Complaining and claiming are different things with different rules, different bodies and different deadlines. These are the civil claims that can follow unlawful policing, and what each of them requires.
Wrongful arrest claims against the police
An arrest needs reasonable grounds to suspect an offence and a reason why arrest was necessary. If either was missing the arrest was unlawful. What has to be shown, and what the records say.
Unlawful imprisonment and unlawful detention claims
False imprisonment is complete restraint of your liberty without lawful authority. It does not require a cell, and it does not require injury. What the claim involves.
Unlawful stop and search claims
Most recorded stop and searches end with no further action. That is not, by itself, proof any single search was unlawful, but it is the context. What makes a search lawful, and what does not.
Malicious prosecution claims against the police
Malicious prosecution is a demanding claim with four separate elements, and the case fails if any one of them is missing. What each element means.
Police trespass and unlawful entry claims
Police entry to a home needs a warrant, a statutory power, or genuine consent. Entry without one of those is trespass, and no damage needs to be caused for it to be actionable.
Arrested for missing a court hearing you were never told about
A warrant issued because you failed to attend a hearing you were never notified of produces a lawful-looking arrest on a foundation that may not hold. What to look at.
An officer abusing their position for a sexual purpose
Abuse of position for a sexual purpose is recognised as a form of serious corruption. Where to report it, including routes that do not go through the officer's own force.
Police data protection breach claims
Police forces hold some of the most sensitive personal data there is. Where a force loses control of it or misuses it, UK GDPR gives a right to compensation for distress alone.
Police failure to investigate a crime
The police do not owe a general duty of care to investigate well. But under the Human Rights Act they can owe a duty in serious cases, and that route has a much shorter time limit.
Police discrimination claims
Forces are bound by the Equality Act 2010 both as service providers and by the public sector equality duty. Time limits in this area are among the shortest in the whole of civil law.
Arrested and then de-arrested shortly afterwards
A de-arrest is an unusual admission. It records that the grounds which justified the arrest were gone, or were never there. What that means for a claim.
Claims involving injury
Claims where the central allegation is a physical or psychiatric injury, including assault and excessive force, injury during arrest, police dog bites, Taser and CS gas, and injuries caused by police vehicles, sit under a different regulatory regime and are not covered on this site. That is a deliberate scope decision, not a view about their merits. Anyone in that position should take advice from a solicitor directly.
Start with your force
Across all forces reporting, 24.5% of completed reviews found the force's own complaint outcome was not reasonable and proportionate.