What Evidence do I Need to Challenge an Arrest?

What you need to prove will depend on:

• What court or complaints body you are bringing your claim to. For example, a police ombudsman will often require less evidence than a court.
• What law you are arguing has been broken. Every law has different “elements”. These are the different ingredients of an offence or breach of law that you need to prove.
• The “standard of proof”. This determines that level of certainty with which you have to prove that something happened. For example, in criminal cases, the standard of proof is higher than in civil or administrative cases, so more evidence often needs to be put before a court.

Later sections in this Guide will go into more detail on these issues. However, it will generally be important to prove the following issues:

Key Questions:

• Who: which police force and/or officer are you complaining about?
• When did the incident happen (date, time)?
• Where did the incident happen (public space, private space, address)?
• What was the nature of the incident? What happened?
• Why do you think the incident occurred? (e.g. discrimination, information the police had etc)
• Why are you unhappy with what happened?
• Were there any witnesses to the incident who can corroborate your compliant (note any names, contact number, address, relation to you)?
• Have you already complained to a member of the police force about the issue (reference number)?
• What is the status of the case against you after you were arrested?

It is important to collect evidence as soon as possible.

First, it is helpful to have a set of facts that describes what happened. You may not be able to remember all key details by the time of a potential trial, so try to keep records of events. For example, you could write down what happened when you got arrested as you remember it.

Then you need to gather evidence to support this set of facts. The following could be important evidence in your case.

Key Evidence

To strengthen your complaint, you should consider obtaining the following evidence:

• Your witness statements. Your own account should be written down as soon as possible. For tips on how to write a witness statement, see the A4J Guide on Witness Statements;
• Police records of the arrest. In many countries, police have to make a record of arrests that identifies the officers involved, the reason why you were arrested and the circumstances around your arrest. Getting this early can be valuable if the police try to change their story;
• The name of the officer conducting the search and their respective police station. This information could appear on their uniform, badge or in the arrest record relating to the arrest;
• Interviews with the relevant law enforcement officers. Once you have been arrested, there will usually be an interview and a record of this interview. Request this record if you have not received it;
• Other persons witness statements. Were there friends and family at the scene? They could be witnesses. Take a note of anyone else who may have seen the arrest (and their personal information). Ask any person who was a witness to the events to write their own, independent accounts, as soon as possible;
• Videos, photos or audio. This could be video, or audio footage taken by yourself, witnesses, CCTV or police ‘body cameras’. If you think there was CCTV or body camera footage, you may have to request that this is disclosed;
• Police policies or codes of conduct. Although these may not be laws, it could strengthen your case if you can show these have been breached;
• Any other documentation such as telephone records, messages or notes that were written down at the time of the arrest; and
• Court documents relating to your arrest.

Collecting such evidence can take some time and involve contacting and meeting  people such as victims, witnesses and experts. It may also involve going to the place where the arrest was committed.

It is usually vital to get support from a lawyer or a supportive organisation to help you with the evidence gathering process. If this is not possible, friends and family can be important sources of support. This is especially true if you are in detention and trying to gather evidence.

You must gather evidence that will be accepted in court (this is called “admissible evidence”).

• You can generally only submit evidence to the court which is ‘relevant‘. Relevant evidence is that which relates to essential facts that you must prove to succeed in your case and which is not admitted by the other party.
• The precise facts of each case and the exact rules governing the evidence will vary according to the country in which you are bringing your claim.

For general tips on how to gather evidence, go to How Can I Prove My Case? in the A4J Going to Court: Q&A.