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CRIMINAL LAW, EVIDENCE AND PROCEDURE - BREACH OF THE PEACE – COMMON LAW OFFENCE – BREACH OF THE PEACE ON PRIVATE PREMISES – CLAIM FOR WRONGFUL ARREST – WHETHER BREACH OF PEACE CAN OCCUR ON PRIVATE PREMISES WHERE NO MEMBER OF PUBLIC OUTSIDE PREMISES INVOLVED
The claimant brought an action against the police for damages for wrongful
arrest and personal injuries sustained during the arrest. The police attended
the claimant’s home following an emergency phonecall from the claimant’s
daughter reporting a violent domestic incident between the claimant and his
wife. The claimant, who was in drink and in an angry mood, was arrested to
prevent a breach of the peace. The judge entered judgment in favour of the
claimant on the basis that the arrest had been unlawful because there could
not be a breach of peace without some element of disturbance, or threatened
disturbance to a member of the public outside of the premises involved. The
police appealed, submitting that disturbance, or external involvement, of
members of the public outside the private premises was not a necessary ingredient
of a common law breach of the peace.
Held – Applying binding authority, a common law breach of the peace
could occur on private premises where no member of the public outside the
premises was involved or disturbed by the putative breach of the peace. A
requirement to the contrary would render wholly nugatory the valuable protection
afforded by the police’s power of arrest for a common law breach of the
peace in unreasonable domestic incidents, if the police could not act unless
there was a public bystander affected. However the power to arrest for a common
law breach of the peace was to be exercised with special care and only in
the rarest cases. The appeal would be allowed.
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