Q&A - I was wrongly arrested for breaching my bail what can I do about it?

Q. I was arrested and granted bail. Part of the bail conditions were that I stayed at home between 8pm and 7am every day and was monitored by tag. Then two days ago I was arrested for breaching my bail. The Police said they had called around to check I was at home and because I hadn’t answered the door they decided I wasn’t in. I told them I must have just slept through the knocking but they arrested me. After spending the night in custody I was told my bail conditions had been wrongly typed up by the Court and I was released. I am 12 weeks pregnant and found this very upsetting. Is there anything I can do?

A: You may be able to claim compensation for false imprisonment against the Court, as the Police have confirmed there was an error made by the Court in typing up your bail conditions. It appears the Court mistakenly stated that your curfew was to be monitored by Police checks, rather than by tag. The wrong information was then sent to the Police National Computer and so the Police would not have been aware of the typing error.

Your Custody Record will assist in showing what happened, as this will confirm the time and reason for your arrest and the time and reasons for your release. Damages for false imprisonment aim to compensate the victim for their loss of liberty and are calculated based upon the period of time the victim is falsely detained. Damages may also be increased where, for example, the Claimant is a minor or is pregnant at the time of detention.

Claims against public bodies are not however straightforward and you should seek advice from a solicitor who is experienced in making such claims, preferably from a firm which deals with criminal law and claims against the police.