LEGAL HELP
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I am a Prison Officer and I am part of the Control and Restraint Team for a large prison.
I got paged by the Governor as an inmate had become violent and had started an incident which was in danger of getting out of hand. This was in the early hours of the morning. I rode into the prison pretty briskly, assisted with the violent inmate and went back home.
4 days later the local "Scamera" partnership tried to nick me for speeding (64 in a 50) even though I was going to an emergency. What are my rights?
You were speeding and therefore committing the offence , but you have "special reasons" for speeding – a genuine reason why you objectively needed to speed. Brother Officers and other inmates were at risk.
Your best bet is to write to the Scamera partnership with a letter from your Governor explaining the situation and clearly state you are offering special reasons.
They will ignore this letter or pass it on to the Prosecutors. If the Prosecutor is not a complete numpty the case will be dropped. If it is not, then get professional representation.
Expect to pay around £500 to £600 for representation in Court by an experienced advocate who will, once the case is dropped, ask the Magistrates to pay your fees from the Government as this case should never have been brought once the facts were known. That is why it is important to write in, so you can show the case should have been dropped before it ever got to court and before you needed a brief.