Police forced entry, HELP

Optimist

From information received from the neighbours, the police had reason to believe a 82 year old lady was injured or worse. They were within their rights to force entry.

You can ask for compensation to repair the damage but as this would seem to be a lawful entry they have no obligation to pay compensation. They might be persuaded to make a ex gratia payment but don't depend on it.

If your mother is not insured then you can try asking, and putting in a complaint on the grounds the damage was disproportionate.

Getting your MP involved might help otherwise it would be a civil action and suing the police can be difficult at best so you would need a good solicitor.

rev_henry

Does she have legal cover with her home insurance? Ask them to sort it out...

vyle

Interesting. I remember on Road Wars, the police had to force entry, after trying for about 5 minutes to make contact with a woman who had been reported missing for a few days by her neighbours.

When she had a go at them they said, "Oh sorry, of course we'll pay for the repair, a locksmith will be round later today to fix your locks."

Of course, that WAS for television.

gordikin

....in the thousands of damage....detail it.

antrobus

brian.gas wrote: »

My 82 year old mother went to stay with family for 24 hours. On returning home, her back door had been smashed beyond recognition, as neighbours had concerns because they had not seen her.

The damage done is in the thousands of pounds (Door, door casing, plaster, brick work and decorating). Who is held responsible for the repair? The police are saying it is up to my mother.

Can anybody help with any advice of how to pursue?

Thanks.

The answer might well be here:-

http://www.parliament.uk/briefingpapers/commons/lib/research/briefings/snha-05524.pdf

From which I would conclude that since the police were acting out of genuine concern for the well being of your mother in breaking in to the house, then there is nothing you can do to force them to pay compensation.

File an insurance claim.

pendulum

dmg24 wrote: »

So if they couldn't see her (illness does not tend to wait until you are near a window), and she was unconscious inside, they should have rang a locksmith who might have arrived in an hour or two?

Yes, that's right, although it should be possible to get a locksmith within 30 minutes to an hour unless it's a rural location. Remember there was just a suspicion that she may have fallen ill, based only on the fact nobody had seen her for 24 hours, so gaining entry was only part of the investigation to check this out, it wasn't a "Right, she's in there, let's smash the door down" job.

I notice the OP has thanked your post though, so he seems to agree that what the police did was necessary. In that case, I think he should be happy for him or his family to pay for the repairs.

If her neighbours knew her well enough to notice she wasn't about for just 24 hours, I'm surprised they didn't have a spare key, or know a family member who they could contact to voice their concerns and get them to come round and check on her. I suggest the OP does share his number with his mum's neighbours, so that if they get worried again, they can give him a call rather than the police.

dmg24

pendulum wrote: »

Yes, that's right, although it should be possible to get a locksmith within 30 minutes to an hour unless it's a rural location. Remember there was just a suspicion that she may have fallen ill, based only on the fact nobody had seen her for 24 hours, so gaining entry was only part of the investigation to check this out, it wasn't a "Right, she's in there, let's smash the door down" job.

I notice the OP has thanked your post though, so he seems to agree that what the police did was necessary. In that case, I think he should be happy for him or his family to pay for the repairs.

If her neighbours knew her well enough to notice she wasn't about for just 24 hours, I'm surprised they didn't have a spare key, or know a family member who they could contact to voice their concerns and get them to come round and check on her. I suggest the OP does share his number with his mum's neighbours, so that if they get worried again, they can give him a call rather than the police.

I know a locksmith who does emergency work for the police. He is expected to be there within a few hours, basically the police will leave and he calls them when he is on the way. Obviously he could be at another job already, but he'll definitely make it there the same night.

If the police did as you suggest and left it for a few hours, and it did turn out that there was someone ill inside the property there would be an outcry. Plus, how would the officer feel knowing that they had left someone in pain, potentially to die?

Given that the lady involved was elderly, I think the course of action taken was very responsible and should actually be applauded (as should the actions of the neighbour for caring, something which is all too rare nowadays).

pendulum

Well, I still think smashing the door down is the last resort, not the first, so we will have to agree to disagree.

asbokid

pendulum wrote: »

Well, I still think smashing the door down is the last resort, not the first

You're right.. if it was puttied single glazing, then even smashing a large pane in a picture window would cause just a fraction of the damage of bashing down an exterior door.

You find the smallest window, often it's to a cloakroom or bathroom. Make sure it has no key-operated locks fitted to it. Maybe get a ladder to reach to an upstairs window. You cover the pane with a sweater and shatter the glass with a heavy instrument. Lean through, open the latch and you're in. Done it a million times, broad daylight, middle of the night. the technique is the same.

Short of battering a hole in the wall or lifting off the roof, smashing down a solid exterior door that is fitted with decent locks to gain entry, must be the most costly way.

Sounds like the Rozzers have wreaked havoc, wrecking not only the door itself but all the locks, the door frame, the brickwork forming the aperture, exterior rendering, interior plastering and exterior and interior paintwork.

Darksun

asbokid wrote: »

Short of battering a hole in the wall or lifting off the roof, smashing down a solid exterior door that is fitted with decent locks to gain entry, must be the most costly way.

Sounds like the Rozzers have wreaked havoc, wrecking not only the door itself but all the locks, the door frame, the brickwork forming the aperture, exterior rendering, interior plastering and exterior and interior paintwork.

Yeah, but from the police's point of view, forcing the door is the safest way of gaining entry to the premises (and probably the quickest as well). If they were to break a window and have to climb through it there would be obvious H&S concerns, and even more so if it involved climbing a ladder to an upstairs window.

I'm not one to normally defend the police but here it really does seem damned if they do, damned if they don't. They had no way of knowing what had happened to OP's mother and have to assume the worst case, which justifies forcing entry. Hopefully the home insurance will cover it and OP will know to inform neighbour's in future if his mother is not going to be around. I believe it may also be possible to register keyholder details with the police, so that if they're ever worried they can contact the keyholders first (friends/family in the area) to check the situation and gain entry to the premises without causing damage.