A decision by Merseyside Police to search the home of a 99-year-old woman with Alzheimer's for a suspected cannabis farm will be probed by the High Court.
Officers entered the Speke home of the great-grandmother, known as Peggy to her family, after "intelligence" suggested her home may have been taken over by drugs gangs to grow the Class B drug, a practice known as "cuckooing". However, nothing was found at the property.
The force said they had conducted the search "sensitively" based on intelligence, believed to have included a tip-off suggesting the home was "unusually warm", but her family were deeply upset by the search warrant, particularly as it fell on the same day as the funeral of one of Peggy's sons.
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Speaking earlier this year, Peggy's daughter Kath Greatbanks told the ECHO she became aware of the incident at the home of her mum almost immediately, via cameras installed after she had suffered a number of falls.
She and other relatives were alerted to the presence of the emergency services and watched in real-time as the home of their mum, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, was filled with strangers without warning. Police officers, firefighters and social workers were present as the warrant was executed on Friday, February 4.
Ms Greatbanks said: “I was on the phone and I thought my mum had gone. That was horrendous. The alert went off and there were police there. My brother was panicking and we all thought it was mum. We saw police, firefighters and social workers but no ambulance so we thought ‘mum has gone’. That was horrendous."
Relatives said they were told a heat signal had been picked up that highlighted the house as unusually hot - suggesting it could have been the location of a cannabis farm. They said they were also told that gangs were known to ‘cuckoo’ properties in the area.
However Kath pointed out Peggy, who they did not want to identify further because of her vulnerability, was nearly 100 and her home fell under scrutiny during winter, when the heating was on full power to keep her warm.
Asked how she was following the incident, Kathy said: “Mum is confused anyway with having Alzheimer’s and she is very distant at the moment. I think with my brother passing away and us having to sort this out we have all been upset. It has a big knock-on effect - she gets bothered because she thinks it is all her fault.”
The family later took legal action over the decision to seek the search warrant, why it was granted by a magistrate and how it was executed, calling for a judicial review. Initially their application was turned down without an oral hearing, but a fresh application was made which led to a hearing before Mr Justice Michael Fordham earlier this month.
In a written ruling he said: "There are issues about what preceded the application to the magistrate, about the obtaining and granting of the warrant, about what was done after the warrant was obtained, and about how it was executed.
"The arguments on both sides are well developed in writing. The relevant law includes at least three statutes (including the Human Rights Act 1998), a Code of Practice, the common law and lines of authority. It is sufficient to say that questions arise for consideration at a substantive hearing. I do not think there are 'clean knock-out blows'.
Speaking in February a Merseyside Police spokeswoman said the operation was based on legitimate concerns for Peggy’s welfare. She said: “We understand the family’s concerns, but would like to stress that we did have a genuine worry for the lady as we believed she could potentially have been a victim of cuckooing.
“Due to the age of the lady, and her potential vulnerability, we acknowledged we needed to take a sensitive approach, following receipt of information that there could have been a cannabis farm at the property. Extensive enquiries were carried out before visiting the house, and plans put in place to minimise disruption to the lady and her family.
“Contact was made with social services and together we arranged to go and check on the welfare of the occupant of that house, due to the potential dangers involved . Three officers attended, supported by social services and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, and access was gained to the property without the use of force, using a key code.
“The officers explained why we were there before sensitively carrying out a cursory search. No damage was caused during the search. Whilst our officers were there, family attended and advised that the lady was mourning her son and was due to attend his funeral later that day.
“Officers were able to leave safe in the knowledge that the lady was not subject to cuckooing and was not being exploited. We have apologised to the family for the timing of our visit, and explained our reasons for it, but I hope people will understand that her safety was our priority from the beginning.
“It is our duty to act on the intelligence we receive to ensure that the most vulnerable people in our community are kept safe from harm. We are aware of instances in the Speke area where the homes of vulnerable people have been used for ‘cuckooing’ – where gangs take over to use them for drugs or for the storage of weapons or stolen goods, and it was our belief that this could have been the case with the lady concerned.”
When contacted about Judge Fordham's ruling, the force said it could not comment further due to the upcoming judicial review.
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