Civil Liberties & Human Rights

The civil liberties team at Hickman & Rose are leading experts addressing some of the most serious abuses by police and other detaining authorities, including the use of force and arrest and decision making in the police station. Clients are victims, suspects and detainees from all walks of life, from those regularly involved with the criminal justice system to bereaved families and professionals who have not previously been involved with the police until their rights have been breached. 

The team has particular expertise in police shootings, taser and restraint related deaths. Such incidents are no respecters of class or age, but disproportionately affect people who are suffering from mental health breakdown, and black men.  Bereaved families need help tackling investigations by the Independent Office for Police Conduct and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, inquests, civil proceedings and public law challenges. 

A core area of expertise lies in seeking remedies for ill treatment in prison and immigration detention, including prisoner on prisoner violence and sexual abuse to false imprisonment, the use of excessive force by staff and discrimination.

Another strand of the team’s work is upholding protest rights through civil and public law proceedings. This currently includes the ongoing public inquiry for victims of undercover policing, acting for police officers’ family members who were duped, protesters and lawyers who were targeted.