise.’

Judges:

Lord Hope, Deputy President, Lord Brown, Lord Kerr, Lord Dyson, Lord Hamilton

Citations:

[2011] UKSC 55, 2012 SCCR 88, 2012 SLT 75, 2011 GWD 38-779, 2012 SCL 130, UKSC 2011/0150

Links:

Bailii, Bailii Summary, SC, SC Summary

Statutes:

Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 14 15, European Convention on Human Rights 6(3)(c) 6(1), Scotland Act 1998 57(2) 100(3B)

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Citing:

Appeal from – Jude and Others v Her Majesty’s Advocate HCJ 11-May-2011
. .
Cited – Cadder v Her Majesty’s Advocate SC 26-Oct-2010
Statement without lawyer access was inadmissible
The accused complained that he had been convicted for assault and breach of the peace on the basis of a statement made by him during an interview with the police where, under the 1995 Act, he had been denied access to a lawyer.
Held: The . .
Cited – Regina v Kansal (2) HL 29-Nov-2001
The prosecutor had lead and relied at trial on evidence obtained by compulsory questioning under the 1986 Act.
Held: In doing so the prosecutor was acting to give effect to section 433.
The decision in Lambert to disallow retrospective . .
Cited – McGowan (Procurator Fiscal) v B SC 23-Nov-2011
The appellant complained that after arrest, though he had been advised of his right to legal advice, and had declined the offer, it was still wrong to have his subsequent interview relied upon at his trial.
Held: It was not incompatible with . .
Cited – Martin v Her Majesty’s Advocate SC 3-Mar-2010
The claimant challenged the law extending the power of Sheriffs sitting alone to impose sentences of up to one year.
Held: The defendants’ appeal failed (Lord Rodger and Lord Kerr dissenting). The change was within the power of the Scottish . .
Cited – Somerville v Scottish Ministers HL 24-Oct-2007
The claimants complained of their segregation while in prison. Several preliminary questions were to be decided: whether damages might be payable for breach of a Convention Right; wheher the act of a prison governor was the act of the executive; . .
Cited – Manuel v HM Advocate HCJ 25-Jun-1958
In order to be found to be voluntarily given, a suspect’s statement must have been freely given and not given in response to pressure or inducement and not elicited by questioning other than what is directed simply to elucidating what has been said. . .

Cited by:

Cited – Saunders v Regina CACD 26-Jun-2012
The defendant sought leave to appeal after a ruling that her refusal to take legal advice during police interview had been informed and voluntary. The interviewing officer had adopted a policy of always giving disclosure where the suspect was . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, Human Rights, Criminal Evidence

Updated: 26 September 2022; Ref: scu.448487

Northumbria Police, Regina (on The Application of) v Vickers and Others: Admn 6 Dec 2019

The claimant challenges the decision of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IPOC) upholding the appeals of the interested parties against the Chief Constable’s decision not to uphold their complaints and finding that a former Chief Superintendent, now retired had a case to answer for misconduct.

Judges:

HH Judge Kramer sitting as a judge of the High Court

Citations:

[2019] EWHC 3169 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Police

Updated: 25 September 2022; Ref: scu.645844

Dingley v Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police: HL 11 May 2000

The officer had been injured in an accident in a police van. He developed multiple sclerosis only a short time afterwards. The respondent denied that the accident caused the MS.
Held: There is no proof of what causes MS, but it was common ground that trauma never causes the disease. The question was whether trauma could trigger it. In a small number of cases the onset of symptoms is preceded by trauma, but coincidences can occur. So the theory that trauma triggers the onset of symptoms of MS has to be tested. There was insufficient evidence in this case to support such a conclusion. Appeal dismissed.

Judges:

Browne-Wilkinson Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead Lord Steyn Lord Hope of Craighead Lord Clyde

Citations:

[2000] UKHL 14, 2000 SC (HL) 77

Links:

House of Lords, Bailii

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Citing:

Cited – Watt (or Thomas) v Thomas HL 1947
When Scots Appellate Court may set decision aside
The House considered when it was appropriate for an appellate court in Scotland to set aside the judgment at first instance.
Lord Thankerton said: ‘(1) Where a question of fact has been tried by a judge without a jury, and there is no question . .
Cited – Benmax v Austin Motor Co Ltd HL 1955
Except for cases which are expressly limited to questions of law, an appellant is entitled to appeal from the Court of Session to the House against any finding, whether it be a finding of law, a finding of fact or a finding involving both law and . .
Cited – Islip Pedigree Breeding Centre and Others v Abercromby HL 1959
The House of Lords should only review concurrent findings of fact in both Outer and Inner House of the Court of Session which depended upon an assessment of credibility by the trial judge if it can be clearly demonstrated that his findings were . .
Cited – Stephen v Scottish Boatowners Mutual Insurance Association HL 1989
The House was asked whether the skipper of a fishing boat had used all reasonable endeavours to save his vessel, Lord Keith of Kinkel said that the test was an objective one directed to ascertaining ‘what an ordinarily competent fishing boat skipper . .
Cited – Smith New Court Securities Ltd v Scrimgeour Vickers HL 21-Nov-1996
The defendant had made misrepresentations, inducing the claimant to enter into share transactions which he would not otherwise have entered into, and which lost money.
Held: A deceitful wrongdoer is properly liable for all actual damage . .
Cited – Brodie v British Railways Board HL 1972
. .
Cited – Davie v Magistrates of Edinburgh 1953
Issues arose in relation to the expert evidence which had been led.
Held: The court rejected a submission that, where no counter evidence on the science in question had been adduced for the pursuer, the Court was bound to accept the . .
Appeal from – Dingley v The Chief Constable, Strathclyde Police 1998
The court was asked whether the development of multiple sclerosis had been caused by physical injury sustained in a motor accident. Medical science was not able to demonstrate the connection between the two, and reliance was placed on . .

Cited by:

See Also – Dingley v The Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police OHCS 9-Oct-2002
. .
Cited – McTear v Imperial Tobacco Ltd OHCS 31-May-2005
The pursuer sought damages after her husband’s death from lung cancer. She said that the defenders were negligent in having continued to sell him cigarettes knowing that they would cause this.
Held: The action failed. The plaintiff had not . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, Personal Injury

Updated: 22 September 2022; Ref: scu.159048

Regina v Chief Constable of Sussex, Ex Parte International Trader’s Ferry Ltd: QBD 28 Jul 1995

A Chief Constable may not limit his duty to his immediate community if this interfered with lawful exports within the community. It was for the Chief Constable to decide on the disposition of his forces and the use of his resources. He was fully entitled to take into account the size of his force, the need to perform other police functions and his budget. ‘We are quite unable to say that this Chief Constable’s decisions, taken as a whole, were such that as a matter of domestic law we can intervene.’

