Daniel Berke and family lawyer Katie McCann discuss the Covid-19 law and guidelines on childcare and access and what they mean for separated police officers during the lockdown.
Earlier this year, The Chief Constable of West Midlands Police successfully challenged a misconduct hearing panel's decision to impose a Final Written Warning (FWW), after an officer made racist remarks about a fellow officer. The decision confirmed that the High Court will be prepared to intervene where panels fail to follow the College of Policing's Guidance on Outcomes, and that misconduct involving discrimination will be treated especially seriously. In this podcast, Deborah Britstone, Solic...
Lawyers Daniel Berke and Elizabeth Fox discuss a recent decision, where the High Court clearly affirmed that police misconduct hearing panels are able to put irrelevant and prejudicial matters out of their minds rather than having to recuse themselves and, just like civil courts and tribunals - that they are able to determine their own procedures.
In an update to their Season 1 podcast on ‘necessity to arrest’, Daniel Berke and Elliot Gold discuss recent cases which suggest the bar is now set high for the police when deciding if there is a necessity to arrest and about the importance of careful planning and recording.
Lawyers Hannah Hinton and Daniel Berke discuss why the indefinite retention by the police of DNA profiles, fingerprints and photographs of persons convicted of minor offences, without a possibility of review, constitutes an infringement of Article 8.
Forced marriage is illegal in the UK. Lawyers Elizabeth Fox and Daniel Berke discuss the approach to take in applying for forced marriage protection orders and how these can be used by the Police to tackle the crime of forced marriage.
Divorce and family law related proceedings can be highly emotive, complex and very difficult for all involved. Where there are assets including pensions to consider this makes it all the more complicated and legal advice is essential. In this podcast, Deborah Britstone discusses this and the impact of Covid-19 on family law proceedings with Katie McCann, a partner and head of family law at Knights Solicitors.
Coronavirus legislation and guidance has been introduced as part of a concerted effort across the whole of the UK to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak. In this podcast Solicitor, Deborah Britstone and Barrister, Elliot Gold discuss the “lockdown” legislation and its practical application.
The outbreak of Covid-19 has meant that we are all changing the way we work and making every effort to comply with social distancing guidance. In this podcast, Solicitor Deborah Britstone and Barrister Cecily White discuss the guidance issued by the Government and Courts/Tribunals and how this will work for police misconduct hearings.
Jon Holl-Allen QC and solicitor Daniel Berke discuss the basis for entitlement to ill-health police pensions and police injury awards and explore determinations of permanent disablement, how injuries may be deemed to have been sustained in the execution of duty and the legal tests and mechanisms for challenging an initial decision on pension entitlement.
The first claim anywhere in the World, concerning the use by police of automated facial recognition (“AFR”) technology has been heard by the Divisional Court. Automated Facial Recognition can match 50 faces per second, but its use has raised serious questions of human rights law. Dijen Basu QC and solicitor Daniel Berke discuss why, depending on the facts of each particular deployment, AFR is lawful. For more information, please also read Dijen’s blog https://www.ukpolicelawblog.com/index.php/9-...
The new Conduct and Complaints Regulations came into force in 2020 and introduced a move from blame to learning and reflection. In this episode, Solicitor Deborah Britstone and Barrister James Berry discuss the new Reflective Practice Review process which encourages officers to focus on their learning and development if things go wrong and how this will work for officers involved.
The Home Office described it as legislation that will shake up how complaints made against the police are handled and improve the discipline system for officers. The new Police Conduct Regulations, which came into effect on 1 February 2020, intend to ensure that complaints can be dealt with quickly, effectively and proportionately, not just for the benefit of the public but also for the police. In this first episode of Series 2, Solicitor Deborah Britstone and Barrister Elliot Gold discuss some ...
Do police officers have a right to a private life? When can that right be interfered with? Are officers entitled to have a reasonable expectation of privacy? Is the interference with the right to a private life necessary and in the pursuit of a legitimate aim? In this podcast, Solicitor Deborah Britstone and John Beggs Queen’s Counsel examine the right to a private life and how far this extends to police officers both in respect of on duty and off duty conduct.
The Former Officer Regulations 2017 came into force on 15th December 2017. The Regulations have made a number of important changes to police misconduct procedures, allowing for misconduct investigations and proceedings that could have led to dismissal to be taken to their conclusion, notwithstanding the retirement or resignation of the police officer. Is a former officer required to engage with the investigation? Does the former officer have to attend a hearing? What are the implications if the ...
In the year to March 2019, police forces in England and Wales recorded more than 47,000 offences involving knives: an 8% increase year on year and the highest total since records began. One way of trying to tackle this increase in violent crime is by the use of stop and search. Why is stop and search so controversial? What does the College of Policing Guidance define as appropriate use of stop and search powers? The Government has recently authorised enhanced stop and search powers as part of th...
Conducted energy devices or tasers, as they are better known, are one of a number of tactical options available to police officers when dealing with an incident with the potential for conflict. Serious consideration must be given by police officers before deploying taser in line with the National Decision Model. Solicitor Daniel Berke and Tom Crowther Queen’s Counsel discuss the recent High Court case of Gilchrist v Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police and the importance of caution in th...
The most common way for the police to obtain search warrants is by using s.8 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (‘PACE’). To do so, they must comply with the procedural rules set out in sections 15 and 16. This podcast examines the importance of officers taking care and precision in framing search warrant applications. Are search warrants granted too easily by Courts without sufficient scrutiny? If this is the case, does this leave search warrants open to challenge? Are there further requir...
Pre-Charge bail is an effective tool in the investigation of crime and to protect the public. Lawyers Daniel Berke and Elliot Gold discuss updated operational guidance from the National Police Chiefs' Council and how the rules are affecting policing.
Every police officer knows that they must have reasonable suspicion that a person has committed an offence in order to arrest them, but this is only one consideration. There must also be a reasonable belief in the necessity for arrest. Recent Court decisions have looked specifically at the necessity requirement. Lawyers Deborah Britstone and Cecily White discuss what this means for police officers.
In 2018, the Supreme Court upheld landmark victories for two victims of the serial sex offender John Worboys against the Met Police, in the case known as “DSD and NBV”. The claimants alleged that Met officers had breached Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, by failing to investigate Worboys’ crimes properly and thereby failing to protect victims from “inhuman or degrading treatment” and hold the perpetrator to account. It was generally thought that police were “immune” from cla...
