Malicious prosecution is one of the hardest claims to bring against the police, because four separate things all have to be true. Understanding the four is the fastest way to work out whether there is anything to look at.

The four elements

Every one of these must be established:

1. The defendant brought or continued the prosecution. Where the Crown Prosecution Service took the decision, the question becomes whether the police materially misled it.
2. The prosecution ended in your favour. An acquittal, a discontinuance, or charges dropped. If you were convicted and the conviction stands, this element is not met.
3. There was no reasonable and probable cause. An objective test about the material actually available.
4. The defendant acted with malice, meaning a purpose other than properly bringing a person to justice.

The fourth is the one that most often defeats a claim. Malice is not the same as getting it wrong, and it is not the same as being careless. A weak prosecution brought in good faith is not malicious.

Why the order matters

Because element two is a hard gate, it is worth checking first. If the prosecution has not ended in your favour, no amount of evidence about the other three takes the claim anywhere. The Supreme Court has confirmed the tort also extends to the malicious prosecution of civil proceedings, in Willers v Joyce [2016] UKSC 43.

How long you have to bring a claim

The free routes, before any claim

A complaint to the force costs nothing and does not stop you claiming later. If the force's answer does not stand up you can apply for a review, and across all forces reporting, 24.5% of completed reviews found the force's own outcome was not reasonable and proportionate.

The three routes, and what each one gets you.