The Use of Force and Restraint Prior to Arrest: Limits on Police Powers to Detain
| Published date | 01 October 2008 |
| Date | 01 October 2008 |
| DOI | 10.1350/jcla.2008.72.5.516 |
| Author | Chris Newman |
| Subject Matter | Divisional Court |
Divisional Court
The Use of Force and Restraint prior to Arrest: Limits on
Police Powers to Detain
Wood v DPP [2008] EWHC 1056 (Admin); The Times (23 May 2008)
Keywords Arrest; Restraint; Reasonable suspicion; Assault on police
On the evening of 23 February 2006, police were called to the Standard
Bearer Public House in Stevenage. Upon arrival they were informed that
a customer, identified as Fraser (F) had smashed an ashtray. Three police
officers (C, B and D) attended and were given a vague description of F.
Although none of the officers knew the appellant, the Police National
Computer was checked and indicated that the man they were looking
for was potentially violent and was also infected with Hepatitis B. Acting
on the information that they had received, the police officers went to
Yates Wine Bar which was near the public house. On approaching the
wine bar, the police saw the appellant, a male fitting the description of F,
come out of the premises. One of the police officers, C, took hold of
the appellant by the arm and asked him whether or not he was F. The
appellant denied that he was F, whereby another PC, D, took hold of his
other arm. A few seconds later, other people emerged from the wine bar
and, upon speaking to the appellant, began to refer to him as ‘Fraser’. By
that time, the appellant was struggling with the police officers and was
trying to pull away. In the ensuing violence, the appellant assaulted
police officers B and D. The appellant was arrested for threatening
behaviour contrary to s. 4 of the Public Order Act 1986. Section 4 of the
1986 Act, so far as is relevant here, provides that a person is guilty of an
offence if he uses towards another person threatening, abusive or insult-
ing words or behaviour with intent to cause that person to believe that
immediate unlawful violence will be used against him or another by any
person, or to provoke the immediate use of unlawful violence by that
person or another, or whereby that person is likely to believe such
violence will be used or it is likely that such violence will be provoked.
Due to his behaviour, the appellant was not informed of the reasons for
his arrest at the time but was told as soon as was reasonably practicable
thereafter. The appellant was subsequently charged with an offence
contrary to s. 4 of the 1986 Act and was also charged with two counts of
assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty, contrary to s. 89
of the Police Act 1996.
At the trial, before North Herefordshire Magistrates’ Court held on 27
June 2006, C gave evidence that when the appellant came out of the
wine bar he could not arrest him as he was not sure whether the
appellant was indeed the man being sought. C stated that he had a good
idea that it might be F and grabbed hold of the appellant’s arm to detain
him to confirm who he was. When the other people came out of the
wine bar and started to refer to the appellant as ‘Fraser’, C stated that his
345The Journal of Criminal Law (2008) 72 JCL 345–348
doi:1350/jcla.2008.72.5.516
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