Is a single police officer legally allowed to arrest a woman who is alone?

[impossible]

Does anyone know if a single police officer is allowed to arrest a woman who is alone and put her in a vehicle? Or for that matter is it legal for a single officer to arrest a male and confine him?

I'm thinking about what happened to Sarah Everard and wondering what the rules are. I think it's important that we all know in case something like that that situation happens again. Certainly I would like to be able to tell my dcs their rights.

And add a charge of resisting arrest? Seriously not a good idea

I think personally I and many other women would much prefer another charge than be raped and murdered.

I’ve learnt from this. I too didn’t know that the police can arrest me on my own. I recall my mum telling me when I was a teen in the 1980s not to always trust the police. Clearly she was worried about something. Sarah really didn’t stand a chance and her last few hours were horrific.

Regardless of what the law currently is, doesn't this case show us that extra safeguarding requirements need to be brought in and publicised? Just as we are all discussing these awful events and thinking about what we would do in similar circumstances, couldn't there be other nasty arseholes out there thinking of copying this (not necessarily police- anyone could fake a warrant card and handcuffs).

@impossible

Naively I imagined they would have to call for back up before someone could be confined.

If they wait for backup then the criminal / dangerous person will escape or harm the police officer before backup arrives. Of course they can arrest someone alone.

There's some extreme naivety on display in this thread.

Being arrested and then requesting a particular police vehicle for your transportation to the station?

Demanding to make a 999 call while under arrest?

Assuming there will be more than one officer when a woman is arrested?

I do understand that a lot of people have no contact with the police but you've only got to catch one of the many fly-on-the-wall TV shows to show none of the above is in the least bit realistic.

The Sarah Everard case is absolutely appalling, and we all have every right to be outraged and demand action to help protect women and girls, but some of this is completely unrealistic as a response to one rogue officer.

At the very least you would know if you are doing something that would merit being arrested.

A random person approaching you and trying to arrest you while you are not committing any offence is not a common occurrence at all I would think

It's not like one would be arrested often or at risk to be arrested by a fake officer often?

This is a terrible case. However, i think generally speaking the problem of police acting alone is far more of a risk to officers both from violence and false accusations Police funding needs to be massively increased so that they have the resources to always have a partner that way everyone is protected.

@SofiaMichelle

There's some extreme naivety on display in this thread.

Being arrested and then requesting a particular police vehicle for your transportation to the station?

Demanding to make a 999 call while under arrest?

Assuming there will be more than one officer when a woman is arrested?

I do understand that a lot of people have no contact with the police but you've only got to catch one of the many fly-on-the-wall TV shows to show none of the above is in the least bit realistic.

The Sarah Everard case is absolutely appalling, and we all have every right to be outraged and demand action to help protect women and girls, but some of this is completely unrealistic as a response to one rogue officer.

But it isn’t just one rogue officer.

It's horrific, she must have been shocked and alarmed at being"arrested" and then the realisation would have dawned...
Surely there will be a review of solo male officers not in uniform making arrests. I wouldn't know either and would believe to be real.

I do understand that a lot of people have no contact with the police but you've only got to catch one of the many fly-on-the-wall TV shows to show none of the above is in the least bit realistic

Because fly-on-the-wall tv shows are an excellent resource to develop a thorough and accurate knowledge of how policing works

Whilst a dreadful case, let’s put this in perspective. When was the last time you heard of a rogue police officer arresting and then murdering someone? Even if rules were in place to stop police men arresting women alone, is that going to stop someone intent on murder?

@Jarnss

Hi OP,

To answer your question, yes they can however...

A lone officer is not going to pick you up and throw you in his car.
So if you refuse to get in the car and start getting distressed he would have to call for help.

Now that's not to say he would not try to put you on the floor, but putting a screaming distressed woman in the back of his car where she could hurt herself and damage the car is not going to happen. Tbh a van will likely be called, but other officers may just escort you in the back of the car.

Yes you could be charged with something extra but most of the time unless you slap the copper or damage his car it's unlikely to stick anyway.

Oh and resisting arrest is not illegal on it's own. Now if you were to hit the officer while resisting arrest that's different.

