Law of Evidence

[Name of Student]

[Name of Institute]

[Date]
Portfolio Task 1
The fact of the case:

 At 11:00 PM PC Grey was on duty when he received a call to attend Slone Bar and
Restaurant on Seaview that two females were acting suspiciously. There have been
several incidents of theft from bags and pockets of customers in this Bar. He arrived at
this venue, but the bar was closed.
 However, he saw two females arguing in the car park. He ran and shouted towards these
ladies, one of whom were you. And because you were in a heeled shoe, which hindered
your ability to run fast, he caught with you and then grabbed you by the arm. You spun
around and then the officer informed you you were going to be searched.
 He searched for you and did not find anything. However, he did see a small clear plastic
bag with powder with a 'C' about one meter from where he had first seen you and the
other lady. He picked this up and questioned you about what it was, but you did not reply
to this. He then pulled your arm tightly behind your back to restrain you. As a result, you
let out a scream of pain.
 The officer put you in the police car and further questioned you: 'Right, where is your
friend? Where did she take the stolen items? What is wrong with you people?' Again, you
did not answer. You sat in the back of the vehicle crying and wanted to call your dad. But
the officer told you to shut up and drove away.
 Based on the facts of your case, it appears that PC Grey may have acted unlawfully.
Below, I will address each of the issues in turn.

Stop and Search:

Under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, police officers have the
power to stop and search individuals without reasonable suspicion in certain circumstances, such
as where there is a risk of violence or disorder. However, in this case, PC Grey's only suspicion
was that he saw two ladies arguing in a car park and that there had been several theft incidents at
the Slone Bar and Restaurant. These are not sufficient grounds to stop and search you under
 section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) Furthermore, PC Grey did not
follow the correct procedure for searching a youth like you. He was legally mandated to inform
you of his name and police station, explain the reason for the search, or provide a written record
of the search. Therefore, it is possible that PC Grey acted unlawfully by searching without
reasonable suspicion. Based on this, your arrest by PC Grey may be considered unlawful

Arrest:

Following the search, PC Grey arrested you. However, under section 24 of PACE, he can only
arrest you if he has reasonable grounds to believe that you are committing or about to commit an
offence, or if he considers this as an appropriate measure to prevent you from inflicting injury or
damaging property. The fact that a small clear plastic bag with white powder with a 'C' was seen
one meter from where he first saw you is not sufficient grounds for your arrest. Furthermore, PC
Grey did not inform you of the reason for your arrest, and his use of force was excessive and
unnecessary. This act contradicts Section 117 of PACE and the Code of Ethics under the Police
Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.

Questioning;

PC Grey questioned you about your involvement in criminal activity without cautioning you.
According to PACE Code C, the officer is required to caution you before questioning you about
any criminal activity. The caution Is to inform you of your fundamental right to silence. This is
only exempt if it was Impracticable to do so or if you had already been cautioned before arrest.
In this case, none of those circumstances was present, making PC Grey’s questioning unlawful.

In conclusion, based on the facts provided, it appears that PC Grey acted unlawfully in stopping
and searching you without reasonable suspicion, arresting you without lawful grounds, and
questioning you without caution. We recommend that you take immediate action to seek redress
for these violations of your legal rights

Please contact us if you need any further assistance.

sincerely,

Portfolio Task 2

memo
Company name

To: Supervisor

From: XYZ

CC: Gemma Phillips

Date: April 13, 2023

Re: Subject: Outlook from Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 in the case
of Cristina’s rights as a detainee, potential evidential consequences if
Cristina gave evidence at any trial, and whether or not there are any
grounds for exclusion of evidence.

Comments
:
Cristina was detained on the suspicion of carrying cocaine in her
possession. PC Grey's only suspicion was that he saw two ladies arguing in
a car park and that there had been several theft incidents at the Slone Bar
and Restaurant. These are not sufficient grounds to stop and search you
under section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE)
Furthermore, PC Grey did not follow the correct procedure for searching a
youth like you. He was legally mandated to inform you of his name and
police station, explain the reason for the search, or provide a written record
of the search. Therefore, it is possible that PC Grey acted unlawfully by
searching without reasonable suspicion. Based on this, your arrest by PC
Grey may be considered unlawful. PC Grey used force based on only
suspicion and misbehaved with you which should have been avoided at all
costs. Under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994,
police officers have the power to stop and search individuals without
reasonable suspicion in certain circumstances, such as where there is a risk
of violence or disorder. However, in this case, PC Grey's only suspicion
was that he saw two ladies arguing in a car park and that there had been
several theft incidents at the Slone Bar and Restaurant. These are not
sufficient grounds to stop and search you under section 1 of the Police and
Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) Furthermore, PC Grey did not follow
the correct procedure for searching a youth like you. He was legally
mandated to inform you of his name and police station, explain the reason
for the search, or provide a written record of the search. This was gross
misconduct on PC Grey's part. He should have behaved amicably and tried
to resolve the situation calmly. How he reacted could have incited the
person he had been having suspicion of. Cristina did the right thing in
avoiding to reply the officer. She showed remarkable resolve in diffusing
the situation by remaining calm and composed. There have been incidents
before where police officers have overstepped the boundaries of their
jurisdiction and the way PC Grey violated the boundaries of the law
showed that this heinous act of jeopardizing the privacy and peace of a
place can be done by a Police Officer. This also demonstrates the fact that
the legal requirements have to be met before carrying out a stop and search
on some innocent person. The people have to know their rights and not be
sucked into this dangerous situation. People should know “an acronym –
each letter of GOWISELY stands for your rights if you’re stopped and
searched.