Citations:

Times 31-Jul-1995, Independent 28-Jul-1995, [1996] QB 197

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Appeal from – Regina v Chief Constable of Sussex Ex Parte International Trader’s Ferry Ltd CA 28-Jan-1997
A restriction placed by a chief constable on the police support he would make available to support a lawful trade was reasonable, even though it might amount to trade interference. The allocation of resources available to the Chief Constable was for . .
At First Instance – Regina v Chief Constable of Sussex, ex Parte International Trader’s Ferry Limited HL 2-Apr-1998
Chief Constable has a Wide Discretion on Resources
Protesters sought to prevent the appellant’s lawful trade exporting live animals. The police provided assistance, but then restricted it, pleading lack of resources. The appellants complained that this infringed their freedom of exports under . .
Cited – Corner House Research and Others, Regina (on the Application of) v The Serious Fraud Office HL 30-Jul-2008
SFO Director’s decisions reviewable
The director succeeded on his appeal against an order declaring unlawful his decision to discontinue investigations into allegations of bribery. The Attorney-General had supervisory duties as to the exercise of the duties by the Director. It had . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, European

Updated: 22 September 2022; Ref: scu.86361

P v Commissioner of Police of The Metropolis: SC 25 Oct 2017

This appeal concerns the directly effective right of police officers under EU law to have the principle of equal treatment applied to them. The question raised is whether the enforcement of that right by means of proceedings in the Employment Tribunal is barred by the principle of judicial immunity, where the allegedly discriminatory conduct is that of persons conducting a misconduct hearing. The claimant officer had suffered a serious assault followed by post-traumatic stress. She had complained that she was not given the support she needed, and that this was discriminatory. She said that the stress had led to bizarre behaviours which resulted in misconduct hearings, and her dismissal.
Held: The appeal succeeded, and the case was remitted to the ET. The reasoning in Heath v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis in relation to EU law was unsound.
‘ the right not to be discriminated against on grounds including disability is a fundamental right in EU law, protected by article 21(1) of the Charter. It follows that, even if it is designed to protect the officer under investigation, the creation of a statutory process which entrusts disciplinary functions in relation to police officers to persons whose conduct might arguably attract judicial immunity under domestic law cannot have the effect of barring complaints by the officers to an Employment Tribunal that they have been treated by those persons in a manner which is contrary to the Directive. National rules in relation to judicial immunity, like other national rules, can be applied in accordance with EU law only in so far as they are consistent with EU law’

Judges:

Lady Hale, Lord Kerr, Lord Wilson, Lord Reed, Lord Hughes

Citations:

[2017] UKSC 65, [2018] 1 All ER 1011, [2017] WLR(D) 696, [2018] ICR 560, [2018] IRLR 66, UKSC 2016/0041

Links:

Bailii, Bailii Summary, WLRD, SC, SC Summary, SC Video Summary, SC 20170503 am Video, SC 20170503 pm Video, SC 20170504 am Video, SC 20170504 pm Video

Statutes:

Police (Conduct) Regulations 2008, Police Reform Act 2002, Equality Act 2010 39, Employment Rights Act 1996 103A, Council Directive 2000/78/EC 2(1)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

At EAT – The Commissioner of Police of The Metropolis v Keohane EAT 4-Mar-2014
EAT PREGNANCY AND DISCRIMINATION
An Employment Tribunal found that a Police dog handler, one of whose two narcotics Police dogs was removed from her when she told the force she was pregnant, had suffered a . .
At CA – P v The Commissioner of Police for The Metropolis CA 20-Jan-2016
The claimant appealed against rejection of her claim of disability discrimination against the Police Misconduct Panel on the basis that the Panel was a judicial body and as such enjoyed immunity from suit. She had been assaulted, suffering PTSD. She . .
Cited – Marleasing SA v La Comercial Internacional de Alimentacion SA ECJ 13-Nov-1990
Sympathetic construction of national legislation
LMA OVIEDO sought a declaration that the contracts setting up Commercial International were void (a nullity) since they had been drawn up in order to defraud creditors. Commercial International relied on an EC . .
Cited – Commission v Italy (Principles Of Community Law) French Text ECJ 24-Nov-2011
Failure of a Member State to fulfill obligations – General principle of the responsibility of the Member States for breach of Union law by one of their courts ruling in the last resort – Exclusion of all State responsibility on the basis of an . .
Cited – Kobler v Republik Osterreich ECJ 30-Sep-2003
The claimant’s claim had been presented to the Supreme Administrative Court in Austria, who had referred a question to the ECJ. Following the Schoning decision, the court withdrew the referral, and dismissed the claim. He now claimed damages from . .
Cited – Marshall v Southampton and South West Hampshire Area Health Authority (No 2) ECJ 2-Aug-1993
The UK law limiting awards of damages in sex discrimination cases is unlawful, and fails to implement European directive fully. Financial compensation must be at a level adequate to achieve equality between the workers identified. . .
Overruled as to EU law – Heath v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis CA 20-Jul-2004
The female civilian officer alleged sex discrimination against her by a police officer. Her complaint was heard at an internal disciplinary. She alleged sexual harrassment, and was further humiliated by the all male board’s treatment of her . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, European, Discrimination

Updated: 19 September 2022; Ref: scu.597670

P v The Commissioner of Police for The Metropolis: CA 20 Jan 2016

The claimant appealed against rejection of her claim of disability discrimination against the Police Misconduct Panel on the basis that the Panel was a judicial body and as such enjoyed immunity from suit. She had been assaulted, suffering PTSD. She complained that the lack of support given to her led to poor behaviour at work, and her eventual dismissal.
Held: The appeal was dismissed. It was indistinguishable from the case of Heath: ‘However I have been troubled by a particular feature of the case. If I am right, it would appear that claims of discriminatory dismissal brought by police officers, where the effective dismissing agent is a disciplinary panel such as was convened here, will not be viable in the Employment Tribunals; yet Parliament has legislated to allow such claims to be made.’ (Laws J).

Judges:

Laws, Lewison, Christopher Clarke LJJ

Citations:

[2016] EWCA Civ 2, [2016] ICR D7, [2016] WLR(D) 16, [2016] IRLR 301

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Police (Conduct) Regulations 2008, Equality Act 2010

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

At EAT – The Commissioner of Police of The Metropolis v Keohane EAT 4-Mar-2014
EAT PREGNANCY AND DISCRIMINATION
An Employment Tribunal found that a Police dog handler, one of whose two narcotics Police dogs was removed from her when she told the force she was pregnant, had suffered a . .
Cited – Heath v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis CA 20-Jul-2004
The female civilian officer alleged sex discrimination against her by a police officer. Her complaint was heard at an internal disciplinary. She alleged sexual harrassment, and was further humiliated by the all male board’s treatment of her . .

Cited by:

At CA – P v Commissioner of Police of The Metropolis SC 25-Oct-2017
This appeal concerns the directly effective right of police officers under EU law to have the principle of equal treatment applied to them. The question raised is whether the enforcement of that right by means of proceedings in the Employment . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Discrimination, Police

Updated: 19 September 2022; Ref: scu.559146

Thakur Persad Jaroo v Attorney-General of Trinidad and Tobago: PC 4 Feb 2002

(Trinidad and Tobago) The appellant sought a declaration that his constitutional rights had been infringed. He had bought a car. When told it may be stolen, he took it to the police station, but after he heard nothing and it was not returned. He alleged that he had been deprived of his property in breach of the constitution. Only later did the police say it was still required as potential evidence. He claimed that the car had been held other than under due process.
Held: To justify the continued detention of the car, the police had to show that there were reasonable grounds for its original and continuing retention. There were common law rights, by way of an originating motion, which the claimant could have exercised to make his complaint. He should take the method of constitutional challenge only in an exceptional case. This was not one, and the continued action was an abuse of process. Lord Hope of Craighead: ‘Their Lordships wish to emphasise that the originating motion procedure under section 14(1) is appropriate for use in cases where facts are not in dispute and questions of law only are in issue. It is wholly unsuitable in cases which depend for their decision on the resolution of disputes as to fact. Disputes of that kind must be resolved by using the procedures which are available in the ordinary courts under the common law.’

Judges:

Lord Hope of Craighead, Lord Browne-Wilkinson, Lord Scott of Foscote, Sir Christopher Slade and Sir Andrew Leggatt

Citations:

Times 06-Feb-2002, Appeal No 54 of 2000, [2002] UKPC 5, [2002] 1 AC 871

Links:

PC, Bailii

Statutes:

Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago 4(a)

Jurisdiction:

Commonwealth

Citing:

Cited – Nankissoon Boodram v Attorney-General of Trinidad and Tobago PC 19-Feb-1996
The court considered the effect of prejudicial reporting on a trial: ‘In a case such as this, the publications either will or will not prove to have been so harmful that when the time for the trial arrives the techniques available to the trial judge . .
Cited – Ghani v Jones CA 1970
The court was asked as to the powers of the police to retain objects taken and impounded.
Held: The privacy and possessions of an individual were not to be invaded except for the most compelling reasons.
Lord Denning MR said: ‘Balancing . .

