Home | Friday 14th March 2008 | Issue 624

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SWEAR BY IT

A potty-mouthed protester from the No Borders demo in Crawley last September (‘Crap Arrest of The Week’ in SchNEWS 604), had her case thrown out of court last week. The court considered it a misuse of Section 50 of the Police Reform Act 2002 to demand her details for a potential ASBO after she coughed the word ‘wanker’ under her breath.

This particular Act is the only means by which the police can demand someone’s name and address without first arresting them. It has been popular with unimaginative plod to intimidate and harass people for very little reason – and whether this latest failure will help stop further misuse of this controversial piece of legislation remains to be seen!

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