What is false imprisonment in New South Wales?

A false imprisonment occurs where a person is detained in contravention of the law.

It can happen where police officers exercise an unlawful arrest; in other words; arrest a person in the absence of a warrant and without complying with the requirements for arresting a person without a warrant contained in section 99(1) of the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002; namely that:

• The officer suspects on reasonable grounds that the person has committed or is committing an offence, or
• The officer is satisfied that the arrest is reasonably necessary for any one of the following reasons:
• To ensure the appearance of the person before a court
• To prevent a continuation of the offence or the commission of another offence.