Lizzie Dearden – The Independent April 3, 2020 via Yahoo News
A woman who was fined £660 had been wrongfully charged with a crime under new coronavirus laws, police have admitted.
Marie Dinou, 41, had refused to give police officers her name, address or reasons for travel.
They questioned her because she was “loitering between platforms” at Newcastle Central station on Saturday.
She was convicted of an offence under the Coronavirus Act 2020 at North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on Monday, despite not being present at the hearing.
A judge fined her £660 and ordered her to pay a £66 victim surcharge and £85 in costs.
Following concerns raised by legal professionals, the conviction is to be quashed and police admitted it “shouldn’t have happened”.
It comes amid confusion over the extent of the new coronavirus laws and concern about inconsistent enforcement between different police forces.
British Transport Police (BTP) said it had conducted a review with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that “established that Marie Dinou was charged under the incorrect section of the Coronavirus Act 2020”.
In response to questions from The Independent, the force said it had asked North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court for the case to be relisted and the conviction to be set aside.
“Having reassessed the matter, BTP will not pursue any alternative prosecution,” a spokesperson said.
Ms Dinou had been kept in police custody for two full days between her arrest on Saturday morning and the court hearing on Monday.
Ms Dinou had been suspected of a railway ticket offence, but the Coronavirus Act 2020 – which only applies to “potentially infectious persons” was used to prosecute her instead.
Deputy Chief Constable Adrian Hanstock said “There will be understandable concern that our interpretation of this new legislation has resulted in an ineffective prosecution.
“This was in circumstances where officers were properly dealing with someone who was behaving suspiciously in the station, and who staff believed to be travelling without a valid ticket. Officers were rightfully challenging her unnecessary travel.
“Regardless, we fully accept that this shouldn’t have happened and we apologise. It is highly unusual that a case can pass through a number of controls in the criminal justice process and fail in this way.”
“Behaving suspiciously at a station”. Did they arrest the train that was waiting suspiciously by the platform? Never has the saying ‘Free as a bird’ ever been so true as today. Was she charged for attempting to travel without a valid ticket? No. The police can’t effect an arrest without endangering life, work that one out.
How was she fined and convicted if she didn’t give a name or address?
They need a ‘person’ to attach a complaint to – without it they have nothing.
I don’t like the idea of the British Transport Police. They should have been disbanded years ago when our railway service was privatised by John Major. A cabal of privateers having its own police force is unhealthy for democracy. As railway company owners Richard Branson and his kind surely have access to the investigatory powers of the British Transport Police, a bit like having their own private police force with powers of arrest, and that just isn’t right.
Wow. Its truly an Orwellian society now. Maybe she was secretly dragged off to Room 101 to be tortured.
Predictive programming letting you all know that the new laws will be implemented softly. Love those fine amounts though, they just can’t help themselves.