A Ryde woman appeared before the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court this morning (Tuesday), where she was fined a total of £2 using a 132-year-old law, after pleading guilty to behaving indecently at a police station.
Claire Phipps, 57, of Monkton Street, pleaded guilty to 1 charge of behaving in an indecent manner, namely shouting, swearing and being generally rude and verbally abusive while visiting the front office at Newport Police Station.
Magistrates ordered Phipps, who was charged using a law that was brought into place in 1894, to pay a total £87, which was made up of a £2 fine and £85 costs.
Nick Muir, defending, told the court that Phipps was visiting the Police Station to retrieve her mobile phone, a phone which she doesn’t know why the Police had in the first place.
The 57-year-old sniggered as the fine was handed down to her.
The 132 year old law needs updating.
A waste of public money. They should’ve just kicked her out and told her to clear off.
Quite right. In my day, the Inspector kicked the arse of a difficult ‘complainer ‘ down the entire length of the ramp of Truro police station.
Bloody pathetic.
The Offence is actually contained in the Town Police Clauses Act 1847. The offence carries a maximum penalty of a fine of forty shillings (£2) or seven days imprisonment.
What on earth were the police thinking bringing such a charge and why did the CPS agree to prosecute it? There are other offences that could be charged or perhaps the pragmatic response would have been to eject her from the premises.
If the police are such snowflakes that they have to use a 132 year old law to deal with a bit of rudeness, they are clearly in the wrong job.
All the crime going on and there wasting time on this rubbish wasting tax payers money embrassing
That sums up the iow nothing better to do
What a waste of time FFS