Although a person cannot be sent to prison if found guilty of this offence the consequences of a prosecution can still cause an enormous amount of stress for the person concerned, result in criminal conviction and impact on a person’s future prospects if found guilty.
Legal Aid is available for representation for both defending a criminal prosecution and bringing a complaint and/or claim against the police.
It is vital that you seek representation immediately, even if you are offered a Fixed Penalty Notice rather than face court action. The time immediately after arrest can be extremely important as evidence can be lost. For example CCTV can be deleted if a request is not made to preserve it.
We recently acted for Mr S who had been arrested by Merseyside Police for being drunk and disorderly in a public place.
Mr S immediately instructed our Actions against the Police department, who in turn made a referral to our criminal department. Mr S appeared, with our representation, at the Magistrates Court, and after a Trial was found not guilty.
Once the prosecution had concluded in Mr S’ favour we presented a claim for false imprisonment, assault and malicious prosecution, along with complaint to Merseyside Police concerning the involved police officer. Although Mr S’ complaint was largely unsubstantiated we were able to settle his claim for compensation at £4,000.00 plus his legal costs.
The crucial evidence in Mr S’ case was the CCTV footage from the custody suite where he was detained, which on anybody’s view would not support the police’s case that he was overtly drunk. As illustrated by this case it was of great importance that the CCTV footage was preserved at an early stage, particularly when police forces only keep footage for a relatively short period. In Merseyside this period is currently 50 days.
If you require representation, please contact our Actions Against the Police department and one of our specialist advisers will be in touch. Message us your enquiry today or request a callback at your convenience.