The police have powers of arrest which allow them to detain a person lawfully in certain situations but to do so they must have reasonable suspicion that an offence is / has been committed. If not then you may have a claim for unlawful arrest / false imprisonment.
Once the court has ordered a person’s release (and if they are not to be legitimately detained in relation to another matter) then that person should be released immediately. If not, then a compensation claim for false imprisonment may be possible.
It is not only the police that may have detained you, it could be the local authority, the court, prison or a private security firm. It is very often the case that people are arrested on a court warrant that should have been withdrawn or a private security firm hold you following your court case until they receive confirmation from the prison that there are no outstanding cases against you.
Should you require any advice on this area of law then please feel free to contact us by telephone, e-mail or by using the contact form on a No Win No Fee Basis.