S, Regina (on the Application of) v West Mercia Constabulary and Another: Admn 18 Nov 2008

The claimant complained of an enhanced disclosure of his record disclosing has arrest and trial on charges of outraging public decency. He said that he had been acquitted in terms which clearly said that the case was one of mistaken identity.
Held: The claim succeeded. It was not enough for the police to discount an acquittal without some investigation at least of the basis of the acquittal: ‘I do not suggest for one minute that allegations should not be disclosed in an ECRC simply because the alleged offender has been acquitted. The circumstances surrounding the acquittal are all important. There will be instances where an alleged offender is acquitted but only because the Magistrates (or Jury) entertain a reasonable doubt about the alleged offender’s guilt. The tribunal of fact may harbour substantial doubts. In such circumstances, however, it might well be perfectly reasonable and rational for a Chief Constable to conclude that the alleged offender might have committed the alleged offence. To repeat, however, there are very powerful reasons in the instant case why it is very unlikely that the Claimant committed the alleged offences. That being so it was not reasonably open to the DCC to conclude that he might have done so.’
Wyn Wiliams J
[2008] EWHC 2811 (Admin)
Bailii
England and Wales
Cited by:
CitedAR, Regina (on The Application of) v Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police and Another SC 30-Jul-2018
The appellant had been tried for and acquitted on a criminal charge. He now challenged the disclosure by the respondent of the charge in an Enhanced Criminal Record Certificate.
Held: His appeal failed. The critical question was whether the . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 17 August 2021; Ref: scu.277935