Hertfordshire Police has paid £20,000 in damages after unlawfully arresting a couple over WhatsApp messages linked to a dispute with their child’s primary school.
Rosalind Levine and Maxie Allen were detained for 11 hours in January after raising concerns about school leadership in a parents’ WhatsApp group. Six officers arrived at their home, arresting Levine in front of her three-year-old child.
The force has now accepted liability, admitting the legal test for arrest was not met. However, it stressed no misconduct findings were made against individual officers.
Allen, a Times Radio producer and local councillor, said the payout was significant but the key issue was recognition that the arrest was unlawful. Levine described the ordeal as deeply upsetting, adding: “I don’t trust the police. I’m angry mostly for my children.”
The case has sparked wider debate about how schools and police handle parental complaints, with Hertfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner acknowledging the matter should never have escalated into a criminal investigation.
