When six police officers rang their doorbell, a mother and father first thought something terrible had happened – not that they were being arrested for their WhatsApp messages.
Now, Bushey councillor Maxie Allen and Rosaline Levine have decided to speak out about how tensions between parents and schools could be better handled.
Following a dispute with Cowley Hill Primary School in Borehamwood, Bushey councillor Maxie Allen and Rosaline Levine were arrested in front of their young daughter by Hertfordshire police.
Five weeks later, the police dropped the case and told the couple they would take no further action.
It started after Mr Allen raised concerns about the recruitment process for a new headteacher. Hertfordshire County Council say due process was followed in this process.
The school contacted the police after claiming the couple sent a “high volume of emails” and “disparaging and inflammatory” remarks in a parents’ WhatsApp group.
Mr Allen and Ms Levine were banned from entering the primary school and blocked from attending parents’ evening and the Christmas show.
After they were arrested on Wednesday, January 29, Mr Allen told The Times: “I was just in complete disbelief. It was just unfathomable to me that things had escalated to this degree.”
The story has stirred up lots of national attention, with concerns being raised about the way Hertfordshire Police responded to the allegations.
Speaking to BUSHEYnews, Mr Allen said: “We’re considering our legal options. But the real lesson from this story is we need to find better ways of resolving disputes between parents and schools. Cases like ours should be solved through mediation, not the police.”
In a statement, Hertfordshire Police said: “Following reports of harassment and malicious communications, which are criminal offences, a man and a woman from Borehamwood, both aged in their 40s, were arrested on January 29.
“The arrests were necessary to fully investigate the allegations as is routine in these types of matters. Following further investigations, officers deemed that no further action should be taken due to insufficient evidence.”
A spokesperson for Cowley Hill Primary School told The Times: “We’re always happy for parents to raise concerns, but we do ask that they do this in a suitable way, and in line with the school’s published complaints procedure.”
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