ABSTRACT

An apprehended breach of the peace was also central to the decision in Bibby v Chief Constable of Essex Police (2000). A bailiff had gone to a debtor’s premises for the purpose of seizing assets due under a liability order issued by a magistrates’ court. The debtor threatened to call his friends to prevent the removal of goods. Fearing a breach of the peace, a police constable, who had been called to the premises, ordered the bailiff to leave. When the bailiff refused, he was arrested and led away to the police station in handcuffs. He was later released without charge. The bailiff sued the police for assault and wrongful imprisonment. The Court of Appeal ruled that the bailiff was acting lawfully but although the constable reasonably came to the conclusion that a breach of the peace was imminent he had failed to consider where the threat was coming from. Accordingly, neither the arrest nor the use of handcuffs was justified.100