Resisting arrest most certainly is illegal. It's an offence under s.89 Police Act. www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/16/section/89

“I am refusing to get into your police car with you on your own. I am waiting quietly here until you radio for back up. I do not feel safe getting into a car with any lone man”
As for ‘I am waiting quietly here’ only if the grounds for detention or arrest (either) had been communicated to me and I understood them and could see why I had been stopped. I’d still be wary.
Just sickening the abuse both as a man and as an officer.

Nomorepies yes this is a serious question as I'm sure you can tell by the number of posters who are unsure of the answer too.

Unfortunately even if he had been sacked, unless he was arrested he would still be an unsafe person out on the streets.

@Rainbowheart1

Wouldn’t that be resisting arrest though? You can also be charged with that.

The poor girl didn’t stand a single chance. No one would know not to do as your told by an officer if your being arrested, especially if your not actually the law breaking type.

So I read years ago about how a police officer told women one piece of information

If you ever think. Someone will take you to another location. Be it a kidnapper etc

Then scream bloody murder. NEVER allow an assailant to take you to a second location. If anything say you’ll die here and scream. Because a second location will be more away from people. You will be less able to escape.

It makes sense.

I'm surprised people are surprised by this. How else was he going to get her into the car without drawing suspicion? We already know he'd planned this whole horrific thing from beginning to end. And he thought he'd get away with it.

@impossible

Nomorepies yes this is a serious question as I'm sure you can tell by the number of posters who are unsure of the answer too.

Unfortunately even if he had been sacked, unless he was arrested he would still be an unsafe person out on the streets.

My father was a police officer for over 40 years.

Yes. They can arrest you alone. The budget cuts are making this happen more and more.

@Mymycherrypie

Most of the bystanders watching George Flloyd challenged the officers. That was a whole part of it. The wee officer standing in front of the crowd was staring at them silently while they shouted at them to stop. The guy who was kneeling on his neck was sat up, back straight staring at the bystanders who were shouting. It was very much, "shout all you want, I can do what I like".

People were not just standing watching silently.

@mustlovegin

At the very least you would know if you are doing something that would merit being arrested.

A random person approaching you and trying to arrest you while you are not committing any offence is not a common occurrence at all I would think

It's not like one would be arrested often or at risk to be arrested by a fake officer often?

Problem is COVID laws allowed for just this.

For a rouge police.officer to arrest someone in breach of a covid regulation.

I mean don't get me wrong 99% of the time you'll know, but with all the mixed information about Covid regulations I'd be none the wiser.

@Doris86

Whilst a dreadful case, let’s put this in perspective. When was the last time you heard of a rogue police officer arresting and then murdering someone? Even if rules were in place to stop police men arresting women alone, is that going to stop someone intent on murder?

Why is it when any safeguarding measures, particularly measures that may protect women, are suggested, the response is always 'if someone is intent on hurting you you, then they are going to do it anyway'? You could apply that to anything - why bother with CRB checks as you can get round them, why bother with single sex spaces because men will come in anyway?

Of course in this case, even a bloke flashing his penis in public apparently wasn't enough to make the organisation he worked for suspicious, and he was then free to use his status in that organisation to murder a woman.

And add a charge of resisting arrest? Seriously not a good idea.

Better to wait and find out whether you're about to be a victim of a copycat crime?

I think the UK police force is going to have to understand that single women may not feel particularly trusting of lone male policemen for quite some time.

Will the Met explain why they hadn’t investigated the indecent exposure incidents with him?

It’s all so hugely depressing. I feel horrified at the thought of what she must’ve gone through. And by someone she was supposed to be able to trust. I can’t bear it. Her poor family having to hear all this.

I’ve had a number of unpleasant dealings with the police myself and now just don’t trust them at all. Always very aggressive treatment when I’d been doing absolutely nothing wrong. A friend got pulled over for speeding the other day. She was doing 35 in a road that literally just turned from 40 to 30 and she said the officer was very aggressive with her and seemed absolutely delighted to issue her with a ticket.

The stuff coming out today is absolutely brutal and harrowing, I will be horrified if he does not get a full life term. .

I must admit, I would have been totally compliant too and believed he could arrest me, I think a lot of law abiding women, who have never had any interaction with the police, would have done the same as Sarah did.

I still feel sick at this whole thing. I am a very compliant person, as are most women probably. If I had been stopped by a 'policeman' for breaching Covid rules and he told me he was going to have to arrest me, I'm pretty sure I would have been horrified and totally gone along with it, feeling terrible that I had 'broken the rules'.

That poor woman.