Claims against the police: injury, wrongful arrest and your time limits

When contact with the police goes wrong, people often start with a complaint and only later ask about compensation, by which time a deadline may have passed. This guide explains who a claim is made against, the main types of claim, the Human Rights Act, how complaints fit in, the evidence to secure early and the time limits in each part of the UK. It covers civil claims, not criminal cases. We are an independent information service, not a law firm. If you were hurt by a criminal and the police were not at fault, see our guide to criminal injury compensation instead.

Who you claim against

You do not have to pursue the individual officer. In England and Wales, section 88 of the Police Act 1996 makes the chief officer of police for an area liable for the unlawful conduct of constables under their direction and control, in the same way as an employer is liable for the wrongs of employees, and treats the chief officer as a joint tortfeasor. Damages awarded against the chief officer are paid out of the police fund. For a financial claim, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) suggests contacting the force directly or writing to the force solicitor.

The rest of the UK follows the same pattern. In Scotland, section 24 of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 makes the chief constable liable for unlawful conduct by constables under the chief constable's direction and control. In Northern Ireland, section 29 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 makes the Chief Constable liable for the unlawful conduct of members of the police force under the Chief Constable's direction and control.

The main types of claim

The main types of claim are:

• Assault and excessive force. Officers are allowed to use force, but only what is reasonable. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) lets an officer use reasonable force, if necessary, when exercising a PACE power, and section 3 of the Criminal Law Act 1967 allows such force as is reasonable in the circumstances to prevent crime or make a lawful arrest. Force beyond that can be the basis of a claim.
• Wrongful arrest and false imprisonment. Under section 24 of PACE, an officer arresting without a warrant needs reasonable grounds to suspect an offence, and the power is exercisable only if the officer has reasonable grounds for believing that arrest is necessary for one of the reasons the Act lists, such as preventing injury or allowing the prompt and effective investigation of the offence. An arrest without those grounds, or detention without lawful authority, can be challenged.
• Negligence. In Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police (2018), a bystander was injured when officers struggled with a suspected drug dealer they were arresting. The UK Supreme Court held that the police generally owe a duty of care under the ordinary principles of negligence, unless statute or the common law provides otherwise, but are not normally under a duty to protect people from dangers they did not create, such as harm caused by a third party, without special circumstances.
• Human rights claims, explained in the next section.

Under those ordinary principles, a claim about a collision with a police vehicle turns on whether the driver took reasonable care, as in other road accident claims: see our road traffic accident guide.

Claims under the Human Rights Act

Section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 makes it unlawful for a public authority to act in a way that is incompatible with a Convention right, and a police force is a public authority. Convention rights that can be relevant in police cases include the ban on torture and on inhuman or degrading treatment (Article 3), the right to liberty and security (Article 5) and the right to respect for private and family life (Article 8). Section 11 of the Act keeps your right to bring any claim you could bring apart from the Act, so a human rights claim can sit alongside an ordinary civil claim.

Two rules make these claims different. Section 7(5) requires proceedings to be brought within one year beginning with the date of the act complained of, or within a longer period that the court considers equitable. And under section 8 a court only awards damages if it is satisfied that an award is necessary to afford just satisfaction to the person concerned.

A complaint is not a claim

In England and Wales, you can complain directly to the force or through the IOPC, and certain complaints must be referred to the IOPC. The IOPC says there is no time limit for making a complaint, but if you complain about something that happened more than 12 months ago you should explain why you did not complain sooner. It also says its remit does not cover claims for compensation from the police.

In Scotland, complaints go to Police Scotland. If you are unhappy with how a complaint was handled, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) can carry out a complaint handling review; its application form says you must apply within three months of the date of the final response letter, unless there are exceptional circumstances. PIRC says it cannot ask a policing body to award you compensation. In Northern Ireland, complaints go to the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. The regulations require the conduct complained about to have taken place not more than 12 months before the complaint, unless the Ombudsman accepts it because of the gravity of the matter or exceptional circumstances.

A complaint may still produce evidence that helps a claim, but do not wait for it to finish if a court deadline is close.

Evidence to secure early

• Your custody record. PACE Code C says that when you leave police detention, you, your legal representative or an appropriate adult shall be given, on request, a copy of the custody record as soon as practicable, and that this entitlement lasts for 12 months after release.
• Records the force holds about you. Section 45 of the Data Protection Act 2018 entitles you to ask the force for access to personal data it holds about you. The force can restrict access where that is necessary and proportionate, for example to avoid obstructing an investigation.
• Medical evidence. Photographs of any injuries and a record of treatment from your GP or hospital, obtained as soon as you can.
• Witnesses and your own account. Contact details of anyone who saw what happened, and your own dated written account.

Our guide to evidence for a personal injury claim covers medical and witness evidence in more detail.

Before court, and paying for a claim

Injury claims have their own pre-action protocol for personal injury claims. Where no approved protocol applies, the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct expects the claimant to write with concise details of the claim and the defendant to respond within a reasonable time: 14 days in a straightforward case and no more than 3 months in a very complex one. It says litigation should be a last resort.

Legal aid in England and Wales can still cover some claims against public bodies. Schedule 1 to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 includes civil legal services in relation to abuse by a public authority of its position or powers, which requires an act or omission that is deliberate or dishonest and results in reasonably foreseeable harm, and claims involving a significant breach of Convention rights by a public authority. GOV.UK says you will usually also need to show that your income and your savings are below certain amounts. Otherwise, ask solicitors how they would fund the claim; our no win, no fee guide explains those agreements.

Time limits

In England and Wales, a claim that includes an injury must usually be started within three years of the incident, or of your date of knowledge if later (sections 11 and 14 of the Limitation Act 1980), and the court can allow a late claim where that is equitable (section 33). This covers deliberate assaults too: in A v Hoare (2008) the House of Lords departed from Stubbings v Webb, which had held that section 11 did not apply to a deliberate assault. A claim in tort with no injury, such as false imprisonment on its own or damage to property, has six years (section 2). A Human Rights Act claim has one year (section 7(5)).

Northern Ireland has the same structure: three years for injury claims under article 7 of the Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 and six years for other claims in tort under article 6. In Scotland, injury claims have three years under section 17 of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, and an obligation to pay other damages is extinguished after five years under section 6.

If more than one kind of claim applies, work to the earliest date.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides: criminal injury compensation, workplace assault claims, PTSD and trauma claims, evidence for a claim, time limits and choosing a solicitor.

Official sources used for this guide: Police Act 1996, s.88; PACE 1984, s.24; Human Rights Act 1998, s.7; Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police [2018] UKSC 4; IOPC: guide to the complaints process; PACE Code C (2023); Limitation Act 1980, s.2. This guide is general information about the law in the UK, not legal advice; the law can change, so check your own position with a regulated solicitor.