Oh yes!!

[Raptorace]

NFA'd!!!!!!!!!!!!
Got the call from my solicitor yesterday, I'm so happy the nightmare is over. My wife and I can actually smile again and sleep again and move on. We have big hangovers from last night as many of our good friends that have supported us through it all came straight round to celebrate.

So I wanted to come right back to the forum this morning to say thanks to all on here for your help and support, and most importantly to say to those awaiting charge that even a complicated case with strong circumstantial evidence for and against you, the case can still be NFA'd so there is hope.

[Saffron]

YAY!!!!
Great news, I am so pleased for you

[felix]

Don't want to pee on your party....

Congratulaions - just be ready not to feel as happy and relieved once the news sinks sinks in properly. I have in many ways felt as bad as I did since my NFA (after the initial euphoria had warn off) as I did before my NFA.

I confess to being plagued with questions:

Why can't I defend myself?
Why can't I probe my innocence?
Why do I have an arrest on my record when I am innocent?
Why has my ECRB been tainted?
Why can't I contact her and ask her what the hell she was up to?
Why can't I sue her?
Why won't the police prosecutre and lock her up for years?
Why did she do it?
Why me? What did I do wrong?
Why can't I get heavies to go round and rough her up?
How do I stop her attacking me again?
How can she continue as a respected memeber of the legal proession when she made up these vile lies?
Why can't I tell her what hell I have been through?
Why can't I be de-arrested with the same degree of drama as when I was arrested?
Why is it fair that I will find it hard to go to the USA or Canada ever again?

They go round and round and round. It is a hellish thing for someone to have done, and practically they will always get away in our current police state without any penalty (unless they foolishly withdraw the allegation at some stage and the police get off their asses and do something about it).

Sorry, but a number of us on here can attest to the same reactions - and friends / spouse may not understand......

I just hope you are able to shrug it off and be positive, and I will pray that you can
Felix

[RFLH]

congratulations, I'm very pleased to hear this, as Felix said - you may well feel down again once the euphoria has died down - but that is normal!

[Raptorace]

Thanks guys,
Yer Felix ALL those questions still need answers in my mind too. I'm meeting my sol next week to discuss suing for deformation and clearing my record. What did u mean about not being able to visit USA?

[felix]

You have to declare an arrest on the aplication for Visa Waiver which means you can't apply for the visa waiver. You have apply for a visa through the US embassy. To do that you need a letter from Association of Chief Police Officers in London. These letters are issued easily enough, but there is a delay and they are only valid 6 months. Basically, if you are doing regular business trips to the USA or Canada this is really onerous and you have to explain it to your boss....

Am I wrong, anyone...

This ain't fair.....

[Verity]

Sadly Felix, you are right.
I have a friend who has gone to his MP about this issue as he is now effectively (as are all who have been arrested) a prisoner in this country.
He cannot accept contracts abroad, so limiting his job opportunities and financial status.
The arrest stays on record forever.
It is one hell of a fight to get DNA and other details expunged and destroyed, which is a clear violation of European Court ruling; S and Marper v United Kingdom December 2008.

I am seriously thinking of gathering a group of victims falsely accused together, find a QC and start a class action in the European Court of Human Rights against HM Government to force this and any other administration to obey the HRA 1998 that was drawn up by British lawyers and ratified onto the Statute books by Labour (Tony Blair et al).

The male witch hunt going on in this country has to be stopped.
Verity. x

[Raptorace]

Great idea Verity

After reading this I sp with my sol and he told me there was no problem with visiting USA for business nor pleasure. How can I find out for sure?

[Rights Fighter]

Apply for a Visa and see what happens.

[felix]

The soecific issue is how to answer the quesion (on line) have you ever been arrested. If you answer 'yes' you can't be part of visa waiver scheme.... If you answer 'no' you are lying.....

[Rights Fighter]

There is your answer then. You would probably have to go through the other channel already mentioned.

[the advocate]

If you have been arrested for a crime involving 'moral turpitude', you can't go through the visa waiver program unless you lie and risk being sent back to the UK again. However, it is possible to get your arrest records, DNA etc removed from the Police National Computer.

The ACPO Retention of Records Guidelines 2006 (Appendix 2) states that Chief Officers have the discretion to authorise the deletion of any specific data entry on the PNC owned by them. They are also responsible for the authorisation of the destruction of DNA and Fingerprints associated with that specific entry. It is suggested that this discretion should only be exercised in ‘Exceptional Circumstances’.

Exceptional Circumstances are defined as:

• Wrongful/Unlawful Arrest
• Mistaken Identity
• No Crime Committed

I have nearly completed this stage as I applied under the grounds that no crime was committed. I have been told that my records are going to be deleted, but I have not yet had confirmation that this has now been done.

What helped me with this was that I had gone to my MP, and whilst I wrote all the reasoning why I beleived that no crime had been committed, my MP co-ordiated the sending of it to the Police, and they replied to him. I do beleive that it helps to have your MP onside, as they will be less likely to fob you off or delay responding to correspondence if they have to deal also with him or her.

Do beware, it is an uphill struggle, as the latest figures I've seen show that (and these are from memory) that in 2007 about 150 people had their records destroyed an in 2008 the number had increased to about 250.

I have yet to find out how the destruction of records affects the application for a US visa, and if the records being destroyed effectively put me back in the position I was before the arrest, ie being able to use the visa waiver programme, or if I still have to apply for a visa in advance but can use the destruction of records as proof of my innocence.

And in the midst of all this, Well done Raptorace for being NFA'd !!!!

[Raptorace]

Well ive learned a huge amount over the last 6 terrible months, and one thing that has surprised me is how easily the authorities believed the lies being peddled. With that in mind I shall simply answer the visa question with a "no" and expect the same shoddy standard of investigation to be applied to my application, in which case I'll be absolulty fine!!