Cited by:

Cited – Settelen and Another v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis ChD 29-Sep-2004
The claimants had made application for tapes held by the respondent to be released. The claimant offered undertakings as to their preservation, and agreement had been reached. The outstanding issue was as to costs. The tapes were recorded by the . .
Cited – Naidike, Naidike and Naidike v The Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago PC 12-Oct-2004
(Trinidad and Tobago) The claimant was arrested following expiry of the last of his work permits and after he had failed to provide evidence of his intention to leave. As he was arrested he was also arrested for assaulting a police officer. He was . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Constitutional, Police, Commonwealth

Updated: 16 September 2022; Ref: scu.167566

Webster v Attorney General (Trinidad and Tobago): PC 18 Jul 2011

The claimant appealed against an order striking out substantial elements of his claim against the police for assault.

Judges:

Lord Phillips, Lord Walker, Lord Wilson

Citations:

[2011] UKPC 22

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Torts – Other, Police, Constitutional

Updated: 16 September 2022; Ref: scu.442112

Burgin and Purcell v Commission of Police for The Metropolis and Others: Admn 13 Jul 2011

The applicants renewed the applications for leave to bring judicial review of decisions to seek and to issue search warrants, and later decisions to arrest them.
Held: When considering the validity of a search warrant the warrant as a whole should be considered.

Judges:

Laws LJ, Stadlen J

Citations:

[2011] EWHC 1835 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Cited by:

Cited – Mills and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Sussex Police and Another Admn 25-Jul-2014
The claimants faced criminal charges involving allegations of fraud and corruption. They now challenged by judicial review a search and seizure warrant saying that it was unlawful. A restraint order had been made against them and they had complied . .
Cited – Lee and Others v Solihull Magistrates Court and Another Admn 5-Dec-2013
The claimant challenged search warrants issued by the respondents, on the grounds first that the warrants were too wide in the description of the property which might be seized, that the description of property sought in the warrant was so wide that . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police

Updated: 16 September 2022; Ref: scu.441871

Heath v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis: CA 20 Jul 2004

The female civilian officer alleged sex discrimination against her by a police officer. Her complaint was heard at an internal disciplinary. She alleged sexual harrassment, and was further humiliated by the all male board’s treatment of her complaint. The complaint now was solely as to her treatment by the Board.
Held: The body was a quasi-judicial body and as such its members enjoyed judicial immunity in their actions. It decided issues akin to civil or criminal issues, and had procedures akin to a court. The claim must fail.
Auld LJ said: ‘As the employment tribunal well described in paras 9(o)-(q) of its extended reasons, and as the Employment Appeal Tribunal also found, it attaches to anything said or done by anybody in the course of judicial proceedings whatever the nature of the claim made in respect of such behaviour or statement, except for suits for malicious prosecution and prosecution for perjury and proceedings for contempt of court. That is because the rule is there, not to protect the person whose conduct in court might prompt such a claim, but to protect the integrity of the judicial process and hence the public interest. Given that rationale for the rule, there can be no logical basis for differentiating between different types of claim in its application.’
Applying Marrinan, Auld LJ said: ‘The absolute immunity from suit is a core immunity in our system, critical to the integrity and effectiveness of our judicial system, which, save for a few well defined exceptions identified in para 17 above, applies to all forms of collateral action however worthy the claim and however much it may be in the public interest to ventilate it. Claims of unlawful discrimination are clearly of that importance, but no more than many others, such as the citizen’s right to protect his own good name or good character or to claim for conspiracy to injure or for misfeasance in public office, say, in giving evidence in a criminal trial resulting in the claimant’s loss of liberty.’

Judges:

Lord Justice Auld Holman Mr Justice Holman Lord Justice Neuberger

Citations:

Times 22-Jul-2004, [2004] EWCA Civ 493, [2005] ICR 329, [2005] IRLR 270, [2004] Po LR 259

Links:

Bailii, Bailii

Statutes:

Sex Discrimination Act 1975 6(2)(b) 41(1), EC Council Directive 76/207

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Marrinan v Vibart CA 2-Jan-1962
Two police officers gave evidence in a criminal prosecution of others, that the plaintiff, a barrister, had behaved improperly by obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty and subsequently gave similar evidence at an inquiry before . .
Cited – Royal Aquarium and Summer and Winter Garden Society Ltd v Parkinson CA 1892
The court described the characteristics of a tribunal to which absolute privilege attaches. Having spoken of ‘an authorised inquiry which, though not before a court of justice, is before a tribunal which has similar attributes’ and similar . .
Cited – Hasselblad (GB) Ltd v Orbison CA 1985
In the course of proceedings brought by the European Commission against Hasselblad, Mr Orbison wrote a letter to the Commission upon which the appellant then sued for damages for libel. The court considered the dangers of national and European . .
Cited – Gibbons v Duffell 1932
(High Court of Australia) A defamation case arose out of the report by a police inspector to his superior about a fellow officer.
Held: The report was not the subject of absolute immunity: ‘How far absolute privilege extends in naval and . .
Cited – Munster v Lamb CA 1883
Judges and witness, including police officers are given immunity from suit in defamation in court proceedings.
Fry LJ said: ‘Why should a witness be able to avail himself of his position in the box and to make without fear of civil consequences . .
Cited – Spring v Guardian Assurance Plc and Others HL 7-Jul-1994
The plaintiff, who worked in financial services, complained of the terms of the reference given by his former employer. Having spoken of his behaviour towards members of the team, it went on: ‘his former superior has further stated he is a man of . .
Cited – Arthur JS Hall and Co (A Firm) v Simons; Barratt v Woolf Seddon (A Firm); Harris v Schofield Roberts and Hill (A Firm) HL 20-Jul-2000
Clients sued their solicitors for negligence. The solicitors responded by claiming that, when acting as advocates, they had the same immunities granted to barristers.
Held: The immunity from suit for negligence enjoyed by advocates acting in . .
Cited – Darker v Chief Constable of The West Midlands Police HL 1-Aug-2000
The plaintiffs had been indicted on counts alleging conspiracy to import drugs and conspiracy to forge traveller’s cheques. During the criminal trial it emerged that there had been such inadequate disclosure by the police that the proceedings were . .
Cited – O’Connor v Waldron HL 1935
The kind of tribunal to which absolute privilege attaches is one which ‘has similar attributes to a court of justice or acts in a manner similar to that in which such courts act.’ It is a question ‘not capable of very precise limitation’. . .
Cited – Trapp v Mackie HL 1979
Dr Trapp had been dismissed from his post by the Aberdeenshire Education Committee of which Mr Mackie was chairman. Dr Trapp petitioned the Secretary of State for an inquiry into the reasons for his dismissal. An inquiry was set up, and in the . .
Cited – Dawkins v Lord Rokeby 1873
dawkins_rokeby1873
Police officers (among others) are immune from any action that may be brought against them on the ground that things said or done by them in the ordinary course of the proceedings were said or done falsely and maliciously and without reasonable and . .
Cited – Minister of National Revenue v Coopers and Lybrand 1979
(Supreme Court of Canada) The court sought to define the distinctive characteristics of a quasi-judicial act: ‘ (1) Is there anything in the language in which the function is conferred or in the general context in which it is exercised which . .
Cited – Regina v Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, ex parte Carol Ann Bennion CA 4-May-2001
The claimant sought a judicial review against a Chief Constable against whose force she had made complaints of sex discrimination and victimisation, not to remit disciplinary proceedings against her under regulation 14 of the 1985 Regulations to . .
Cited – Addis v Crocker CA 1961
The proceedings of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal attract absolute privilege even though they sat in private. . .
Cited – Regina v Chief Constable of Merseyside, Ex Parte Bennion QBD 18-Jul-2000
A senior officer had begun a claim against the police officer alleging sex discrimination. She complained that when disciplinary proceedings were commenced against her, the person making the decision would be the Chief Constable, and that his . .
Cited – Marrinan v Vibart CA 1962
The court considered an action in the form an attempt to circumvent the immunity of a witness at civil law by alleging a conspiracy.
Held: The claim was rejected. The court considered the basis of the immunity from action given to witnesses. . .

