Police fell foul of EU residency rules when seizing vehicle

An EU national working in Scotland, who took his case all the way to the High Court to have his conviction for driving an uninsured vehicle quashed, should receive an apology from Strathclyde Police for the unlawful seizure of his car, according to the Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland.

The man was convicted in 2008 of driving without valid insurance. Following an application to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC), his conviction was overturned by the High Court in 2010, after the Crown acknowledged that he had a valid certificate of insurance in place at the time.

The man originally complained to Strathclyde Police about the seizure of his vehicle in 2009, maintaining that he held valid insurance. He complained again to Strathclyde Police in 2010 after his conviction was quashed, and did not accept the force's response that the officers' actions were "lawful,.... and based upon their interpretation of the statutory provision in force at that time." At this point he took his case to the Police Complaints Commissioner.

In his review the Commissioner established that the decision by Strathclyde Police in 2009 to seize the vehicle was based on their calculation that the man had exceeded the 185 days of "normal residence" in the UK and therefore should have registered, licensed and insured his vehicle in the UK.

However, in 2010 the SCCRC found that in terms of European legislation, the residence period should be calculated over calendar years, starting with the date of entry to the country by the individual. In this case this meant that he had been in the country for just 14 days in the calendar year when his vehicle was seized.

In his review, Professor McNeill said that Strathclyde Police had missed an opportunity in 2010 to revise its earlier approach to the complaint, in the light of the man's acquittal and went on to recommend that they now apologise for the unlawful seizure of the car.

As a result of this case, Professor McNeill has said that there is now significant doubt as to whether the official approach taken to calculate periods of normal residence in the UK is correct. Specifically, it appears that in terms of European legislation, the period should be calculated over individual calendar years rather than over "any" 12 month period.