UK CRIMINAL DEFENCE LAWYER : WRONGFUL ARREST

THE POLICE

There are certain circumstances where a UK criminal defence lawyer can sue the police, on behalf of his client, in a civil court for compensation. Legal aid may be available to take legal action in these cases. There are four main areas where the police fail and are liable to pay compensation as follows :-

• Wrongful Arrest
  Otherwise known as unlawful arrest and detention may result in damages payable to the victim for false imprisonment. If the police have acted outside their legitimate powers by detaining someone who has not been subjected to a lawful arrest and interfered with that persons liberty, the police officer may be acting outside the scope of his duty. When making an arrest, a police officer must have reasonable grounds for suspecting that an arrestable offence is being committed, or is about to be committed and if an arrest is made outside these grounds then a police officer will have acted outside his legal powers and may well be liable to pay damages for false imprisonment.
• Assault
  The police are entitled to use reasonable force in the execution of their duty. If they use excessive force a UK criminal defence lawyer may be able to take civil action for compensation for assault. The legal definition of assault covers a wide range of injury to the person from the most minor touching to instances of severe battery. Claims against the police usually involve allegations of actual bodily harm evidenced by photographs or witness statements and can include illegal body searches particularly in cases where there has been a wrongful arrest and false imprisonment.
• Malicious prosecution
  This civil wrong occurs when the police have no reasonable cause to prosecute but they do so anyway. To claim compensation the following points must be proved :-
  • the arrest was without reasonable and probable cause
  • the prosecution caused injury to a person’s reputation
  • the police acted maliciously
• Human Rights
  The Human Rights Act 1998 gives statutory force to the European Convention on Human Rights which ensures that the police have a duty not breach the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. Failure by the police to adhere to the convention may enable a UK criminal defence lawyer to take legal action in the civil courts for compensation.

THE GOVERNMENT

The Home Secretary is prepared to pay compensation to those who have suffered a miscarriages of justice and have been wrongly convicted or charged as outlined in Section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 which states that damages may be payable when a person who has been convicted of a criminal offence is pardoned or has had a conviction reversed. Claims under Section 133 of the Act often involve high profile cases and there have been numerous awards exceeding £1 million for those pardoned after spending many years in prison due to a miscarriage of justice.

If you wish to claim compensation against the police or against the government you will need the help of an expert lawyer to ensure fair treatment. If you would like to talk to an experienced lawyer with no charge just use the help line. If after talking to us you decide not to take matters further you are under no obligation to do so and you will not be charged anything at all.

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