Cited by:

Cited – Amwell View School v Dogherty EAT 15-Sep-2006
amwell_dogherty
The claimant had secretly recorded the disciplinary hearings and also the deliberations of the disciplinary panel after their retirement. The tribunal had at a case management hearing admitted the recordings as evidence, and the defendant appealed, . .
Cited – Lake v British Transport Police CA 5-May-2007
The claimant challenged dismissal of his claim of having suffered an unfair detriment having made a disclosure with regard to his employers. The employers had said that as a constable, his employment was outside the scope of the Act, and the . .
Cited – Singh v Moorlands Primary School and Another CA 25-Jul-2013
The claimant was a non-white head teacher, alleging that her school governors and local authority had undermined and had ‘deliberately endorsed a targeted campaign of discrimination, bullying, harassment and victimisation’ against her as an Asian . .
Cited – P v The Commissioner of Police for The Metropolis CA 20-Jan-2016
The claimant appealed against rejection of her claim of disability discrimination against the Police Misconduct Panel on the basis that the Panel was a judicial body and as such enjoyed immunity from suit. She had been assaulted, suffering PTSD. She . .
Overruled as to EU law – P v Commissioner of Police of The Metropolis SC 25-Oct-2017
This appeal concerns the directly effective right of police officers under EU law to have the principle of equal treatment applied to them. The question raised is whether the enforcement of that right by means of proceedings in the Employment . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, Discrimination

Updated: 16 September 2022; Ref: scu.199317

Democratic Republic of the Congo v Belgium – Arrest Warrant of 11 April 2000: ICJ 14 Feb 2002

(French Text) Diplomatic immunity is not an immunity from liability. It is a procedural immunity from the jurisdiction of the courts of the receiving state. The receiving state cannot at one and the same time receive a diplomatic agent of a foreign state and subject him to the authority of its own courts in the same way as other persons within its territorial jurisdiction. But the diplomatic agent remains amenable to the jurisdiction of his own country’s courts, and in important respects to the jurisdiction of the courts of the receiving state after his posting has ended. I

Citations:

2002] ICJ 1, [2002] ICJ Rep 3

Links:

Worldlii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Reyes v Al-Malki and Another SC 18-Oct-2017
The claimant alleged that she had been discrimated against in her work for the appellant, a member of the diplomatic staff at the Saudi Embassy in London. She now appealed against a decision that the respondent had diplomatic immunity.
Held: . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, International

Updated: 15 September 2022; Ref: scu.645784

Parker v The Chief Constable of Essex Police: CA 11 Dec 2018

The claimant was arrested on suspicion of murder and rape. The investigating officer was delayed by traffic so the arrest was carried out by a surveillance officer who was present at the scene but did not personally have reasonable grounds for suspecting the claimant was guilty of an offence, as required by section 24(2) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
Held: The judge had been entitled to conclude that there were reasonable grounds to suspect the claimant of an offence and a reasonable belief in the necessity of arrest, and therefore the claimant was entitled only nominal and not substantial damages.

Judges:

Sir Brian Leveson P, Hallett, Ryder LJJ

Citations:

[2018] WLR(D) 755, [2018] EWCA Civ 2788, [2019] 3 All ER 399, [2019] 1 WLR 2238

Links:

Bailii, WLRD

Statutes:

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 24(2)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Hemmati and Others, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for The Home Department SC 27-Nov-2019
The Home Secretary appealed from a finding that illegally entered asylum seekers had been unlawfully detained pending removal. The five claimants had travelled through other EU member states before entering the UK. The court considered inter alia . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Torts – Other, Police, Damages

Updated: 15 September 2022; Ref: scu.631417

Roberts, Regina (on The Application of) v The Commissioner of The Metropolitan Police: Admn 17 Jul 2012

The claimant challenged the legality of section 60 of the 1994 Act as an interference in her article 8 rights. She had been caught on a bus without her fare and gave a false name and address. A direction had been given authorising any person to be stopped and searched for any unauthorised weapon, and the police officer searched her under the authority.
Held: The application failed.
Moses LJ said: ‘There is an important issue as to whether the legislation is being used in a racially discriminatory manner. But that issue cannot be determined in these proceedings. In order to establish that the power of stop and search exercised under a s.60 authorisation is being used in a racially discriminatory manner it is not sufficient merely to swap written statistics and expect the court to resolve the issue. Liberty and the claimant have advanced a substantial quantity of statistics in an attempt to prove that the powers are being used in a racially discriminate manner. The statistics on which they rely are challenged by the Commissioner of Police on the basis that they do not accurately represent the proportion of black minority ethnic groups in the areas in which such searches are authorised. Moreover, the Commissioner challenges the inferences which might be drawn from the statistics. These issues cannot be resolved merely by assertion and counter-assertion founded on figures and percentages. Indeed, it would be highly dangerous to do so. If a court permitted itself to reach a conclusion on the basis of challenged and disputed statistics it might only exacerbate a fraught and sensitive subject.’

Judges:

Moses LJ, Eady J

Citations:

[2012] EWHC 1977 (Admin), [2012] HRLR 28

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 60, European Convention on Human Rights 8

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Diedrick, Regina (on The Application of) v Hampshire Constabulary and Others Admn 26-Jul-2012
The claimant challenged the alteration of the PACE code of conduct to remove the mandatory requirement on an officer executing a stop and account or stop and search to record the self-defined ethnicity of the person so stopped, and also to challenge . .
Appeal from – Roberts, Regina (on The Application of) v The Commissioner of Police of The Metropolis and Others CA 4-Feb-2014
The claimant asserted that the provisions of section 60 of the 1994 Act, which allowed personal searches by police officers where no suspicion of misbehaviour was present, infringed her rights under Article 8 of the Convention.
Held: The . .
At First Instance – Roberts, Regina (on the application of) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and another SC 17-Dec-2015
The Court considered the validity of suspicionless stop and search activities under s 60 of the 1994 Act, by police officers.
Held: The claimant’s appeal failed. The safeguards attending the use of the s 60 power, and in particular the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, Human Rights, Discrimination

Updated: 15 September 2022; Ref: scu.462909

Pinnington, Regina (on the Application of) v Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police: Admn 31 Jul 2008

The claimant sought judicial review of a decision of the police to include in response to the enhanced criminal record request details of three allegations made but not proceeded with.
Held: By the terms of the statute it is for the chief constable or his delegate to form an opinion on that issue. In forming his opinion on relevance, the officer must ask himself whether the information might be true, and if it might be true he must consider the degree of connection between the information and the purpose described.

