Innocent man freed after police 'fake licence' error

Cobbydaler · 21-02-2012, 21:10

Total incompetence, by the police or DVLA?

Quote:

A Manchester man spent four months in prison after being wrongly charged with holding a fake driving licence.

Syed Manzoor, an asylum seeker living in Rusholme, was held by police who suspected his provisional licence was false as it had a colour photograph.

Mr Manzoor, who was held in Manchester jail, was released after the DVLA was asked to verify the licence.

Neither Greater Manchester Police (GMP) nor prosecutors would say why it took four months to check the licence.

Link

**Damien** · 21-02-2012, 21:15

That really is quite shocking. How can you warrant holding someone for four months before someone asks questions and checks the licence, how did the police get permission to hold him?

BenMcr · 21-02-2012, 21:23

Because he was a shifty foreign person who will run away from good old British justice*:

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereven...cence-was-fake

Quote:

He was charged with fraud and refused bail because magistrates believed he could flee.

*I was paraphrasing there

AndyCambs · 22-02-2012, 09:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenMcr

Because he was a shifty foreign person who will run away from good old British justice*:

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereven...cence-was-fake

*I was paraphrasing there

It would obviously never have happened in Pakistan..

haydnwalker · 22-02-2012, 14:49

My License used to have a colour photo on it, until last year when I had to change my photo due to the 10year rule...

Escapee · 22-02-2012, 15:38

I wonder if there is more to this than meets the eye.

First of all I fail to see why all the blame seems to be directed towards the police. I wonder if DVLA were again a problem in this matter, there has been a few incidents reported in motorcycle news with licence issues. If I recall correctly in one instance the DVLA were taking someone to court because they claimed the licence was fake only for other readers of MCN to come forward and say that their licences were exactly the same. If I recall correctly that case was dropped by the DVLA.

The police suspected that the documentation was not legitimate and they did the right thing by detaining him, the balme obviously lies with the DVLA and the courts not the police. If the person in question was not driving the vehicle or in charge of the vehicle I fail to understand why he produced his licence anyway.

My gf had lots of problems with the DVLA and due to their refusal to change the name on her licence to match her passport (from married back to maiden after divorce) she had to take her driving test again. She now has 2 driving licences, both have the same number and ll other details, the only difference is the surnames. The insurance company has accepted this in writing and so did the suspicious driving examiner who thought she an experienced driver and was sitting the test for someone else.

The DVLA being incompetent and pig headed is nothing new.

**Derek** · 22-02-2012, 17:57

If there isn't more to this story than has been reported I'll eat my hat.

cookie_365 · 22-02-2012, 18:10

Me too. My hat, that is, not Derek's

danielf · 22-02-2012, 18:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derek

If there isn't more to this story than has been reported I'll eat my hat.

Any thoughts on what more there could be? It seems to me that if he'd have been suspected of something serious that would have been powers to detain him anyway? In fact: I'm not sure what would be more worrying: there being more to it and nobody telling, or there not being more to it.

martyh · 22-02-2012, 18:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by danielf

Any thoughts on what more there could be? It seems to me that if he'd have been suspected of something serious that would have been powers to detain him anyway? In fact: I'm not sure what would be more worrying: there being more to it and nobody telling, or there not being more to it.

I think it's more to with him being a asylum seeker .If he was suspected of having a fake licence then the chances are that he will be detained,and it is very common for a bunch of asylum seekers to share a licence ,and he could have been suspected of that and given the complexity of such inquiries it may well take 4 months

**Derek** · 22-02-2012, 18:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by danielf

Any thoughts on what more there could be? It seems to me that if he'd have been suspected of something serious that would have been powers to detain him anyway? In fact: I'm not sure what would be more worrying: there being more to it and nobody telling, or there not being more to it.

Plenty of thoughts, very little evidence.

A dodgy driving license is one thing, the DVLA seem to change the design for a laugh every few years and there are plenty of fakes swimming about but I could confirm with 95% certainty if a license is fake or not in 5 minutes with a radio or phone call and 100% certainty within 24 hours.

Also why did it take his defence 4 months to obtain proof it was legit? A week, a month at most, is a more realistic timetable.

danielf · 22-02-2012, 18:38

Yes, but according to the story he was charged and detained for the fake licence, not something else. Presumably, if he had a case to answer for something else, he should be charged with that? And if they can't make it stick, he shouldn't be detained in drawn out proceedings for a relatively minor offence?

cookie_365 · 22-02-2012, 18:41

Is this a genuine driving license?
Is this man the same person as the one depicted by the license?
Has this man obtained this license using a false identity?

We're being asked to believe that it took 4 months to answer question 1. I'm thinking that maybe it was one of the other questions that was being asked.

danielf · 22-02-2012, 19:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by cookie_365

Is this a genuine driving license?
Is this man the same person as the one depicted by the license?
Has this man obtained this license using a false identity?

We're being asked to believe that it took 4 months to answer question 1. I'm thinking that maybe it was one of the other questions that was being asked.

Could be, but I'm just thinking that if that's the case, he should be detained for the proper reasons. Not make it out as if question 1 is taking an extraordinary length of time to answer when they really want to keep him banged up while they investigate something else.

martyh · 22-02-2012, 19:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by danielf

Yes, but according to the story he was charged and detained for the fake licence, not something else. Presumably, if he had a case to answer for something else, he should be charged with that? And if they can't make it stick, he shouldn't be detained in drawn out proceedings for a relatively minor offence?

If he was being investigated for any other crime in connection with the fake licence i think it was prudent to keep him banged up while the investigation took place ,unfortunately because he is a asylum seeker the likelihood of him absconding is quite high .Of course that line of thinking is dependant on him being investigated for other crimes ,if he wasn't then it's just down shoddy bureaucracy