Legal News

According to figures released by the Scotland Yard on Sunday the police had made more than 100 arrests in and around Olympic venues across London in the past fortnight including arrest of a teenager under the Terrorism Act and 58 suspected ticketing touts.

The teenager was released later after he was arrested under section 58 of the 2000 Terrorism Act which is used when a suspect is caught allegedly for possession of information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.
But the 17-year-old, who was picked up at Stratford railway station near the Olympic Park on Saturday 28 July, was released after questioning, Scotland Yard said.
In total, 114 people were taken into custody between 21 July and 3 August, the latest figures available.
But within the venues itself there were only six arrests made a number considered to be very miniscule considering hundreds of thousands of people were seen visiting the events over the past two weeks.
In fact, a breakdown from the Metropolitan police shows only three people have been seized for being drunk and disorderly since the Olympic Torch came to London. Two were caught for allegedly impersonating a police officer, and one man was also arrested for swimming in the River Thames.
More than half the total number of arrests, 58, was suspected ticket touts, who could face fines up to £20,000 if they were found guilty of the charge of touting.
The Met's figures show seven have been arrested for assault; two for begging; 10 for drugs-related offences; one for criminal damage; two for assaulting a police officer; seven for fraud; one for going equipped; one for immigration offences; two for impersonating a police officer; one for indecent assault; and 11 for public order offences, including some that were racially aggravated.
The arrests were made by officers working across London who are part of the policing operation for the Olympic Games," a spokesman said.
Meanwhile the first conviction of the Olympics fast track court came when a 36 year old Lithuanian accountant called Petras Lescinskas was convicted for a racially aggravated offence at the Games. The court had heard that he was one of a group of rowdy and offensive Lithuanian basketball fans who made monkey chants during their country’s match against Nigeria.
The man had stood up and also made a Nazi salute while placing his fingers across his lips. The man had said that it was a common practice in his country to celebrate.
But the District Judge Sonia Sims told him that the Games was a wondrous event for all the nations and his behaviour was despicable. He was explained by a Lithuanian woman who translated that he had to pay a fine of £2500 or would have to spend 28 days in the prison if he failed to pay.