Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine, a couple from Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, have spoken out about their traumatic experience after being arrested following comments made in a WhatsApp group about their primary school. The couple was detained on suspicion of harassment and malicious communications, spending 11 hours in a police cell, as their three-year-old daughter, Francesa, was left “terrified” at home.
The incident began when Maxie and Rosalind, who had concerns about the recruitment process for a new headteacher at Cowley Hill Primary School, voiced their opinions in a WhatsApp group with other parents. Although their comments were neither offensive nor threatening, the school later sent a letter asking parents not to speak negatively about the institution on social media. Rosalind expressed her frustration in a private message, sarcastically suggesting that the school might involve the police over a simple complaint. Her message read, “Can you imagine what the ‘action’ is? Hello, 999, one of the school mums said something mean about me in a school mum WhatsApp group. Please can you arrest them?”
Five months after the message was sent, the police arrived at their home with six officers, including those in two police cars and a van. They took both Maxie, 50, and Rosalind, 46, into custody while their daughter sobbed in the background. Rosalind said she feared for her family, thinking her older daughter, Sascha, might be in danger at school. “There was a moment where I honestly thought I wanted to die, because I couldn’t cope with losing her,” Rosalind explained.
After a five-week investigation, Hertfordshire Constabulary dropped all charges due to a lack of evidence. The couple’s comments in the WhatsApp group were deemed neither abusive nor offensive. Maxie, a radio producer, was unsurprised by the outcome. He expressed disbelief at the police’s heavy-handed response, likening it to the treatment one might expect during a drug bust or terrorism investigation. “These were private conversations, at no point abusive or even offensive, on email and WhatsApp,” Maxie said.
Hertfordshire Police maintained that the arrests were justified, but acknowledged that they could have been handled more tactfully. Chief Constable Andy Prophet stated that while the arrests were approved by an inspector, the decision was made under the belief that the couple would not consent to a voluntary interview.
Cowley Hill Primary School issued a statement saying that they had sought police advice due to a high volume of direct correspondence and public social media posts from the parents, which were upsetting staff and governors. The school emphasized the importance of following its complaints procedure when raising concerns.
Maxie and Rosalind, who have been in a relationship since 2006, were left shaken by the ordeal, with Rosalind reflecting on how the situation spiraled into what felt like a nightmare. “I did not know how it had come to this,” she said.
