Mr Morris, 25, of Chapel Allerton, Leeds, said: "I couldn't believe it. No one I've mentioned it has heard of this happening. It seems outrageous. So what if I had left my window open? If anything had been taken then it'd have been my own fault." Mr Morris, currently unemployed, parked his Volkswagen Polo on Lovell Park Hill, near to the city centre, while he went for a job interview on Monday. He returned an hour-and-a-half later to discover it gone. Believing it to stolen, he contacted police who told him they had removed it to protect it from thieves.
A window had been left open, they said, and a CD wallet was in the back of the car. The vehicle had been taken to a storage facility. When Mr Morris went to collect his car the next morning he was handed a £150 bill. He said: "I'm not working at the moment and that's a lot of money for me. It's money I don't think I should have had to pay." West Yorkshire Police said it made no apology for taking the action. Chief Inspector Elizabeth Belton, of North West Leeds Division, said: "Officers regularly patrol our communities looking for opportunities to prevent crime, which is exactly what has happened on this occasion.
"The vehicle was left insecure with valuables on show in an area with significant levels of car crime and we were unable to locate the owner. We make absolutely no apology whatsoever for the officer's actions, which have prevented this vehicle becoming a target for thieves. Had a thief got there first it would have been a very different story. We need people to take responsibility for their own property and leave their vehicles secure and take any valuables with them every time they park up. We hope Mr Morris's story will serve as a reminder." The charges made for the recovery and storage of vehicles are set nationally by the Government.
3 comments:
Erm, if the car was not parked illegally then surely the police have committed what's called TWOC - Taken Without Owner's Consent.
Yes I know that parking anywhere other than your own driveway or a designated car park is technically illegal because you're potentially blocking a public highway, but if there's no "no parking" sign or yellow lines, then the police ought to have no right to remove the vehicle.
So they protect people from thieves... by being thieves?
Looks like nothing more than a money grab to me. Glad I don't live in nanny-state Britain...
If you read post 8 at the Yorkshire Eveneing Post, then you will see this is not unusual in West Yorkshire.
And THEY ARE WRONG and persistence will get them to give in.
http://tinyurl.com/carnicked
Xantos,
Yorkshire 31/05/2010 15:14:38
"I read with interest the article about Marcus Morris' car which was 'stolen' by West Yorkshire police recently. Exactly the same happened to us in West Yorkshire last year - my wife's car was removed because it had been left with the window open. We had loss of earnings and a 160 mile round trip to recover the car on top of the £150 pounds.
I was so incensed that I carried out extensive research on the legal framework surrounding the removal of vehicles. This confirmed my belief that the police are not empowered to remove vehicles in these circumstances. I exchanged letters and emails with West Yorkshire police for over six months asking repeatedly "under what legislation are the police empowered to remove a vehicle that has been left with the window open?" I never got a reply to that question. A freedom of Information request revealed that they didn't have a policy on the removal of vehicles in these circumstances. Unable to answer my questions, they eventually put the case in the hands of their solicitors. Three weeks later I received an email stating that they would reimburse me for all costs incurred. I said "thank you" and, quoting a number of similar cases taken out against local authorities whos had removed vehicle illegally, respectfully invited them to pay compensation on top of costs. A short while later I was offered £350 which I accepted.
What I really wanted but never got was an apology and for them to admit they were wrong."
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