Maguire v Chief Constable of Cumbria Constabulary

A constable may arrest to prevent an apprehended breach of the peace only where there are reasonable grounds for believing that violence is about to occur or is imminent. The question whether those grounds exist on established or undisputed facts is for the judge. A jury determines disputed facts and, where properly raised, the officer’s honest belief. Lawful but provocative conduct may justify arrest only in the clearest circumstances. Mere refusal to leave premises, tense or unusual behaviour, and the absence of actual threats do not suffice. Where the evidence, taken at its highest, cannot support reasonable grounds for apprehending imminent violence, the defence to wrongful arrest fails.

Kenneth Maguire brought claims against the Chief Constable alleging wrongful arrest, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution. He had been arrested at a youth hostel after refusing to leave following his dismissal. The Carlisle County Court ruled that the arresting officer’s evidence was capable of supporting reasonable grounds for apprehending an immediate breach of the peace, and a jury found that the officer honestly believed arrest was necessary. Judgment was entered for the defendant. The appeal concerned the legality of the arrest, the allocation of functions between judge and jury, and whether this court could determine the malicious prosecution claim.

Appeal allowed.

1. The Recorder had treated the issue as whether the evidence taken at its highest could support reasonable grounds for arrest. That was not the final legal question. Whether an officer had reasonable grounds to believe that violence would be committed in the immediate future was for the judge, once the relevant facts had been established. Disputed facts were for the jury, as was honest belief where sufficient evidence raised that issue.
2. The common-law power to arrest for an apprehended breach of the peace is exceptional. Where no breach has occurred, the apprehended breach must be about to occur or be imminent, and the officer must have reasonable grounds for that belief. The approach in