plaintiffs of the fact of arrest, but delayed telling them the grounds, for 10 minutes in one case, and 23 minutes in the other. The Court of Appeal said that arrest was not a legal concept, but arose factually from the deprivation of a person's liberty. It was also a continuing act and, therefore, what had begun as an unlawful arrest could become a lawful arrest. The remedy for the plaintiffs was the damages they had been awarded for the 10 minutes and 23 minutes of illegality: £200 each. In DPP Hawkins, the Divisional Court held that an exception to the rule requiring information to be given to the arrestee exists where the defendant makes it impossible (for example, by his violent conduct) for the officer to communicate the reasons for the arrest to him. In that situation, the arrest is lawful and remains lawful until such a time as the reasons should have been given. The fact that the reasons were not given then does not invalidate the original arrest. The arrest would only become unlawful from the moment when the reasons for it should have been given to the arrested person. NEW POWERS UNDER THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND PUBLIC ORDER ACT 1994 Section Section of the CJPO 1994 provides for a new stop and search power in anticipation of violence and was introduced to deal with violent conduct, especially by groups of young men. Section
Keyword(s):