Judges:

Richards LJ

Citations:

[2008] EWHC 1870 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Police Act 1997 115

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – L, Regina (On the Application of) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis SC 29-Oct-2009
Rebalancing of Enhanced Disclosure Requirements
The Court was asked as to the practice of supplying enhanced criminal record certificates under the 1997 Act. It was said that the release of reports of suspicions was a disproportionate interference in the claimants article 8 rights to a private . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, Information

Updated: 15 September 2022; Ref: scu.271296

Redmond-Bate v Director of Public Prosecutions: Admn 23 Jul 1999

The police had arrested three peaceful but vociferous preachers when some members of a crowd gathered round them threatened hostility.
Held: Freedom of speech means nothing unless it includes the freedom to be irritating, contentious, eccentric, heretical, unwelcome and provocative provided it did not tend to provoke violence. There was no reasonable inference available in this case to the police officer that the appellant, preaching about morality, was about to cause a breach of the peace.
Sedley LJ said: ‘A judgment as to the imminence of a breach of the peace does not conclude the constable’s task. The next and critical question for the constable, and in turn for the court, is where the threat is coming from, because it is there that preventive action must be directed. It is only if otherwise lawful conduct gives rise to a reasonable apprehension that it will, by interfering with the rights or liberties of others, provoke violence which, though unlawful, would not be entirely unreasonable that a constable is empowered to take steps to prevent it . . Mr Kealy for the prosecutor submitted that if there are two alternative sources of trouble, a constable can properly take steps against either. This is right, but only if both are threatening violence or behaving in a manner that might provoke violence’ and ‘The test to determine whether the police officer’s action was reasonable was an objective one, in the sense that it was for the courts to decide, not whether the view taken by that officer fell within the broad band of rational decisions but whether, in the light of what he knew and perceived at the time, the court was satisfied that it was reasonable to fear an imminent breach of the peace and that reasonableness had to be evaluated without the qualifications of hindsight.’
Sedley LJ said: ‘Freedom of speech includes not only the inoffensive but the irritating, the contentious, the eccentric, the heretical, the unwelcome and the provocative, provided it does not tend to provoke violence. Freedom only to speak inoffensively is not worth having. What Speakers’ Corner (where the law applies as fully as anywhere else) demonstrates is the tolerance which is both extended by the law to opinion of every kind and expected by the law in the conduct of those who disagree, even strongly, with what they hear. From the condemnation of Socrates to the persecution of modern writers and journalists, our world has seen too many examples of state control of unofficial ideas. A central purpose of the European Convention on Human Rights has been to set close limits to any such assumed power. We in this country continue to owe a debt to the jury which in 1670 refused to convict the Quakers William Penn and William Mead for preaching ideas which offended against state orthodoxy.’

Judges:

Sedley LJ

Citations:

Times 28-Jul-1999, [2000] HRLR 249, [1999] EWHC Admin 733, (1999) 7 BHRC 375, [1999] Crim LR 998, (1999) 163 JP 789, CO/188/99

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Police Act 1996 89(2)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Handyside v The United Kingdom ECHR 7-Dec-1976
Freedom of Expression is Fundamental to Society
The appellant had published a ‘Little Red Schoolbook’. He was convicted under the 1959 and 1964 Acts on the basis that the book was obscene, it tending to deprave and corrupt its target audience, children. The book claimed that it was intended to . .
Cited – Beatty v Gilbanks CA 13-Jun-1882
A lawful Salvation Army march attracted disorderly opposition and was therefore the occasion of a breach of the peace.
Held: It could not be found a case of unlawful assembly against the leaders of the Salvation Army march. Accepting that a . .
Cited – Duncan v Jones KBD 1936
The appellant was about to make a public address in a situation in which the year before a disturbance had been incited by her speaking. A policeman believed reasonably that a breach of the peace would occur if the meeting was held, and ordered the . .
Cited – Wise v Dunning KBD 1902
A protestant preacher in Liverpool was held to be liable to be bound over to keep the peace upon proof that he habitually accompanied his public speeches with behaviour calculated to insult Roman Catholics. His actions had caused, and were liable to . .
Cited – Regina v Howell (Errol) CACD 1981
The court considered the meaning of the legal concept of a breach of the peace.
Held: The essence is to be found in violence or threatened violence. ‘We entertain no doubt that a constable has a power of arrest where there is reasonable . .
Cited – Regina v Nicol and Selvanayagam QBD 10-Nov-1995
The appellants appealed a bind-over for a finding that each appellant had been guilty of conduct whereby a breach of the peace was likely to be occasioned. The appellants, concerned about cruelty to animals, had obstructed an angling competition by . .
Cited – Percy v Director of Public Prosecutions QBD 13-Dec-1994
A woman protester repeatedly climbed over the perimeter fencing into a military base.
Held: The defendant had a choice between agreeing to be bound over and going to prison. Her refusal to agree to be bound over had an immediate and obvious . .
Cited – Regina v Morpeth Ward Justices, ex parte Ward 1992
A bind-over was upheld on people who had noisily and turbulently disrupted a pheasant shoot. . .

Cited by:

Distinguished – Norwood v Director of Public Prosecutions Admn 3-Jul-2003
The appellant a BNP member had displayed a large poster in his bedroom window saying ‘Islam out of Britain’. He was convicted of an aggravated attempt to cause alarm or distress. The offence was established on proof of several matters, unless the . .
Cited – Laporte, Regina (on the Application of) v Gloucestershire Constabulary and others CA 8-Dec-2004
The claimant had been in a bus taking her and others to an intended demonstration. The police feared breaches of the peace, and stopped the bus, and ordered the driver to return to London, and escorted it to ensure it did not stop.
Held: The . .
Cited – Wragg, Regina (on the Application Of) v Director of Public Prosecutions Admn 15-Jun-2005
The court faced a case stated where the defendant had been accused of resisting arrest. The officers claimed to have anticipated a breach of the peace, having been called to a domestic dispute.
Held: Though the defendant had not behaved with . .
Cited – Singh and others v Chief Constable of West Midlands Police QBD 4-Nov-2005
A play was presented which was seen by many Sikhs as offensive. Protesters were eventually ordered to disperse under s30 of the 2003 Act. The defendants appealed their convictions for having breached that order, saying that it interfered with their . .
Cited – Bibby v Chief Constable of Essex Police CA 6-Apr-2000
A bailiff sought to execute against goods in a shop against the will of the occupier. The police attended and when tempers were raised the police officer anticipated a breach of the peace by the bailiff and arrested him. He sought damages for that . .
Cited – Singh, Regina (on the Application of) v Chief Constable of West Midlands Police CA 28-Jul-2006
Sikh protesters set out to picket a theatre production which they considered to offend their religion. The respondent used a existing ASBO dispersal order which had been obtained for other purposes, to control the demonstration.
Held: The . .
Cited – Laporte, Regina (on the application of ) v Chief Constable of Gloucestershire HL 13-Dec-2006
The claimants had been in coaches being driven to take part in a demonstration at an air base. The defendant police officers stopped the coaches en route, and, without allowing any number of the claimants to get off, returned the coaches to London. . .
Cited – Regina (Daly) v Secretary of State for the Home Department HL 23-May-2001
A prison policy requiring prisoners not to be present when their property was searched and their mail was examined was unlawful. The policy had been introduced after failures in search procedures where officers had been intimidated by the presence . .
Cited – Gaunt v OFCOM and Liberty QBD 13-Jul-2010
The claimant, a radio presenter sought judicial review of the respondent’s finding (against the broadcaster) that a radio interview he had conducted breached the Broadcasting Code. He had strongly criticised a proposal to ban smokers from being . .
Cited – Abdul and Others v Director of Public Prosecutions Admn 16-Feb-2011
The defendants appealed against convictions for using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour . . within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress. He had attended a . .
Cited – Moos and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Commissioner of the Police of The Metropolis Admn 14-Apr-2011
The claimants, demonstrators at the G20 summit, complained of the police policy of kettling, the containment of a crowd over a period of time, not because they were expected to to behave unlawfully, but to ensure a separation from those who were. . .
Cited – McClure and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v The Commissioner of Police of The Metropolis CA 19-Jan-2012
The Commissioner appealed against a decision that certain aspects of its crowd control procedures exercised during a public protest were unlawful.
Held: The appeal succeeded. The issue came down to whether the commanding officer genuinely held . .
Cited – Dehal v Crown Prosecution Service Admn 27-Sep-2005
The appellant had been convicted under section 4 of the 1986 Act. He had been accused of attending at Luton Guruwarda and intending to cause distress. He said that he had gone only peacefully to express his true religious beliefs. He had left a . .
Cited – Jewish Rights Watch (T/A Jewish Human Rights Watch), Regina (on The Application of) v Leicester City Council Admn 28-Jun-2016
The claimant challenged the legaity of resolutions passed by three local authorities which were critical of the State of Israel. They said that the resolultions infringed the Public Sector Equality Duty under section 149 of the 2010 Act, and also . .
Cited – Roberts and Others v Regina CACD 6-Dec-2018
Sentencing of Political Protesters
The defendants appealed against sentences for causing a public nuisance. They had been protesting against fracking by climbing aboard a lorry and blocking a main road for several days.
Held: The appeals from immediate custodial sentences were . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Human Rights, Crime, Police

