False Imprisonment UK: Sentence, Charge and Defences

False imprisonment is a common law offence in England and Wales, tried only in the Crown Court, and it carries a maximum of life imprisonment. It can be charged alongside other offences and often in a domestic context.

This guide explains what the prosecution has to prove, what sentence the courts actually pass, what defences apply, and how the offence differs from kidnap.

The short version: False imprisonment is the unlawful and intentional or reckless restraint of another person's freedom of movement, without their consent. It is a common law offence, triable only on indictment in the Crown Court, and the maximum sentence is life imprisonment.

Sentencing follows the Sentencing Council's combined Kidnap and False Imprisonment guideline, which has an offence range running from around six months' custody at the lower end to well over a decade for the most serious cases. Unlike kidnapping, it does not require the victim to be moved: confining them is enough.

What is false imprisonment?

False imprisonment, sometimes called unlawful imprisonment, is committed where a person unlawfully and either intentionally or recklessly restrains another person's freedom of movement from a particular place, against their will.

There is no minimum period. Detaining someone for a few minutes can be enough if the other elements are made out. Nor does it require a locked door, handcuffs or a cell: the restraint can be physical, or it can be achieved by threats that make the person reasonably believe they are not free to leave.

In practice a large proportion of these prosecutions arise in a domestic setting, frequently alongside allegations of coercive and controlling behaviour, assault or non-fatal strangulation, rather than in the stranger-abduction scenario people tend to picture.

What the prosecution has to prove

For a conviction, the Crown must establish each of the following:

1. The defendant restrained the complainant's freedom of movement. Complete confinement is required in the sense that there was no reasonable means of escape, not merely that movement was made more difficult.
2. The restraint was unlawful, meaning there was no lawful authority or other legal justification for it.
3. The defendant acted intentionally or recklessly as to that restraint.
4. The complainant did not consent.

Where the Crown cannot prove that the restraint was complete, or cannot exclude lawful authority, the charge fails even if the underlying conduct was unpleasant.

How does false imprisonment differ from kidnap?

The two overlap and are frequently charged together, but the distinction is straightforward. 

Kidnap involves taking or carrying a person away from one location to another, without consent and without lawful excuse, by force or by fraud. False imprisonment involves restraining movement rather than forcibly moving the person. Where someone is taken and then confined, both offences are commonly charged.

Examples of false imprisonment

Conduct capable of amounting to false imprisonment includes:

• Locking a person in a room without their consent, including in premises they own or live in.
• Physically holding a person down or restraining them so they cannot leave.
• A partner preventing another from leaving the house, taking their keys, phone or shoes to stop them going.
• A security guard or shopkeeper detaining a suspected shoplifter for an unreasonable period or without lawful basis.
• Care home staff restraining or sedating a resident without consent or lawful authority.
• Refusing to stop a vehicle so that a passenger cannot get out.

What matters in each case is whether the restraint was complete, unlawful and without consent, not how long it lasted.

What sentence can you get for false imprisonment?

The maximum is life imprisonment. In practice, sentences are set by the Sentencing Council's Kidnap and False Imprisonment guideline, which applies to adults sentenced in England and Wales and covers both offences in a single document.

The court assesses culpability, taking account of matters such as planning, the duration of the detention, whether violence was used or threatened, targeting of a vulnerable person, and whether the defendant's role was subordinate or affected by coercion. It then assesses harm, principally the psychological and physical impact on the complainant. Those two assessments produce a starting point and a category range, which are then adjusted for aggravating and mitigating factors and for credit for a guilty plea.

Being prosecuted, or wanting to sue? They are different things

False imprisonment exists both as a criminal offence and as a civil wrong, and searches for the term mix the two.

• If you are accused of false imprisonment, or have been arrested or charged, this is a criminal offence, and you need a criminal defence solicitor. That is what this page is about.
• If you believe the police or another body detained you unlawfully and you want compensation, that is a civil claim, usually brought as an action against the police alongside wrongful arrest. It is a different process, with different time limits, run by civil actions-against-the-police specialists rather than criminal defence solicitors.

What defences are available?

The defences turn on the elements above rather than on general excuses.

• Lawful authority. The most common answer. A police officer exercising a power of arrest, a person making a lawful citizen's arrest under section 24A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, a store detective acting within the limits of that power, or someone acting under statutory authority is not committing the offence.
• Consent. If the complainant agreed to remain, there is no offence. Consent obtained by threats is not consent.
• The restraint was not complete. If there was a reasonable means of leaving, the offence is not made out.
• No intention or recklessness. Restraint that was genuinely accidental does not satisfy the mental element.
• Parental responsibility. Reasonable control of a child by a parent or carer is not unlawful restraint.
• It did not happen, or not as alleged. In domestic cases especially, these allegations frequently turn on contested accounts, and the evidence is often messages, call data and third-party witnesses rather than anything physical.

What to do if you are accused of false imprisonment

This is an indictable-only offence, so it will be heard in the Crown Court, and it is very often charged alongside other allegations. Two things matter more than anything else.

Get advice before the police interview. Representation at the police station is free regardless of your means. What you say in interview will shape the case, and in domestic allegations the account you give at that stage is frequently the single most important piece of evidence against you or in your favour.

Preserve the material that supports your account. Messages, call logs, door entry records, location data and CCTV are routinely overwritten or deleted within weeks. What exists now may not exist by the time you are charged.

Accused of false imprisonment? Speak to us before your interview, not after it. The first conversation costs nothing, representation at the police station is free regardless of your means, and we answer the phone 24 hours a day.

Our criminal defence solicitors have over 45 years of experience in serious cases, and we are experienced in handling the types of evidence these prosecutions depend on.

Common questions

What is classed as false imprisonment?

Unlawfully restraining another person's freedom of movement, intentionally or recklessly, without their consent. The restraint must be complete, in the sense that there was no reasonable means of escape, but it does not need to last any particular length of time or involve a locked door.

What is the sentence for false imprisonment in the UK?

The maximum is life imprisonment. Actual sentences are set under the Sentencing Council's Kidnap and False Imprisonment guideline according to culpability and harm, with an offence range running from a matter of months at the lower end to well over a decade in the most serious cases.

What evidence is needed for false imprisonment?

The Crown must prove complete restraint, that it was unlawful, that the defendant acted intentionally or recklessly, and that the complainant did not consent. In practice the evidence is usually the complainant's account supported by messages, call data, location data, CCTV and witnesses.

Is false imprisonment the same as kidnap?

No. Kidnap requires the person to be taken or carried away. False imprisonment requires only that they were restrained. Both are common law offences carrying a maximum of life imprisonment, and they are often charged together.

Can you be charged with false imprisonment in a domestic case?

Yes, and it is common. Preventing a partner from leaving, or taking their keys or phone to stop them going, can amount to the offence, and it is frequently charged alongside coercive control or assault.

Can the police be sued for false imprisonment?

That is the civil wrong rather than the criminal offence. A person unlawfully detained can bring a claim against the police, usually with wrongful arrest, but that is a civil actions-against-the-police matter and not criminal defence work.

Speak to our criminal defence solicitors today

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By Lisa Nicol, Managing Partner and Head of Crime and Serious Cases. This guide states the law of England and Wales. It is general information, not advice on your case.