Mother in Britain arrested for taking iPads from her daughters (3 photos)
Vanessa Brown, 50, a history teacher and mother of two, spent seven hours in police custody after temporarily taking her daughters' iPad. The arrest was prompted by a call to police from a 40-year-old man who reported a possible theft. 
Law enforcement officers tracked the device via GPS, arrived at the address and detained the British woman on suspicion of theft.
The woman was placed in a cell, her mother's house was searched, and even the elderly parent was interrogated, treating her, according to Vanessa, "like a criminal."
"It was a completely inadequate reaction. No one thought that this was just a gesture of upbringing," Vanessa said.
The police confirmed that the iPad did indeed belong to the children, and the mother had every right to confiscate it. After 12 hours of proceedings, Vanessa was released on her own recognizance, forbidding her to communicate with her daughters until the investigation was completed. As a result, the charges against her were dropped. 
As Brown herself noted, she only wanted the children to take a break from screens for a while and focus on their studies. However, in an era when even schools are moving to digital formats, such methods are increasingly causing misunderstanding - up to and including intervention by law enforcement.
A Surrey police spokesman said the officers acted within protocol, but acknowledged that the situation required a more balanced approach. Meanwhile, Vanessa herself intends to seek an apology for the stress she experienced, especially for the way her elderly mother was treated. 
