Entry into someone's home is one of the few areas where the law starts from a presumption against the state. Without a warrant, a specific statutory power, or genuine consent, officers entering a home are trespassers.

The three lawful routes in

There are only three, and one of them is not what people assume:

• A warrant, issued by a magistrate under section 8 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 or another enactment.
• A statutory power without warrant, principally section 17 of PACE, which permits entry to arrest for an indictable offence or to save life or limb or prevent serious damage to property. Section 18 allows a search of premises occupied or controlled by someone under arrest for an indictable offence, and section 32 allows a search of premises where the person was when arrested or immediately before.
• Genuine consent, given by someone entitled to give it, who understood they were entitled to refuse. Consent obtained by implying there is no choice is not consent.

What the claim looks like

Trespass to land is actionable without proof of damage. The entry itself is the wrong. Where officers entered lawfully but then searched more widely than the power allowed, or stayed after the purpose was spent, the excess is separately actionable. Damage caused during forced entry raises its own question about whether the force used was reasonable.

Claims of this kind rarely appear on the pages of firms advertising police claims, which does not mean they are unusual.

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.