What offences have been committed here? warning DM content

[hidetheelephants]

The continuing trainwreck of the Trojan Horse thing has delivered another gem; a teacher has confiscated a pupil's phone, taken it to a shop and had it unlocked. Apart from the obvious and gross invasion of privacy is there an actual effence here? I vaguely recall previous posts on similar subjects mentioning electronic communications and hacking but I can't remember exactly what/how it applies.

[Snowboy]

Religious nutjobs being religious nutjobs.

The thing I find most odd is why the parents don't get the kids out of schools like that.

[Johnnytheboy]

I think most of the parents are pretty happy to have their children brought up in the middle ages.

[Red Devil]

hidetheelephants said:

Apart from the obvious and gross invasion of privacy is there an actual effence here? I vaguely recall previous posts on similar subjects mentioning electronic communications and hacking but I can't remember exactly what/how it applies.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/23/section/21
I can't see any way the teacher could claim he/she has lawful authority.

[marshalla]

Red Devil said:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/23/sectio...
I can't see any way the teacher could claim he/she has lawful authority.

Computer Misuse Act offences as well, I suspect, due to the unauthorised unlocking.

[hidetheelephants]

A bump for the evening shift law wranglers.

[richie99]

I started a thread on this phone business in schools a while ago. http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... Although it did rather lose it's way (surprise, surprise) my conclusion was that the Education Act does appear to give teachers the power to do this, but it appears to run entirely in the face of other law - particularly the computer misuse act.

[Winder]

Something the South African police dealing with Oscar Pistorious' case could have tried?

[Martin4x4]

marshalla said:

Computer Misuse Act offences as well, I suspect, due to the unauthorised unlocking.

Agreed, unauthorised access to computer material is illegal under Section 1

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/18/sectio...

[tooFATtoDRIVE]

This is what happens when we are all have to be politically correct....

[anonymous-user]

We don't all have to be politically correct (I never am), and you may have noticed that the teacher has, it appears, been found out. If the facts are as stated (NB this is a DM version of the incident), the teacher could be prosecuted. Those who want to say that the world is all busted and broken often fail to notice that people who do bad stuff quite often (not always) get brought to book for it.

[aw51 121565]

The only staff in a school who could examine a pupil's telephone would be a few of the most senior members of the semior management team (and with extremely strong justification such as suspicion of pictures of sexual abuse of a person or texts regarding sexual abuse of another person on said phone, for example [think of "significant safeguarding issues"]). Otherwise examining a pupil's mobile is a definite , end of.

Unlocking phones to examine them wasn't mentioned in my PGCE, oddly enough .

Doing what this teacher did, as reported, is so far beyond this that it defies belief!! Of course, it's only reports so far...