Police have been criticised for their heavy-handed approach to minor incidents while dangerous crimes remain unresolved.
It comes after officers handed out a warning letter to a woman for alleged mushroom picking and a mother and father were arrested for criticising their daughter’s school over WhatsApp.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp lambasted the actions by police and demanded that they turn their attention to ‘ruthlessly’ investigating hardened criminals.
His comments also come after more than 20 officers from the Metropolitan Police burst into a Quaker meeting house last week and arrested six women over fears they were planning a protest.
Maxie Allen, 50, a Times Radio producer, and his partner Rosalind Levine, 46, were arrested on suspicion of harassment and malicious communications after a dispute with their daughter’s school.
Six officers arrived at their home in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, and the couple were arrested in front of their three-year-old daughter in January. After a five-week investigation, no charge was brought against them.
In another case, Louise Gather, 38, from Leicestershire, was handed a letter from police telling her to stop picking mushrooms at a site of special scientific interest in a park following a complaint by the charity which looks after it.
Ms Gather said she became aware there was a problem in November when an officer arrived at her home.
She said she was not picking the rare magpie inkcaps at Bradgate Park but carrying out research.
Ms Gather was told to adhere to a community resolution report – an informal agreement between a complainant and an alleged offender – to avoid getting a criminal record.
In a social media post, she said: ‘The whole thing feels a bit silly. I don’t think much common sense has been used.
‘It was a bit excessive to send a policeman to my house, especially as I didn’t pick anything from the park.’
Mr Philp criticised the police for their overbearing attitude and a ‘total waste of police time’.
He said: ‘These cases show the police are getting their priorities completely wrong. Police should not be wasting time and resources harassing innocent members of the public over online comments that clearly do not come close to the criminal threshold.’
He added: ‘I want to see the police instead spending their time ruthlessly investigating every single real crime and catching actual criminals.
‘This is what the police exist to do. They must stop policing hurt feelings.’
In the same area, a group of thieves and a gang that attacked children are still on the loose after it was revealed police had failed to track them down.
The incidents are said to have seen a pair of teenage boys and a girl in December 2024 stolen from, while three men left a resident injured after breaking into his property last November.
Detectives claim to be investigating the crimes, but have yet failed to identify any of the suspects.
Conservative MP Sir David Davis also agreed that the police ought to be prioritising serious crime.
He said: ‘Robbery, burglary and violent crime are what people want the police to be focusing on.
‘One of the great aspects of Britain’s history is that we had a police force which traditionally did not interfere with matters of free speech.
‘But since the end of the pandemic this has changed and we now have political correctness hysteria.’
As regards the investigation into alleged mushroom picking, a spokesman for Leicestershire Police said: ‘Inquiries were carried out into the report and an officer visited the woman’s home address, where a community resolution was issued in relation to the offence.
‘Bradgate Park is a site of special scientific interest, which is covered by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and Nature Conservation Act 2004.’
In relation to the couple arrested over harassment, a spokesman for Hertfordshire Police said: ‘The arrests were necessary to fully investigate the allegations as is routine in these types of matters.
‘Following further investigations, officers deemed that no further action should be taken due to insufficient evidence.’
