The Queen (on the application of AR) v The Chief Constable of the Greater Manchester Police and Another Disclosure and Barring Service (Interested Party)
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judge | Judge Raynor |
| Judgment Date | 05 September 2013 |
| Neutral Citation | [2013] EWHC B19 Admin |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division (Administrative Court) |
| Date | 05 September 2013 |
| Docket Number | Case No: CO/13845/2012 |
[2013] EWHC B19 (Admin)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT AT MANCHESTER
His Honour Judge Raynor QC
sitting as a judge of the High Court
Case No: CO/13845/2012
and
Mr Hugh Southey QC (instructed by Stephensons Solicitors LLP) for the Claimant
Ms Jennie Powsney (instructed by the Greater Manchester Police) for the 1 st Defendant
Mr Jason Coppel QC (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor) for the 2 nd Defendant
Judge Raynor QC
This is a claim for judicial review arising out of the issuing of an enhanced criminal record certificate (ECRC) to the claimant on 28 March 2012 in connection with his application for a licence as a private hire driver. As defined in the skeleton argument submitted by his Counsel, Mr Hugh Southey QC, the issues which arise are
a) whether the disclosure was a breach of the presumption of innocence under article 6(2) of the European Convention on Human Rights;
b) whether the disclosure was procedurally unfair because it was inconsistent with the claimant's acquittal and/or occurred without consultation, and
c) whether the retention and disclosure of data regarding the acquittal is and was a breach of article 8 of ECHR.
On 8 March 2013 HH Judge Davies granted permission on the papers to proceed with the claim against the Chief Constable. Although he refused permission to proceed with the claim against the Secretary of State, she has appeared before me by Mr Jason Coppel QC.
On 21 March 2013 Judge Davies granted an Anonymity Order in favour of the claimant, providing that he should be referred to thereafter as "A R".
The ECRC was issued under the provisions of section 113B of the Police Act 1997, which so far as material at the relevant time provided as follows:
(1) An enhanced criminal record certificate is a certificate which –
(a) gives the prescribed details of every relevant matter relating to the applicant which is recorded in central records and any information provided in accordance with subsection (4), or
(b) states that there is no such matter or information.
(4) Before issuing an enhanced criminal record certificate the Secretary of State must request the chief officer of every relevant police force to provide any information which, in the chief officer's opinion –
(a) might be relevant for the purpose described in the statement under subsection (2) and
(b) ought to be included in the certificate".
As will be seen, the issue in this case concerns s.113B(4)(b), not s.113B(4)(a).
The part of the ECRC which is complained of stated as follows:
" Other relevant information disclosed at the Chief Police Officer(s) discretion
Greater Manchester
GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE HOLD INFORMATION CONCERNING [AR] DOB…. THAT IN THE OPINION OF THE CHIEF OFFICER MIGHT BE RELEVANT TO THIS APPLICATION, AND OUGHT TO BE DISCLOSED UNDER PART V OF THE POLICE ACT 1997.
ON 04/11/09 POLICE WERE INFORMED OF AN ALLEGATION OF RAPE. A 17-YEAR OLD FEMALE ALLEGED THAT WHILST SHE HAD BEEN INTOXICATED AND TRAVELLING IN A TAXI, THE DRIVER HAD CONVEYED HER TO A SECLUDED LOCATION WHERE HE FORCIBLY HAD SEX WITH HER WITHOUT HER CONSENT.
AR WAS IDENTIFIED AS THE DRIVER AND WAS ARRESTED. UPON INTERVIEW HE STATED THAT THE FEMALE HAD BEEN A PASSENGER IN HIS TAXI, BUT DENIED HAVING SEX WITH HER, CLAIMING THAT SHE HAD MADE SEXUAL ADVANCES TOWARDS HIM WHICH HE HAD REJECTED. FOLLOWING CONSIDERATION BY THE CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE, HE WAS CHARGED WITH RAPE OF FEMALE AGED 16 YEARS OR OVER, AND APPEARED BEFORE BOLTON CROWN COURT ON 21/01/11 WHERE HE WAS FOUND NOT GUILTY AND THE CASE WAS DISCHARGED."
