Wrongful Arrest and False Imprisonment: Your Rights and How to Claim

Wrongful arrest and false imprisonment are two closely linked legal wrongs that arise when the police detain someone without the lawful authority to do so. If you were arrested without proper grounds, or held in custody longer than the law permits, you may have a civil claim for compensation against the relevant police force, regardless of whether you were ever charged with an offence.

What Is the Difference Between Wrongful Arrest and False Imprisonment?

The two terms are often used interchangeably, but they describe slightly different things.

Wrongful arrest refers to the initial act of arrest where the officer lacked the legal authority to make it, either because they had no reasonable grounds to suspect an offence, or because they could not justify the necessity of the arrest.

False imprisonment is the broader concept. It covers any unlawful deprivation of liberty and includes not only an unlawful arrest but any period of detention that continues beyond the point at which lawful grounds cease to exist. A person can be lawfully arrested but later falsely imprisoned if the custody officer continues to detain them after the basis for detention has expired.

In practice, most claims against the police involve both elements arising from the same incident.

What Makes an Arrest Unlawful?

The power most commonly used by police officers to arrest without a warrant is found in section 24 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), as amended by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. Under that provision, two separate conditions must both be satisfied before an arrest is lawful.

The first condition is that the officer must have reasonable grounds to suspect that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit an offence. This requires more than a hunch. There must be an identifiable factual basis for the suspicion, even if the information available at the time is limited. Suspicion based on nothing more than someone’s presence in an area, their appearance, or a vague tip-off with no substance may not satisfy this test.

The second condition is that the officer must have reasonable grounds to believe that arrest is necessary for one of a defined list of purposes set out in section 24(5) of PACE. These include:

• enabling the person’s name or address to be ascertained
• preventing injury to the person or others
• preventing loss of or damage to property
• allowing the prompt and effective investigation of the offence
• preventing the person’s disappearance before proceedings can be brought

Both conditions are independent. An arrest can be unlawful even where the officer’s suspicion was entirely genuine, if the necessity condition was not properly considered or could not be satisfied on the facts.

What Happens in Custody?

Once a person arrives at a police custody suite, their detention is governed by sections 34 to 44 of PACE. The custody officer, who is independent of the investigating officer, is responsible for assessing whether the grounds for detention are made out and for reviewing that position at regular intervals throughout the detention.

Under section 41 of PACE, a person cannot generally be held without charge for more than 24 hours. In indictable cases, a superintendent can authorise an extension to 36 hours, and a magistrates’ court can authorise further detention up to an absolute maximum of 96 hours. Detention beyond the applicable time limit, or continued detention after the investigative grounds have ceased to apply, amounts to false imprisonment for the period affected, even if the original arrest was entirely lawful.

A person in custody is also entitled to certain fundamental rights under PACE and its Codes of Practice, including the right to free legal advice under section 58 and the right to have someone informed of their arrest under section 56. Systematic denial of these rights, particularly where it is connected to the unlawful conduct, can support additional heads of claim.

What Can You Claim Compensation For?

Compensation for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment is assessed across several heads.

General damages for loss of liberty are awarded to reflect the unlawful deprivation of freedom. Courts apply a structured approach, with an initial sum for the arrest itself and the first hours of detention, followed by a daily rate for continued unlawful detention. The initial award tends to be higher, reflecting the particular shock and indignity of being arrested.

General damages for distress and psychological harm are recoverable where the arrest caused significant anxiety, humiliation, or a recognised psychiatric condition. An arrest made in front of colleagues, family, or members of the public will typically attract a higher award of general damages than one carried out in private.

Special damages cover out-of-pocket financial losses flowing directly from the arrest, such as lost earnings during the period of detention, or costs incurred as a result of it.

Aggravated damages may be available where the manner of the arrest or detention was particularly oppressive or humiliating, and where this aggravated the overall impact beyond the basic interference with liberty.

Exemplary damages are available in rare cases of outrageous or deliberately abusive conduct by police officers, intended to mark the court’s condemnation of the wrongdoing rather than simply to compensate the claimant.

How Long Do You Have to Bring a Claim?

Time limits vary depending on the type of claim:

• Wrongful arrest and false imprisonment without personal injury: 6 years from the date of the arrest or unlawful detention, under the Limitation Act 1980
• Where personal injury was caused, for example by excessive force used during the arrest: 3 years from the date of the injury
• Human Rights Act claims, where a breach of Article 5 (the right to liberty) is also pursued: 1 year less 1 day from the date of the breach, with limited court discretion to extend
• Discrimination claims under the Equality Act 2010, where the arrest involved unlawful discrimination: 6 months less 1 day from the date of the act

The Human Rights Act and discrimination time limits are particularly short and will not be paused by a police complaint or IOPC review running in the background. Where any of these shorter periods apply, taking legal advice promptly is essential.

Does Making a Police Complaint Affect a Civil Claim?

No. A formal complaint to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) or to the force’s Professional Standards Department is not a requirement before bringing a civil claim, and the two processes run entirely independently of one another.

A complaint can, however, generate evidence that supports a civil claim. Body-worn video footage, custody records, and internal investigation findings can all emerge from a complaints process and may strengthen the evidential position in parallel civil proceedings. The key point is that a complaint outcome, even a fully upheld one, cannot result in compensation. Only a civil claim can achieve that.

What to Do Next

If you believe you were wrongfully arrested or unlawfully detained, the steps below will put you in the strongest possible position:

1. Write down everything you can remember as soon as possible, including the date and time of the arrest, which police force was involved, what you were told at the point of arrest, and the sequence of events in custody
2. Preserve any evidence you have access to, including mobile phone footage, dashcam or doorbell recordings, and photographs of any injuries
3. Request your custody record in writing. It is a contemporaneous official document recording the grounds given for your detention, welfare checks, and the time of your release
4. Seek medical attention for any injury sustained and have it documented
5. Contact a specialist solicitor promptly, particularly if a Human Rights Act or discrimination claim may also apply, since the shorter limitation periods for those claims begin to run immediately

Satchell Moran Solicitors handles wrongful arrest and false imprisonment claims across England and Wales on a no-win, no-fee basis, meaning you pay nothing if your claim is unsuccessful. As a firm with dual Lexcel accreditation and over 30 specialist solicitors, we assess each case honestly, advise on the realistic strength of the claim, and pursue only those matters we genuinely believe have merit. If you were held without proper grounds, contact us for a free initial consultation.