A false arrest is one way of committing false imprisonment. False imprisonment occurs when one person unlawfully restricts another's freedom of movement.Under California Penal Code §236, false imprisonment is the unlawful violation of the personal liberty of another. False imprisonment is a charge with many facets and associated penalties. False arrest requires an arrest, but, false imprisonment only requires unlawful detention. This means falsely imprisoning a hostage as a means of avoiding capture or arrest. Protected from prosecution for false arrest or imprisonment for both warrant and warrantless arrests (qualified immunity). As defined in the PC 236, false imprisonment is an unlawful infringement of freedom of another person. The fraud or deceit must be intentional. False arrest requires an arrest, but, false imprisonment only requires unlawful detention.