Wrongful arrests for alleged breaches of bail conditions continue to expose serious failings within the criminal justice system. As a solicitor specialising in police misconduct, unlawful arrest and false imprisonment claims, I regularly represent individuals whose liberty has been wrongly interfered with due to inaccurate court records, electronic monitoring failures and police delay. In this case study, I explain how my client Lauren was unlawfully arrested and detained despite her bail having lawfully ended following sentence at Nottingham Crown Court.
This blog post details how bureaucratic errors by the Court Service, the Electronic Monitoring Service and Derbyshire Constabulary combined to deprive Lauren of her freedom for 17 hours. Although her bail conditions had automatically ceased at the conclusion of her trial, failures to process court paperwork, update EMS systems and amend Police National Computer records resulted in an entirely unjustified arrest for an alleged breach of bail. Drawing on my extensive experience in actions against the police and public authorities, I unravel how these systemic failures occurred and why they amount to unlawful detention.
I also explain how I successfully secured £10,000 compensation plus costs for Lauren on a no win no fee basis, holding Derbyshire Constabulary accountable for their role in this wrongful arrest.
This case highlights the importance of specialist legal representation in police misconduct and false imprisonment claims, particularly where state bodies seek to dismiss such incidents as mere “mistakes”. If you or someone you know has been wrongly arrested, falsely imprisoned or accused of breaching bail conditions, this case demonstrates how expert legal action can restore accountability—and vindicate the fundamental right to liberty.
The Background: Conditional Bail and Electronic Tagging
In June 2023, my client Lauren was remanded in prison for 2 months in relation to a charge of assault against her ex-partner. In August she was released from prison having been granted conditional bail by Nottingham Crown Court. As a condition of her bail, Lauren was required to observe a night time curfew at her mother’s address, the curfew being monitored by an electronic tag which she had to wear.
On 26 September 2023, Lauren’s case came to trial. She was found guilty, but receiving only a suspended sentence, was not required to return to prison. Naturally, Lauren’s bail conditions also automatically ceased upon the conclusion of the trial.
Wrongful Arrest for Alleged Breach of Bail
Nevertheless, on 1 October 2023 PC Gibson of Derbyshire Constabulary arrested my client for an alleged ‘breach of bail’, said to have occurred on 26 September 2023.
As Lauren’s bail conditions had been a night time curfew, as oppose to a geographical exclusion zone, this arrest was manifestly incorrect – but deaf to Lauren’s pleas, the Officer took her to a nearby custody suite, where she was detained overnight.
“A Mistake”: How the System Fails the Wrongly Arrested
The following morning Lauren was escorted by the Police to Derby Magistrates Court, but was advised by her solicitor outside the Court room that there had been a ‘mistake’ and that she was going to be immediately released. She had, however, been unlawfully detained for the previous 17 hours.
I have written many times before about how the slow-moving wheels of Court Service and Police bureaucracy can combine to unnecessarily endanger people’s liberty.
What never ceases to surprise me, however, is the lack of interest which the key agencies of the criminal justice system show in upholding civil justice. The Court will blandly inform a wrongly arrested person in this scenario that there has been a mistake – but will offer no explanation as to where the blame lies or how proper compensation can be obtained for what is one of the most serious wrongs that can be committed against any person in a democratic society – the unlawful deprivation of their liberty by the blundering or overreaching power of the State.
Effectively, the wrongfully detained person is kicked out by the Court onto the kerb side and left to figure out for themselves what went wrong and who should pay for it. This is where the assistance of an expert solicitor such as myself can prove invaluable.
Who Is Responsible for Wrongful Arrests and Detention?
I took Lauren’s case on a ‘no win no fee’ basis and presented claims on her behalf against the Ministry of Justice (which is responsible for the actions of the Court Service), Capita Plc (operators of the Electronic Monitoring Service), and Derbyshire Constabulary. Initial pursuit of claims against all three was necessary in the face of the wall of silence which otherwise confronted Lauren, and in order to obtain the various evidential records which would allow us to piece together exactly what had happened.
It turned out that what had happened was the following –
- ‘Order End’ paperwork was received by EMS from the Crown Court at 3.12pm on 26 September 2023. However, it was the policy of Capita Plc not to process any orders or amendments received after 3pm until the following day. Note that Capita have now been replaced by Serco as the operators of the EMS system – but I am not holding my breath in anticipation of anything changing on the front of accuracy/urgency.
- Accordingly, when at 9pm on 26 September the system registered Lauren as being “out past curfew” (because, following the conclusion of the trial she had returned to her own home address), EMS responded by issuing a “Breach Notification” to Derbyshire Police at 10.20pm.
- The following day, 27 September, the EMS system was finally updated to show that Lauren’s bail conditions had been cancelled. Evidently, however, this did not prompt EMS to rescind the Breach Notification issued the night before.
- Nevertheless, Lauren would still have avoided her unlawful arrest, had Derbyshire Police updated their own records correctly. The Court had sent notification of the sentence and cancellation of the bail conditions to the Police via email on 26 September.
- ‘Unfortunately’ – a descriptor chosen by the Police themselves – the Police National Computer (PNC) was not updated to show that Lauren had been sentenced until 5 October 2023 – a completely unacceptable 9 day delay.
- The combined result of the EMS delay and the Police delay in updating their records was PC Gibson’s erroneous arrest of my client on 1 October.
Compensation for Wrongful Arrest and Unlawful Detention
I am pleased to confirm that I was ultimately able to win Lauren ample compensation in the sum of £10,000 damages, plus her legal costs, from Derbyshire Constabulary.
Sadly, however, given the frequency with which I am consulted by people who have suffered exactly this form of wrongful arrest, there seems to be no structural change in sight to the frequently lackadaisical approach to liberty adopted by the agents of our criminal justice system.
Nobody’s right to freedom, should end up in somebody else’s ‘to do’ pile.
My client’s name has been changed.
My Client’s Testimonial
Once again, my client had been left to deal with the fallout of serious institutional failure, bounced between agencies who were quick to acknowledge a “mistake” but slow to accept responsibility. What turned Lauren’s case around was her resolve to challenge what had happened to her, and her trust in me to pursue accountability where none was being offered. Despite the familiar resistance from the authorities, persistence and careful review of the evidence led to a clear admission of liability and a substantial settlement. I was proud to secure justice for Lauren after such a needless deprivation of her liberty, and I am pleased to let her have the final word of this post through the Trustpilot testimonial she kindly wrote following the conclusion of her case.
Iain has been absolutely amazing in my compensation journey, always keeping me updated on everything and always having the best communication. Would definitely recommend to everyone. 10/10. Very happy :)
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