How can I prove I am innocent?

Question

I was stopped by the police this morning and they said that they had saw me using my mobile phone while driving.

I swear on my grandchildren life that I was not using it . I hadn't used it all since yesterday. I had been scratching my left ear.They said I had it at my right ear. I immediately offered them my phone which was in my bag and asked them to check the call records to show when my last call had been made,received etc. they said they didn't have to do that.They had both seen me and that was enough.

I refused to accept the fixed penalty charge so now it's going to go to the procurator fiscal who will decide if any charges follow.

As soon as I got to work I phoned the police station and was told that the officers hadn't done anything wrong.

I phoned Orange and asked them to send me an itemised phone bill with times on it, they said they can only do that for calls I have made and not ones I had received.

I don't know what else to do. help

I did ask this question this morning but thought I would ask again in case different people are on in the evening.

I am in Scotland

JWC;
my phone does have that facility but they refused to even look at it ,they said I could have deleted the call.Orange say they can't give me info on calls I have received, only calls,texts that I have made

Lisa;
they are only babies. I only swore on their life because I am totally innocent. Iwhen I called the station they said more or less what the officers said to me.

Basically it means if you have a phone in your car and you get stopped and accused you can't prove you were not using the phone.

I have never broken the law in my life and I am really upset over this

Enigmatic;
i have typed up a statement today in case it lasts until next year,when I probably wouldn't be as clear

Michael P;
I phoned the station as soon as I got to work within 5 mins of getting back in the car.
I work 200yards from it and offered to take the phone round and let someone see it .they refused saying that I could have deleted the call,text I was making,receiving

What the heck;
my phone does allow me to delete single calls and texts. it's a nokia 6300. I do feel that it is a total abuse of power on the polices part. I am guilty on their say so.

It was at 09.25 this morning 13/12/07

Just phoned Orange again and told they cannot give me details of call received. If I was complaining about nusiance calls that would go to the malicious calls dept, and they would start logging the calls, that won;t help me for today though

Bones ;
I will let you know honey

Answer 1

Hi, isn't the law innocent until PROVEN guilty? Let them take it to court and prove it - although it will probably be dropped before then. Call their bluff anyway, and seek some legal advice so you know what to do on the offchance it gets to court.
It's about time police solved real crime instead of making it up as they go along. We got burgled last year, and it took forensics 3 WEEKS to turn up - and they wonder why they didn't catch the beggar!
Keep your chin up and don't worry, hun. Let us know what happens.

Answer 2

Hi, I live in NY, and the "phone" violations are several hundred dollars, so trust me, we have all the methods to argue this one! :)

I'm not sure of your court procedures, so forgive me on this, but whatever it takes to get your fine in front of a judge or magistrate by all means take the steps to schedule that hearing.

Once you're there, do not produce your phone. Ask the police (who have to show up to testify in this country, not sure about Scotland) to describe exactly what they saw. If they cannot describe in detail to your satisfaction let them know. Do you have long hair, short hair? Are you right handed or left handed, that you would have been driving with one or the other, so they have the phone on the wrong side of your head by their description?

Then offer your phone records- as detailed as you can make them, I know there are limitations, but still, if you have an itemized bill, are clear and honest about your actions, and passionate without being abusive, you have an excellent chance of being given the benefit of the doubt. Good Luck!

ps- Orange should be able to show your usage of the phone to the extent that since you said you hadn't used it since yesterday, if you have no calls for the day in question it would certainly make you seem more truthful to the court! :)

Answer 3

Just take a picture of your phone's call logs with a digital camera before the day is over that shows the dates and times on your phone of when you ahve made and received calls. Then take that to court along with the ticket that shows the date and time you were pulle over and the evidence should speak for itself.

Bring a bill to court too so that you can prove that this is your phone.

How old are your grand kids? Can they also testify on your behalf?

Just bombard them with evidence. The police shouldn't be able to get away with just handing out a ticket if your innocent. And so what if they say they "saw" you. They were looking at you from inside a car and into your car. Do they have hawk vision?

Answer 4

I think you should speak to Orange again - maybe someone higher up in the food chain there. If you think about, they HAVE to be able to provide details of all calls including received ones, because otherwise they could not trace nuisance calls etc when you report those to the police. Other than that, get to a really good solicitor and do it asap, and make some notes of everything that happened, so that nobody can claim your memory of events is not clear.

Answer 5

You have the proof on your phone.

Why not go to the police station and talk to their boss?

You can win in court, but it is better if it never comes to that.

You can't prove you were not about to make a call. That could hang you up!

Maybe it is time to get a good lawyer.

Or bite the bullet and accept the fine for scratching your ear with a phone.

Thank God for His grace. Thanks to Jesus, He does not give us "what we deserve". It will all be forgotten some day, no matter win or lose.

Answer 6

I don't know if this helps but have you received calls prior to being stopped? And does your Call Register allows you to delete single calls? I'm using a Nokia 6020 and I checked mine if it deletes single calls and it only has a feature of deleting all call in Dialled, Missed or Received. If your phone also has this limitation and it will show that you have received calls prior to being stopped, and you have not deleted these calls in your Call Register, then you have your proof. It shows that you have not deleted that call they claimed you made.

I agree also that consult with a lawyer just in case. I do hope this clears away before Christmas as I know this is distressing.

Edit: (I'm sorry, I must have passed through your comment about deleting single calls but I remembered you're using Nokia 6030 before I answered.)

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 7

I'm sorry you have not found a solution to this yet.
I am with Enigmagic on this, they do have your recieved calls but for some reason it is not easily accessable to them.
Speak to a manager there and write to them formally requesting the list, if this goes to court I am sure they could be forced to provide it in the end anyway.
I really hope you over turn this because it is obviously causing you a great deal of stress.
Sometimes the law is so unfair.

Answer 8

I hate that!! Omg in my city they have not banned cell phone use yet, i was happy when they announced that they would but if this will happen I'm not sure were i stand on it!!

The best way is to get your cell phone record printed and show that you were no using the phone at the time. If you have to speak to anyone about it explain how you had to search in your purse for the phone.

Good luck and if you don't mind I'd like to know how this ends up, it really upsets me when these things happen.

Answer 9

I assume you're in Scotland.

Don't delete the call log. It will list all your phone calls received. The Police and yourself should have a date and time of the alledged offence. Someone with phone operating knowledge could testify on your behalf that it's impossible to delete single entries from the log, you would have to clear all calls.

I can only see that as the only means of proving it.

I have found that 99% of coppers are liars or biased and you got one of them. Suppose he/she is trying to meet target.

Answer 10

one of the principles of law both in England and Scotland is the prosecution have to prove your guilt. so you go to court and plead not guilty. and then ask the prosecution to provide details of your phone record. this will prove beyond reasonable doubt the truth. the police are able to request all details of your calls both in and out and even more the phone company can even place you in the location at the time. if they cannot produce this evidence the case will fail