Leading Case

Updated: 15 September 2022; Ref: scu.139996

Piddington v Bates: 1960

Two entrances to a printing works were picketed by striking printers. A police officer decided that there should be no more than two pickets at each entrance. The defendant wished to join the two pickets at the rear entrance. The officer said two pickets were enough. The defendant pushed gently past and the officer gently arrested him, and charged him with obstructing a constable in the execution of his duty. There was no disorder, and no violence was threatened or offered by any of the pickets or other persons present.
Held: The defendant’s appeal failed since the officer had reasonable grounds for anticipating that a breach of the peace was a real not a remote possibility. The police must anticipate ‘a real, not a remote, possibility’ of a breach of the peace before they are justified in taking preventive action’.

Judges:

Parker LCJ

Citations:

[1960] 3 All ER 660, [1961] 1 WLR 162

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Moss v McLachlan QBD 1985
Four striking miners were travelling in a convoy of motor vehicles and were stopped by a police cordon at a junction within several miles of four collieries. The inspector in charge believed with reason that a breach of the peace would be committed . .
Cited – Laporte, Regina (on the Application of) v Gloucestershire Constabulary and others CA 8-Dec-2004
The claimant had been in a bus taking her and others to an intended demonstration. The police feared breaches of the peace, and stopped the bus, and ordered the driver to return to London, and escorted it to ensure it did not stop.
Held: The . .
Cited – Albert v Lavin QBD 1980
The defendant (A) and the prosecutor (L), an off duty constable not in uniform, awaited a bus. A pushed past the queue, whose members objected. L stood in his way. A pushed past onto the step of the bus, turned, grabbed L’s lapel and made to hit . .
Aberrant – Laporte, Regina (on the application of ) v Chief Constable of Gloucestershire HL 13-Dec-2006
The claimants had been in coaches being driven to take part in a demonstration at an air base. The defendant police officers stopped the coaches en route, and, without allowing any number of the claimants to get off, returned the coaches to London. . .
Approved – Moss v McLachlan QBD 1985
There had been violent conflict between members of different unons in the context of the miners’ strike. The police had found it difficult to maintain the peace. The appellants were four of about sixty striking miners intent on a mass demonstration . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, Crime

Updated: 15 September 2022; Ref: scu.221596

W, Regina (on the Application Of) v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis and others: Admn 20 Jul 2005

Citations:

[2005] EWHC 1586 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

See Also – Regina on the Application of PW v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis, The London Borough of Richmond-Upon-Thames Admn 20-Jul-2005
W, a child of 14 sought judicial review of an order to remove persons under the age of 16 from dispersal areas in Richmond.
Held: The issue was whether the power given to police to remove youths was permissive or coercive. The power given ‘is . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police

Updated: 14 September 2022; Ref: scu.229311

Regina v Harmes and Another: CACD 9 May 2006

The appellant Harmes ran a public house and was suspected of involvement in the distribution of Class A drugs and money laundering. An undercover police operation was launched and approved which lasted approximately 3 months. One of the undercover police officers offered to supply Harmes with cheap soft drinks and another suggested they could be paid in cocaine. The trial judge concluded that three of the supplies of drugs would not have been made had it not been for the officers’ conduct and stayed those proceedings, but she allowed a count of conspiracy to proceed to conviction. The defendants appealed against convictions for conspiracy to contravene section 170 of the 1979 Act. They alleged entrapment by the officers involved.
Held: The court did not consider that ‘whatever technical failures there might have been in the authorisations’ upon which the officers acted were dispositive of the appeal.
Moses LJ said: ‘We have already concluded that the officers’ conduct was criminal and it was not properly authorised. Nonetheless, we take the view that it should not be regarded as so seriously improper as to require the court to intervene to prevent the prosecution for conspiracy. It was conduct which merely exposed, for the purposes of the undercover operation, the undercover officers’ interest in drugs and eagerness to receive a small quantity. That was, in our judgment, no more than might be expected of any criminal willing to engage in illicit dealing in drugs. Looseley emphasised the importance of the analysis of the behaviour of the undercover officers in comparison with that which might bee expected of those committing criminal offences (see for example paragraph 55 of the speech of Lord Hoffmann in Looseley). Undercover officers, seeking to expose drug dealers, must show enthusiasm and a degree of persistence to provide protection for their undercover activities. As Lord Hoffmann accepts, a good deal of active behaviour may be acceptable . . In our judgment the conduct of the police officers was not exceptional and did not go beyond that which was necessary to show their willingness to deal in drugs. An exchange of a small amount of cocaine triggered the revelation that these defendants were not only happy to import very substantial quantities of cocaine but had the ability to do so. The officers’ activities pale into insignificance in comparison to the offers made by Harmes to import, on their behalf, large amounts of cocaine of a high value.’

Judges:

Moses LJ, Penry-Davey, Grigson JJ

Citations:

[2006] EWCA Crim 928

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 170, Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Regina v Looseley (orse Loosely); Attorney General’s Reference No 3 of 2000 HL 25-Oct-2001
Police Entrapment is no defence to Criminal Act
The defendant complained of his conviction for supplying controlled drugs, saying that the undercover police officer had requested him to make the supply.
Held: It was an abuse of process for the police to go so far as to incite a crime.

Cited by:

Cited – Regina v Moore and Another CACD 13-Feb-2013
The appellants said that they had been entrapped into committing the offences of which they stood convicted. Their applications for stay on the ground of abuse of process had been rejected.
Held: The appeal failed.
Rix Lj said: ‘the . .
Cited – M, Regina v CACD 18-Mar-2011
The prosecutor appealed against a ruling that the prosecution was an abuse of process, the defendant having said that the police officer had entrapped him into committing the offence of supplying a Class A drug. A police undercover drugs operation . .
Cited – Palmer and Others v Regina CACD 7-Aug-2014
Three defendants appealed against convictions for selling stolen goods, saying that the police had used entrapment. The officers had established a shop at which thieves might expect to sell goods. Each defendant had pleaed guilty after a ruling . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Crime, Police

Updated: 14 September 2022; Ref: scu.241576

Attorney General’s Reference No 3 of 1999 (Lynn): CACD 26 Mar 1999

There was an obligation to destroy fingerprints and samples in respect of persons who were acquitted. Nevertheless, if such material was unlawfully retained, it could be used for the purpose of investigating another offence, and the evidence could be used in a subsequent trial unless it was excluded at the judge’s discretion.