The facts
As appears from the ECRC, in January 2011 the claimant (who was then nearly 33) was tried at Bolton Crown Court on a charge of rape allegedly committed shortly after 1 a.m. on 4 November 2009. The essential facts are summarised in the ECRC. I have taken the following further matters from the transcript of the evidence of Ms Sonia Marshall, a forensic scientist, and from the transcript of the judge's summing up to the jury.
a) The complainant in evidence alleged that after she had got into the taxi the claimant had on a number of occasions asked her for "a blow job", and she had refused. Afterwards he stopped the car and got into the back with her where, after pulling down his trousers, putting on a condom and pulling down her trousers and thong, he forcibly had sex with her without her consent and in spite of her resistance. He then took her home and sped off.
b) Her mother gave evidence that on her return home the complainant was tense and agitated and said that the taxi driver had kept asking for "a blow job". However she made no complaint of rape or of being attacked.
c) The following day the complainant went to college, and witnesses gave evidence of her distress there. She complained to a teacher (in effect) that she had been raped by a taxi driver, following which the police were called.
d) On a medical examination that morning it was found that she had a small abrasion at the entrance to her vagina consistent with recent penetration or attempted penetration by an erect penis or other hard object, but also consistent with some non-sexual cause.
e) There was no semen found on vaginal swabs taken on examination of the complainant, nor on her thong or the claimant's underwear, but that was not unexpected if a condom had been worn. Indeed there was no semen, DNA or other forensic evidence to link the claimant and complainant, but that could be explained if a condom had been worn.
f) There were trace amounts of DNA from another man on the complainant's thong, but the same could remain even following numerous machine washes. (The complainant's evidence was that she had last had intercourse with another man approximately 6 weeks previously).
g) The claimant was a man of good character, who from the time of his first police interview on 5 November 2009 had consistently denied any sexual contact with the complainant and given a consistent account of events. He said that after he had stopped outside her home she jumped into the front of the vehicle and said that she wanted to give him "a blow job" and wanted company. He said he refused, stating that he was married and a professional man – he was a qualified teacher but had not been able to obtain employment as such. He said that she eventually got out of his vehicle and he left her standing in the road.
h) The case was left to the jury and, as previously stated, the claimant was acquitted on 21 January 2011.
On 22 March 2011 an ECRC was issued by the Criminal Records Bureau, the predecessor to the Disclosure and Barring Service, on the claimant's application in connection with his proposed employment as a lecturer. The "other relevant information" contained in the Certificate was in identical terms to that set out in the certificate issued on 28 March 2012.
On 20 April 2011 the claimant complained to the Chief Constable about that disclosure stating:
"There is no conviction. The jury rejected the complainant's evidence and the disclosure of the allegation is so prejudicial as to prevent me from being fairly considered for employment. Even if the disclosure of the allegation was possibly appropriate the disclosure fails to provide a full account of the evidence given and how the jury came to its conclusion. It is wrong, unfair and grossly prejudicial [that] I should have to defend myself every time I apply for employment after the jury have ruled I am an innocent man".
The police rejected that complaint.
The claimant then appealed against that decision and the Police Occupation Checks Unit rejected the appeal, having considered a review carried out by Susanna Wilson on 19 March 2012. At the time of her review Ms Wilson had the transcripts previously referred to but no other trial transcripts.
She concluded, in accordance with section 113B(4)(a), that the information was relevant to considerations of risk that the claimant might pose to children or vulnerable persons (and no complaint is made regarding this conclusion). It is thus accepted by the claimant that the Chief Constable was entitled to conclude that the first condition for disclosure, namely that set out in s. 113B(4)(a), was satisfied.
Ms Wilson then went on to consider whether, in accordance with s.113B(4)(b), the information ought to be included in the certificate.
She first set out her reasons for concluding that the information was of sufficient quality to pass the required test under the Guidance applicable at the material time, namely whether it was reasonable to believe that the information might be true. Since extensive complaint is made of this analysis, it is necessary for me to set it out in full:
"I believe the information is of sufficient quality to pass the required test because:
• There was sufficient evidence for the CPS to authorise the applicant being charged with Rape, indicating that they believed there to be a realistic prospect of conviction. If the CPS had not believed the allegation, they would not have authorised the charge. This indicates that on the balance of probabilities the allegation was more likely to be true than false.
• Although the applicant was found not guilty by the jury, the test for criminal conviction is beyond all reasonable doubt, which is higher than that required for CRB disclosure purposes. Therefore the applicant's acquittal does not prove that he was innocent, or even that the jury though he was innocent, just that he could not be proved guilty beyond all reasonable doubt.
• In the applicant's letter to the IGU he states that another male's DNA was found...
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