What Offence?

[sherrardk]

If someone sends a letter 'claiming' that the letter is from the police, what offence has been committed? Thanks (ps - I am not thinking of doing such a thing, we have been sent one.)

[AlwaysConfused]

It's got to be the same offence as impersonating a police officer?

[DJHawkes]

it depends whether it is on official police paper that has been photocopied or if it's a letter written on official paper but it's not official they are in Sugar as it means someone is impersonating a police official. but you'd need to prove who had done it, send it to trace for DNA and fingerprints and keep the envelope for the same and check where it was posted to enable the CSI to check CCTV footage of the perp posting it.

[heathfield]

"Fraud by false representation and making or supplying an article for use in fraud". In one such case, magistrates forwarded it to Crown Court. They felt their sentencing powers were not strong enough to properly punish the writer of the letter.

[Sharingan]

I think it might be called ' making a false instrument' which is often involved with ' obtaining goods or services by deception', but I think this covers the same principle as it pertains to be something it is not in order to get a result or response of some sort. It's certainly illegal to impersonate the Police either in person or on paper.

[Sharingan]

Sorry you weren't there Heathfield, when I began :)

[Canary42]

Presumably you have checked with the police (to have determined it is a fake) so what did they say ?

[sherrardk]

I'm not actually going to do nothing about it (it is so fake - it's from 'Hereford police', it's actually West Mercia police around here). I just have a feeling that my nutty neighbour is about to 'start up' again and I want to scare the Sugar out of him if he does start.

[Peter Pedant]

Oh if you have a nutty neighbour - then you really must do something about it. Remember you dont know it is him.

The very least you can do is take it down to a police station and say this is a forgery. I think you could also say it is harassment - a course of action intended to intimidate.

trouble is you dont know it is the nut next door
however you can be sure that if it is...it wont go away if you ignore it

[sherrardk]

Peter P, it's one of a long list of stupid stuff he has done (he has a certain nutty swagger about him). I have been super nice to him which is doing his head in (I wave when I see him, say hello in a v cheery voice, gave them my phone number when he had a bad leg (in case he needed help when his wife was out - made his wife cry because no one had been so nice to them, etc). We don't speak to our landlord often, but when we do he always asks if everything is ok with the neighbour. I feel sorry for his wife, half expect her to start lobbing notes over the fence asking for us to he her escape.

[joko]

photocopy it and send one back...

the exact same letter, with his name and address on it

if it was him, he will know you know, if it wasn't, then hes in the same boat as you.

[FredPuli43]

Very neat, joko !