Student in UK arrested, DNA taken for turning in cell phone

STUDENT ARRESTED...FOR BEING HONEST

Source

Paul Leicester, 18, played the Good Samaritan when he discovered the handset lying in the street. He rang the last number dialled and told a friend of the owner he would leave the phone at a nearby police station. But officers arrested him for “theft by finding”, held him for four hours and took a DNA sample.

Here's my .02...I think they are just trying to get as many people into the system (dna) as possible. Poor kid...

The wave of the future.

It is all about the DNA.

I know this story is from the UK, but how many different agencies(non-law enforcement) have access to the DNA database in the US?

That is an extreme case.

Not a bad hypothesis though, it's sad though that guy will probably never trust a police officer again.

Even if his house is burning down, who to call, the police will just arrest him finding him at fault, for, well, living in the house.

To extreme, he wasn't in the wrong at all.

You smell that, smells like fish, fishy fish.

If he isn't charged, then he can legally have all his details, DNA, prints and mug shot, removed from police files. (bet he doesn't know this though)

That goes for everyone, if you were arrested, had the whole DNA prints mugshot thing, but were not charged, you can get this removed from their files.

reply to post by Acidtastic

If he isn't charged, then he can legally have all his details, DNA, prints and mug shot, removed from police files. (bet he doesn't know this though)

Is there an agency or company that can verify that this is done?

I just wouldn't take their word for it.

So, the real take away lesson here is that if you find something in the UK that you would normally turn into the police, now you should just drop it in a mailbox and be on your way.

I ride my bike to work and have found a number of interesting items in the street including wallets and a passport. I just stop and turn them in at the police station.

If I heard of that happening here, I wouldn't go to the police station anymore.

It's a very negative message that the police are sending.

I once worked with a bagboy who was arrested after finding a pair of expensive sunglasses in a parking lot without immediately turning them in. This stuff happens.

"theft by finding"?!
- a cellphone?
They take DNA?
Be afraid -
Be very afraid.
This is wrong!

[Post removed]



Mod edit: 1h.) Spamming: You will not post identical content, or snippets of identical content, to multiple threads in the discussion forums. You will also not create more than one thread for your topic, or create multiple "slightly different" threads for a single topic.

[edit on 4/8/2009 by Majic]

reply to post by nunya13
Yet more moronically enforced laws. Arresting and taking of dna from someone trying to do the right thing. All the officers involved should be removed from law enforcement to either relearn procedure or be canned.

I'm still trying to determine what police officer had it in his head that a person turning in found property deserves to be arrested. What is the logic train on that one? I don't think there possible could be one.

Like I said, I believe that maybe the police are being told to somehow be proactive in getting as many people's DNA as possible.

I would certainly hope, as one poster said, that they would be able to remove this information from the database.

That is a pure disgrace, and just shows that no one in there right mind would be a good samariten today. Fffing police shuld be locked up.

I wonder how he feels now, and what sort of feelings he has to the police for the rest of his life.

Police are just pure scum, and here is another story that proves it.