Citations:

[1999] EWCA Crim 862

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Appeal from – Attorney General’s Reference (No 3 of 1999) (Lynn) HL 15-Dec-2000
A DNA sample had been wrongfully retained after the suspect had been acquitted, and the sample had been used in a later investigation to identify him. A subsequent sample had been taken, and the result of that second test had been used as evidence . .
Cited – Regina v B (Attorney-General’s Reference No 3 of 1999); Regina v Weir CACD 26-May-2000
Where a defendant gave a sample of DNA during an investigation, but the sample was not destroyed on his acquittal, evidence obtained from a cross match relating to a different crime was not admissible. The statute requires the samples to be . .
Cited – Regina v Johal CACD 19-Apr-2013
The defendant appealed against a confiscation order made on his conviction for possession of a Class B controlled drug. There had been considerable delays in the completion of the process, and it had exceeded the two year limit. The appellant argued . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Criminal Practice, Police

Updated: 14 September 2022; Ref: scu.157262

Regina v Forbes (Anthony Leroy) (Attorney General’s Reference No 3 of 1999): HL 19 Dec 2000

The provisions of the Code of Practice regarding identification parades are mandatory and additional unwritten conditions are not to be inserted. Where there was an identification and the suspect challenged that identification, and consented to the parade, the parade must be held. There is nothing in the words of code of practice to allow police officers not to hold an identification parades where the identification was considered to be already completed. There is nothing in the code to justify a distinction as to quality of identification evidence between that of a police officer and of a member of the public. In the past, identification which had received complete and unequivocal acceptance had proved to be the source of miscarriages of justice. Once a breach of the Codes was found, the trial judge must deal with this in his summing up in words which were appropriate to the situation. Nevertheless, in this case there had been a prior unequivocal identification. Lord Bingham of Cornhill: ‘If an eye-witness of a criminal incident makes plain to the police that he cannot identify the culprit, it will very probably be futile to invite that witness to attend an identification parade. If an eye-witness may be able to identify clothing worn by a culprit but not the culprit himself, it will probably be futile to mount an identification parade rather than simply inviting the witness to identify the clothing. If a case is one of pure recognition of someone well-known to the eye-witness, it may again be futile to hold an identification parade. But save in cases such as these, or other exceptional circumstances, the effect of paragraph 2.3 is clear: if (a) the police have sufficient information to justify the arrest of a particular person for suspected involvement in an offence, and (b) an eye-witness has identified or may be able to identify that person, and (c) the suspect disputes his identification as a person involved in the commission of that offence, an identification parade must be held if (d) the suspect consents and (e) paragraphs 2.4, 2.7 and 2.10 of Code D do not apply.’

Judges:

Lord Bingham of Cornhill

Citations:

Times 19-Dec-2000, Gazette 22-Feb-2001, [2000] UKHL 66, [2000] 1 CAR 430 (HL), [2001] 1 AC 473, [2001] 1 Crim App R 430, [2001] 2 WLR 1, [2001] 1 All ER 686

Links:

House of Lords, Bailii

Statutes:

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Appeal from – Regina v B (Attorney-General’s Reference No 3 of 1999); Regina v Weir CACD 26-May-2000
Where a defendant gave a sample of DNA during an investigation, but the sample was not destroyed on his acquittal, evidence obtained from a cross match relating to a different crime was not admissible. The statute requires the samples to be . .

Cited by:

Cited – Regina v Charles CACD 19-Jul-2001
The defendants appealed convictions for robbery, disputing the admission of police and identification evidence. There had been several failures to comply with the codes of practice, including the failure to hold an identity parade when so requested, . .
Cited – S, Regina (on Application of) v South Yorkshire Police; Regina v Chief Constable of Yorkshire Police ex parte Marper HL 22-Jul-2004
Police Retention of Suspects DNA and Fingerprints
The claimants complained that their fingerprints and DNA records taken on arrest had been retained after discharge before trial, saying the retention of the samples infringed their right to private life.
Held: The parts of DNA used for testing . .
Applied – McKenna v Director of Public Prosecutions Admn 8-Apr-2005
The defendant appealed a conviction for driving whilst disqualified. He said that an officer’s identification of him should have been excluded from evidence because no identification parade had been held.
Held: A parade should have been held: . .
Cited – Regina v Davis (Iain); Regina v Ellis, Regina v Gregory, Regina v Simms, Regina v Martin CACD 19-May-2006
The several defendants complained at the use at their trials of evidence given anonymously. The perceived need for anonymity arose because, from intimidation, the witnesses would not be willing to give their evidence without it.
Held: The . .
Cited – Dowsett v Criminal Cases Review Commission Admn 8-Jun-2007
The claimant had been convicted in 1993 of involvement in a murder. He had complained that the police had failed to disclose material which would have been of assistance to him. He had requested the Commission to take examine and pursue his appeal. . .
Cited – Attorney General’s Reference No 3 of 1999: Application By the British Broadcasting Corporation To Set Aside or Vary a Reporting Restriction Order HL 17-Jun-2009
An application was made to discharge an anonymity order made in previous criminal proceedings before the House. The defendant was to be retried for rape under the 2003 Act, after an earlier acquittal. The applicant questioned whether such a order . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, Criminal Evidence

Updated: 13 September 2022; Ref: scu.88458

Sicri v Associated Newspapers Ltd: QBD 21 Dec 2020

The claimant complained that the defendant had published his name as a suspect in terrorist activities. He had been released without charge, but the defendant had not published that fact. The court was now asked whether he had a reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of his arrest.

Judges:

Warby J

Citations:

[2020] EWHC 3541 (QB), [2021] 4 WLR 9

Links:

Bailii, Judiciary

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – HRH The Duchess of Sussex v Associated Newspapers Ltd ChD 11-Feb-2021
Defence had no prospect of success – Struck Out
The claimant complained that the defendant newspaper had published contents from a letter she had sent to her father. The court now considered her claims in breach of privacy and copyright, and her request for summary judgment.
Held: Warby J . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Media, Police, Human Rights

Updated: 13 September 2022; Ref: scu.656962

Durowoju v Independent Police Complaints Commission: Admn 11 Apr 2013

The claimant’s home had been burgled and property recovered, but the claimant had been unable to arrange to see the goods to identify what had been hers. Eventually (after 10 years) the police said they retained nothing of hers. She complained. She appealed against the grant of a dispensation by the respondent allowing her complaint to be deemed closed.
Held: There was no material basis for the challenge and it failed.

Judges:

Turner J

Citations:

[2013] EWHC 837 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Police Reform Act 2002, Police (Complaints and Misconduct) Regulations 2004, Police (Complaints and Misconduct) Regulations 2012

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Police

Updated: 13 September 2022; Ref: scu.472539

Williams v Dyfed and Powys Police: CA 22 Nov 2010

The claimants appealed against dismissal of their claim for damages under the 1998 Act. The house had been searched under warrant. They said that the constable obtaining the warrant had acted on information he knew or ought to have known was false. The officer had acted on the basis of information provided through Crimestoppers, but had mistakenly recorded the numbers of three cars parked at the defendant’s property.
Held: The appeal failed. It was not open to the appellate court to substitute its own assessment of the facts. The claimant misunderstood the duty falling on an officer: ‘It was not his responsibility to seek confirmation of every averment of fact made by the anonymous source to Crimestoppers. He was with the aid of that intelligence investigating whether a crime had been committed.’ The officer did have information on which he could properly act, even though it later appeared inaccurate.

Judges:

Carnwath, Elias, Pitchford LJJ

Citations:

[2010] EWCA Civ 1627

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Human Rights Act 1998 7, Theft Act 1968 26(1), Protection of Constables Act 1750 6, European Convention on Human Rights 8, Police Act 1996 88(1)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Keegan v United Kingdom ECHR 18-Jul-2006
The claimant had been the subject of a raid by armed police on his home. The raid was a mistake. He complained that the English legal system, in rejecting his claim had not allowed him to assert that the police action had been disproportionate.
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Human Rights, Police

Updated: 13 September 2022; Ref: scu.440326

Lancashire Constabulary, Regina (on the Application Of) v Reedley Magistrates Court: Admn 19 Mar 2004

Claim by the Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary for an order quashing a decision of the Reedley Magistrates’ Court awarding costs to the interested party, a Mr Cairns, against the Chief Constable in a licensing application.

