Wrongful Arrest

In NSW the law requires certain criteria to be met before Police are legitimately able to arrest someone, even if that person has committed an offence.

If a person is arrested for a minor offence that could have or should have been dealt with by a "ticket"

( *Court Attendance Notice), then even if the person is guilty of that offence, it may still be the case that the arrest was unlawful.

Have you been acquitted or found not guilty of charges relating to either:

Resist police;
Hinder police; or,
Assault police, because the Court found police were acting outside the execution of their duties?

If so, then you may have a claim for wrongful arrest/false imprisonment. A person who has been unlawfully arrested is often entitled to damages for the arrest and the detention in custody that follows afterwards.

Examples of an unlawful arrest may include
Being arrested for possession of a small amount of prohibited drug
Being acquitted of an offence where Police didn't properly investigate a matter before arresting
Being arrested and then being released after processing without being given any bail conditions
Being asked to come down to the station for a "chat" and then going down voluntarily and then being arrested when you get there
Presenting yourself at the station after a Police Officer leaves a message for you to contact them
Being arrested for no reason at all, other than failing the "attitude test"
Being arrested so Police can interview you
Being arrested so the Police can identify you
Being arrested even though the Police know who you are and where you live and Court proceedings could have been started by serving a Court Attendance Notice rather than by arrest and charging.
Excessive force being used during the arrest which otherwise might have been lawful.
Being arrested because Police mistakenly thought there was a warrant out for your arrest.
Being arrested days or weeks after an event, with no concern for victims or witnesses

There are of course, numerous other situations not mentioned here which may be an unlawful arrest, and in some cases situations described above may not always be unlawful.

WHAT TO DO?

Please Contact Us

Remember: Even if you are guilty of an offence you may still have been unlawfully arrested! To avoid any doubt why not give us a call, on a obligation free basis. All civil matters relating to unlawful arrests are taken on a No Win No fee basis.

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