Police have tried to supply readability after a mum was held in a police cell for seven-and-a-half hours after confiscating two iPads that belonged to her daughters. Amanda Brown, 50, stated she has been left with “unspeakable devastation and trauma” following her arrest final month on suspicion of theft.
The historical past instructor was arrested by Surrey Police following claims she had stolen two iPads after they had been traced to her mom’s home in Cobham. However, it later transpired the iPads belonged to her daughters and he or she had confiscated them to get them to deal with their schoolwork. The power closed the case the next day with no “further action being taken”. Surrey Police has now acknowledged Amanda was “entitled to confiscate” her daughters’ devices however did not apologise for the misery triggered.
Recalling the ordeal, Amanda advised LBC how she was taken into custody at Staines Police Station, the place she had her fingerprints and {photograph} recorded while officers spoke to her mom, who’s in her 80s, “like she was a criminal.”
Police also sent officers to her children’s school and pulled her daughter out of class regarding the matter, she added.
She told LBC: “At no point did [the officers] think to themselves, ‘Oh, this is a little bit of an overreaction for a moment, confiscating temporarily her [own] iPads and popping over to her mum’s to have a coffee’. It was just a complete overreaction.”
She added: “It was thoroughly unprofessional. They were speaking to my mother, who is in her 80s, like she was a criminal.”
Amid criticisms and requires an apology, together with from former police and crime commissioner Anthony Stansfield, Surrey Police insisted “necessary procedures” had been noticed, experiences the Mirror.
Anthony Stansfeld, the previous police and crime commissioner for Thames Valley, hopes “the chief constable goes and apologises personally to the poor lady”.
Chief Superintendent Aimee Ramm, Northern Divisional Commander, stated in full: “On Wednesday, 26 March two of our officers attended an address in Cobham following report of a concern for safety.
“While they had been there, a person in his 40s who was current, reported the theft of two iPads. This led officers to hold out additional enquiries at a second tackle, the place a 50-year-old lady from Cobham was questioned in regards to the iPads and denied any data of their whereabouts.
“However, a tracking device on the iPads showed that they were at the address. Officers encouraged the woman to return the items and resolve the matter, however the woman did not cooperate and therefore she was arrested on suspicion of theft. A search was then carried out using post-arrest powers and the iPads were located.
“During this time, officers known as South-East Coast Ambulance to attend the tackle following an additional concern for security. While awaiting ambulance, the officers who had initially attended the tackle had been ending their shift, and subsequently changed by two of their colleagues.
“The woman was then taken into custody where the necessary procedures were followed, which included a risk assessment, consultation with a healthcare professional, and the taking of fingerprints and custody photos.
“There was a three-hour delay between her solicitor being notified and being prepared for session with their shopper. The lady was subsequently launched on conditional bail whereas additional enquiries had been carried out to ascertain the possession of the iPads. The police bail situations included not talking to anybody linked to the investigation, together with her daughters, whereas officers carried out their enquiries.
“Following these enquiries, officers were able to verify that the iPads belonged to the woman’s children, and that she was entitled to confiscate these items from her own children. The case was therefore closed the following day with no further action being taken and the bail conditions which had been set were then no longer applicable. Officers did attend the daughter’s school, however this was in relation to the initial concern for safety.”
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2040740/surrey-police-full-response-mum-arrested-ipad