police powers

That's actually not true. I do have a few movies on there which I did tell the officers about but they laughed and said as long as you don't have thousands they aren't really interested.

Youll be surprised.

An individual i know got done for three movies from torrent as their machine was searched as they were being imprisoned for a fairly naughty crime. Fine only, but nonetheless.
 
A fine for what exactly?

It WAS heared through the grapvine this story. The individual is in the nick now, and apparently movies were founded on a hdd of his and he was fined for it.

The facts in that I can tell you is that he IS in the nick (for an unrelated crime). The fine, however is what i've been told..

I dont see why you cant be fined, matierial found and not paid for is theft, be it one film or 100,000 films ?
 
I know of no criminal law that allows for this unless he is pirating them and distributing them.

Hmm, maybe I'm wrong then.

That's crazy, downloading a movie and not paying for it, watching it, police knowing and not enforcing it isn't punished?.

I may as well nick a DVD from tesco, tesco would prosecute be it one dvd or 50.

At the end of the day i still have that dvd, unpaid for, be it stolen from a store or downloaded..
 
Hmm, maybe I'm wrong then.

That's crazy, downloading a movie and not paying for it, watching it, police knowing and not enforcing it isn't punished?.

I may as well nick a DVD from tesco, tesco would prosecute be it one dvd or 50.

At the end of the day i still have that dvd, unpaid for, be it stolen from a store or downloaded..

The second part of your post is theft, plain and simple. The former isn't as there is no deprivation of content. That comes under copyright law where the rights holder can sue you for infringement. But like I said, that's a civil matter, not criminal.
 
The second part of your post is theft, plain and simple. The former isn't as there is no deprivation of content. That comes under copyright law where the rights holder can sue you for infringement. But like I said, that's a civil matter, not criminal.

Thanks for the clarification - you'd have to be an idiot to be nicked robbing dvd's nowadays then :D.

Good to know that tbh - and these idiots walking round pubs selling these copies, i assume they're commiting an offence by distributing?

Sounds like you know a lot of such matters. Work for the police? Or studied law? :D
 
Guilty until proven innocent then :D

What I don't like is when I am the victim I get a shoulder shrug from the police and very little of their time.

But you're not the victim :p the victim is

People don't get charged with fraud because someone thinks you look dodgy. They get charged with fraud because fraud happened and there are enough things pointing at you or your work mates to warrent taking your equipment.
 
Good to know that tbh - and these idiots walking round pubs selling these copies, i assume they're commiting an offence by distributing?

Yes, that is a criminal matter and the police should be interested in any information people had on potential offenders.

Sounds like you know a lot of such matters. Work for the police? Or studied law? :D

I studied a few law units as part of my IT degree, especially copyright law. I'm no expert (Fini is the guy you want for that), but I know enough to get by. I'm also a Police Officer in my spare time.
 
Yes, that is a criminal matter and the police should be interested in any information people had on potential offenders.



I studied a few law units as part of my IT degree, especially copyright law. I'm no expert (Fini is the guy you want for that), but I know enough to get by. I'm also a Police Officer in my spare time.

Hampshire specials right? I've seen you around ps.com :p My girlfriend and I sent off our applications earlier this week, may see you around soon!
 
Its a bit disturbing that an innocent person's name, reputation, career can be dragged through the mud purely on the say so of an anonymous witness. What hapenned to the right to privacy and protection from slander, false witness etc ??


No evidence was found to incriminate the OP yet he still has to suffer for months until september.

To my mind all his equipment should be returned forthwith and a written apology from the Chief Constable apologizing for disrupting his work and life and causing undue stress to him.

i would also make enquiries about compensation depending on how long you are suspended for and how long the police deem in necessary to hold onto your personal belongings. I would make a complaint to the IPCC if they do hold onto them for months.

Or perhaps it is normal for police to hold onto belongings (possibly for months) of persons that have nothing to do with any criminal activity...
 
Released on police bail until September.

Right.

If I can make an assumption then, and please correct me if I am wrong, it seems that you may have confused the terms arrest and charge.

If you are on police bail then forget the term charge. A charge is when you are subject to investigation and there is enough evidence to charge you to appear at court, ie you were suspected of fraud, the CPS agree that there is enough evidence to charge you with fraud and you will appear at court to argue your case.

It seems to me that an allegation of fraud has been made and you have been arrested on suspicion of fraud for which an investigation has commenced, there is enough evidence to arrest you but there is insufficient to charge you.

You have been bailed to return to the station in five months time while a full investigation in ongoing into several others as well as you.

I don't know the full facts but it sounds like text book investigative procedure.

Arrest on suspicion of an offence and charge are two seperate things completely.
 
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Its a bit disturbing that an innocent person's name, reputation, career can be dragged through the mud purely on the say so of an anonymous witness. What hapenned to the right to privacy and protection from slander, false witness etc ??

Money laundering regulations and the Proceeds of Crime Act. Which also amusingly make it an offence to tip off if you have a suspicion of fraud so it's not a surprise it's anonymous!
 
This is what I have a problem with. Say if I don't like you, I could just tell the police that you are committing fraud and a few days later you will be in the same position as I am in right now. Amazing.

It's nothing compared to the RIPA act, if you put an encrypted file on someones computer and say to the police they have child porn they could go to prison for years for not giving the police an encryption key they know nothing about, without any evidence whatsoever.
 
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Right.

If I can make an assumption then, and please correct me if I am wrong, it seems that you may have confused the terms arrest and charge.

I am aware with the differences between the terms which is why I did not use the word charge at all in my account of the events.

Also, as I have plenty of spare time I am currently researching a potential flaw in the case which if I can find evidence for, will prove that no fraud took place and we could have the entire case thrown out.
 
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I am aware with the differences between the terms which is why I did not use the word charge at all in my account of the events.

Also, as I have plenty of spare time I am currently researching a potential flaw in the case which if I can find evidence for, will prove that no fraud took place and we could have the entire case thrown out.

Don't forget that the CPS (if they do bring charges against you), donot always get things right and they are not always fair. You will be shocked if you knew some of the ludicrous things which I've seen them charge people with - some of these things are blatant lies/fabrication (I was eye witness to certain events and had to attend court to give my testimony and luckily the innocent guy got off the evidence/charges were quite frankly, ridiculous).

So, if you are innocent of something, the CPS sometimes push their luck, hoping to get a conviction on something that has no basis. Remember, some people just plead guilty as its the easy way out - pleading not guilty could result in a lengthy case which some people don't want to put themselves through.

Anyway, good luck with your case (if you do get charged with something).
 
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