Since when did criticism and having an opinion become a crime? Six uniformed officers went to the home of Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine.

Looking at footage from the raid you might think that their house was being used as a base for criminal gangs, drug dealing or to hide an inmate who had escaped from prison.

But no. It appears such heavy-handed policing is increasingly the norm these days to tackle opinions, criticism and words that somebody might complain to the police about.

Presumably, there is no real crime going on in Hertfordshire. The shoplifters have all turned over a new leaf. The robberies, violence, burglaries, car and bike nicking have all stopped.

Everybody in the county feels safe to walk the streets at night. The drug dealers have all been banished and anti-social behaviour has ceased to exist.

If only this was true. Which is why this latest incident is not only disturbing but brings into question policing priorities.
The parents had concerns about the recruitment process for a new head teacher at Cowley Hill Primary.

They had been writing emails to the school raising questions. They had also made critical comments in a private WhatsApp group of parents with children at the school. These comments were reported to the police.

Apparently, the school sought advice from the police due to the high number of direct correspondence and public social media posts which had upset school staff, governors and parents.

Following their arrests, the couple were held in a cell for eight hours and questioned on suspicion of harassment, malicious communications and causing a nuisance on school property.

A five-week investigation took place and then police concluded that no further action would be taken. On top of this, Michelle Vince, a councillor on Hertfordshire County Council, says she was warned by police that she could be investigated if she continued to help the parents with the issues they had with their child’s school.

An elected representative being told this by an officer is the kind of thing you expect in a despotic nation, not Britain.

Aside from questioning whether this is the best use of stretched police resources, we need to ask when and why did the police start to consider words, opinions and criticism activities that needed cracking down on with such force?

The police and crime commissioner for Hertfordshire, Jonathan Ash-Edwards, says a rapid review of this case is being conducted by Andy Prophet, his new chief constable and the findings will be reported this week.

This is the right and proper thing to do as taxpayers in Hertfordshire will want to know why their hard-earned cash has been used to investigate this case in such a way when real crime remains a big issue.

It has been reported that Hertsmere (where the school and parents live) has a higher-than-average crime rate for the Hertfordshire area.

In January there were 148 police reports of violence and sexual offences, 76 incidents of shoplifting, 66 incidents of anti-social behaviour and 38 police reports of drug-related crime.

Being a police officer cannot be an easy job these days. The general lack of respect in society for law and order must make it a thankless task.

And I cannot imagine that many officers joined the police to arrest parents criticising their child’s school or telling them things they do not like hearing or reading. I suspect most officers would rather they spent their time catching proper criminals.

Social media can be a vile place. Parents who just want the best for their child’s development and education can get emotional when dealing with a school or a local council.

Strong words might be written in emails or WhatsApp groups which some might find unduly harsh, but none of this should warrant arrest and putting in a prison cell for eight hours.

This is not an isolated case. There are dozens of recent documented examples where police officers in various parts of the country paid a visit to a person because of something they wrote online that offended or upset someone.

The law should not be used to police feelings, emotions and opinions. It should be there to tackle real crime. Failure to get a grip on this overzealous form of policing will only damage the reputation of the police in this country further.