Judges:

Gage J

Citations:

[2004] EWHC 677 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Licensing, Police, Costs

Updated: 12 September 2022; Ref: scu.195556

Laporte, Regina (on the Application of) v Gloucestershire Constabulary and others: Admn 19 Feb 2004

The court considered a claim for judicial review of a police officer’s decision to turn back a number of coaches. Each coach contained passengers en route to join a demonstration at an RAF base in Gloucestershire, the officer honestly and reasonably believing that if the coaches were allowed to proceed, all or some of the passengers would cause breaches of the peace.
May LJ confirmed the definition of breach of the peace together with the arrest powers for such a breach as follows: ‘There is a breach of the peace whenever harm is actually done or is likely to be done to a person or in his presence to his property or a person is in fear of being so harmed through an assault, an affray, a riot, unlawful assembly or other unlawful disturbance. For such a breach of the peace when done in his presence, a constable or anyone else may arrest an offender without a warrant (see R v Howell [1981] 3 All ER 383 at 389; [1982] QB 416 at 427). A constable or an ordinary citizen has a power of arrest where there is ‘reasonable apprehension of imminent danger of a breach of the peace’. This includes where the arrestor reasonably believes that a breach of the peace will be committed in the immediate future by the person arrested (see [1981] 3 All ER 383 at 388; [1982] QB 416 at 426).’

Judges:

May LJ

Citations:

[2004] EWHC 253 (Admin), [2004] 1 All ER 874, Times 26-Feb-2004

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Regina v Howell (Errol) CACD 1981
The court considered the meaning of the legal concept of a breach of the peace.
Held: The essence is to be found in violence or threatened violence. ‘We entertain no doubt that a constable has a power of arrest where there is reasonable . .
Cited – Albert v Lavin HL 3-Dec-1981
An off duty and out of uniform police officer attempted to restrain the defendant jumping ahead of a bus queue. The defendant struggled, and continued to do so even after being told that of the officer’s status. He said he had not believed that he . .
Cited – Williamson v Chief Constable of the West Midlands Police CA 21-Feb-2003
The claimant had been arrested by an officer entering his house to investigate a breach of the peace, then held for two nights. The police believed that he posed no continuing threat, but believed he had to be brought before the magistrates before . .
Cited – John Lewis and Co Ltd v Tims HL 1952
There had been an arrest by shop detectives of two customers who were believed to have stolen goods, the arrest taking place after they had left the shop. The shop detectives returned with them to the shop in order to allow a senior person in . .

Cited by:

Cited – Al-Fayed and others v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and others CA 25-Nov-2004
The appellants appealed from dismissal of their claims for wrongful imprisonment by the respondent. Each had attended at a police station for interview on allegations of theft. They had been arrested and held pending interview and then released. Mr . .
Appeal from – Laporte, Regina (on the Application of) v Gloucestershire Constabulary and others CA 8-Dec-2004
The claimant had been in a bus taking her and others to an intended demonstration. The police feared breaches of the peace, and stopped the bus, and ordered the driver to return to London, and escorted it to ensure it did not stop.
Held: The . .
At First Instance – Laporte, Regina (on the application of ) v Chief Constable of Gloucestershire HL 13-Dec-2006
The claimants had been in coaches being driven to take part in a demonstration at an air base. The defendant police officers stopped the coaches en route, and, without allowing any number of the claimants to get off, returned the coaches to London. . .
Cited – Blench v Director of Public Prosecutions Admn 5-Nov-2004
The defendant appealed against his conviction for assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty under section 89. He had argued that he had no case to answer. The officers had received an emergency call to the house, but the female caller . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Police, Human Rights

Updated: 12 September 2022; Ref: scu.193707

Regina v Jones; Regina v Nelson: CACD 26 Mar 1999

Police officers have no power to use reasonable force, to compel a suspect to undergo an identification by confrontation. Powers generally phrased in the Act did not override an individual suspect’s rights. Beldam LJ said that the requirement that reasonable force may be used to secure conditions of detention does not authorise the use of force to bring about a confrontation.

Citations:

Times 21-Apr-1999, Gazette 06-May-1999, [1999] EWCA Crim 867

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 117; Code D

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Director of Public Prosecutions v Meaden Admn 1-Dec-2003
The defendant had been charged with assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty. The prosecutor appealed a finding of no case to answer. He had been present in a house when the police executed search warrants. He had refused to obey an . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Criminal Evidence, Police

Updated: 12 September 2022; Ref: scu.157267

Beer v Commissioner of Police of Metropolis: CA 2 May 1997

The plaintiff had claimed for personal injuries, alleging that police officers had slammed a door shut on his fingers. He sought leave to appeal out of time against a dismissal of his claim.
Held: He had brought nothing new to the judge which would allow an appeal, and similarly nothing new to this court. Leave refused.

Judges:

Justice Hobhouse

Citations:

[1997] EWCA Civ 1620

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Police, Personal Injury

Updated: 12 September 2022; Ref: scu.142016

MS Regina (on The Application of) v The Independent Monitor of The Home Office and Another: Admn 18 Apr 2016

The applicant challenged the disclosure of old allegations of criminal behaviour on his application for an Enhanced Criminal Records Bureau Certificate in support of his application for a hackney carriage license.

Judges:

Blair QC HHJ

Citations:

[2016] EWHC 655 (Admin), [2016] 4 WLR 88, [2016] WLR(D) 233

Links:

Bailii, WLRD

Statutes:

Police Act 1997 113B(4)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Licensing, Police

Updated: 12 September 2022; Ref: scu.562906

Clifford v The Chief Constable of The Hertfordshire Constabulary: QBD 1 Apr 2011

The claimant alleged malicious prosecution and misfeasance in public office bought by the claimant who was charged with child pornography offences in July 2004. The prosecution had eventually offered no evidence. He said that it should have been clear much earlier that no further action was sustainable, the prosecution expert having indicated that his evidence did not support the charge.
Held: The claim succeeded. For some time the officer in the case had had no honest belief that there was any supporting evidence for the possession charges other than the mere presence of the pop ups on the computer. It appeared that the officer, threatened with legal action persisted so as to resist that threat, and he had further acted to attempt to delay the trial. That amounted to malice.
As to damages, the damage was made worse by the nature of the allegation, and an award of andpound;20,000 was made.

Judges:

Mackay J

Citations:

[2011] EWHC 815 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Glinski v McIver HL 1962
The court considered the tort of malicious prosecution when committed by a police officer, saying ‘But these cases must be carefully watched so as to see that there really is some evidence from his conduct that he knew it was a groundless charge.’ . .
Cited – Atkins v Director of Public Prosecutions; Goodland v Director of Public Prosecutions Admn 8-Mar-2000
For possession of an indecent image of a child to be proved, it was necessary to establish some knowledge of its existence. Images stored without the defendant’s knowledge by browser software in a hidden cache, of which he was also unaware, were not . .
Cited – Thompson v Commissioner of Police of Metropolis; Hsu v Same CA 20-Feb-1997
CS Damages of 200,000 pounds by way of exemplary damages had been awarded against the police for unlawful arrest and assault.
Held: The court gave a guideline maximum pounds 50,000 award against police for . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Torts – Other, Police

Updated: 12 September 2022; Ref: scu.439830

Hart v Chief Constable of Tayside Police: SIC 22 Dec 2009

Mr Andrew Hart (Mr Hart) requested from the Chief Constable of Tayside Police (Tayside Police) information relating to an alleged incident. Tayside Police refused to confirm whether the information requested existed or was held by them, in terms of section 18 of FOISA. Following a review in which this decision was upheld, Mr Hart remained dissatisfied and applied to the Commissioner for a decision.
Following an investigation, the Commissioner found that Tayside Police had dealt with Mr Hart’s request for information in accordance with Part 1 of FOISA. He did not require Tayside Police to take any action.

Citations:

[2009] ScotIC 149 – 2009

Links:

Bailii

Scotland, Information, Police

Updated: 08 September 2022; Ref: scu.434088

Panesar (T/A Anami Law), Regina (on The Application of) v Crown Prosecution Service and Another: Admn 5 Apr 2011

Defendants challenged the terms of search warrants and the conditions attached to their bail. There was alleged to be a substantial VAT fraud.

Citations:

[2011] EWHC 842 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 8(1)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Legal Professions, Police

Updated: 06 September 2022; Ref: scu.431755