G: Grounds for suspicion. For suspicion-based searches, the police

should tell you why they suspect that you might be carrying something
illegal. This could be information they have or something they noticed you
doing (your behaviour). For Section 60 searches, the police should tell you
that the search was authorised under those powers.

O: an object of the search. The police should clearly explain what they
are looking for.

W: warranty card. The police should give you this if you ask for it, or if
they aren’t wearing a uniform.

I: the identity of the police officer or officers. The police officers

involved in stopping and searching you should give you their name and
number. They only have to give you their warrant and collar number if the
case involves terrorism, or if =there is a specific risk to the officer.

S: station. The police should tell you which police station they work with.

E: entitlement. The police should tell you that you have the right to have a
copy of the search record within 3 months.

L: legal power used. The police should tell you what legal power they are
using to stop and search you.

Y: you are detained for a search. The police should tell you that you are
being detained because they will search for you. Detained means being
stopped by the police and not being free to leave until they tell you so.

Putting someone in fear of violence is when someone says or does two or

more things that make you fear that violence will be used against you. The
law states that a person is guilty of putting you in fear of violence if a
reasonable person, who had the same information your abuser had, would
think his behaviour would cause you to fear violence. It is clear that is
what PC Grey did while trying to search and detain Cristina. Police
harassment is a situation that tends to be best handled by the judicial
system. In many instances, police harassment may be found to be a
violation of a person's civil rights. It is not wise for a person who is being
harassed to try to seek justice on the spot from the officer who is harassing
him.” So Cristina did the right thing in not overreacting to the gross
misconduct of PC Grey. “PC Grey questioned Cristina about her
involvement in criminal activity without cautioning her. According to
PACE Code C, the officer is required to caution her before questioning her
about any criminal activity. The caution is to inform her of her
fundamental right to silence. This is only exempt if it was impracticable to
do so or if she had already been cautioned before arrest. In this case, none
of those circumstances was present, making PC Grey's questioning
unlawful. An unlawful arrest can have emotional and mental consequences
for the person, and sometimes even cause physical injury as well. While
cases resulting in injury are relatively rare, they have been known to
occur." Cristina has the right to sue PC Grey for his out-of-bounds and
excessive use of force. This type of wrongful behaviour by one of the law
and order personnel's individual is very unfortunate and should merit a
thorough investigation by the police department that how an individual
representing their department has behaved in such a wrongful manner.
Cristina has every right to sue PC Grey for misconstruing and twisting the
situation in which Cristina was emotionally stressed “and a wrongful arrest
can otherwise be referred to as an illegal arrest. The most important
ingredient for constituting wrongful arrest is the absence of any probable
cause along with non-abiding of the statutory procedures. Any unlawful
restraint of the personal liberty of an individual or freedom of movement
also constitutes wrongful arrest made by the authority purporting to act
under the law. The illegal or wrongful arrest comes under the category of
criminal wrong which requires compensatory damages to the victim.
However, the damages will only be awarded by proving the illegality of
such arrest.” PC Grey has to be ashamed of the fact that he caused grievous
emotional harm to Cristina only assuming that she might be carrying
cocaine, which is a gross misuse of his authority. Therefore Cristina has
legal grounds to sue PC Grey and he has to be held accountable for his
wrongful behaviour.

 
References

Participation E, “Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984” (Legislation.gov.ukOctober 31, 1984)
<https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/60/section/24> accessed April 3, 2023

“Revised€May 2016 Cocaine Research Report - National Institute on Drug ...”

<https://nida.nih.gov/download/1141/cocaine-research-report.pdf?
v=3f3fb3f0903dfa8879388c2a5d086cb9> accessed April 3, 2023

report. pdf?v=3f3fb3f0903dfa8879388c2a5d086cb9

“Drugs Penalties” (GOV.UK) <https://www.gov.uk/penalties-drug-possession-dealing> accessed

April 3, 2023