The claimants alleged that they had been victims of rapes after the defendant police force had negligently failed to properly investigate a series of similar crimes. They said that the failures had infringed their article 3 rights. The Commissioner now appealed against a finding that the failures amounted to
Held: The appeal failed. HRA imposes only a general duty to investigate ill-treatment amounting to a violation of article 3 of ECHR. The judge’s overall treatment of the case was in line with the scope and nature of the Article 3 duty.
Laws LJ said that the inquiry into compliance with the article 3 duty is ‘first and foremost concerned, not with the effect on the claimant, but with the overall nature of the investigative steps to be taken by the State’.
He pointed out that the essence of the argument on behalf of the appellants was that the common law rule (that police owe ‘no general duty of care. . . to identify or apprehend an unknown criminal, nor. . . a duty of care to individual members of the public who might suffer injury through the criminal’s activities . . ‘ – Hill v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police [1989] AC 53) should be moderated so as to accommodate the ECHR.
Lord Dyson MR, Laws, Kitchin LJJ
[2015] EWCA Civ 646, [2015] WLR(D) 282, [2015] 3 WLR 966, [2016] 1 Cr App R 2, [2016] QB 161
Bailii, WLRD
European Convention on Human Rights 3
England and Wales
Citing:
Appeal from – DSD and Another v The Commissioner of Police for The Metropolis QBD 23-Jul-2014
The court had found the defendant liable for a breach of the claimants’ human rights in that its negligent investigations had led to further rapes and sexual assaults by an offender. The court now considered what damages might be payable. . .
See Also – DSD and Another v The Commissioner of Police for The Metropolis QBD 28-Feb-2014
The claimants sought damages alleging negligent failure by the police to investigate and find a serial rapist.
Held: The claim succeeded. The claimants were entitled to damages from the defendant, the Commissioner of the Police of the . .
Cited by:
Appeal from – Commissioner of Police of The Metropolis v DSD and Another SC 21-Feb-2018
Two claimants had each been sexually assaulted by a later notorious, multiple rapist. Each had made complaints to police about their assaults but said that no effective steps had been taken to investigate the serious complaints.
Held: The . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Police, Human Rights
Updated: 01 January 2022; Ref: scu.549747
