两个术语均有非法限制他人自由的含义。false arrest为“非法拘捕”，其等同unlawful arrest，指用非法手段不经他人同意限制其人身自由，其多属于侵权行为，除可处以补偿性（compensatory) 或名义（nominal)赔偿金外，还可处以惩罚性赔偿金 (punitive damages)；如被拘捕者被关押（be taken into custody)， 不论其时间长短即构成非法拘禁“false imprisonment”（非法拘禁），故有时false arrest也被认为是非法拘禁的一种形式（a Species of false imprisonment)[1]。false imprisonment 是指故意或过失地限制他人人身自由，其可属普通法上民事侵权行为，也可属 于一种犯罪，如绑架罪即为非法拘禁的一种形式[2]。
    
[1]“ A species of false imprisonment, consisting of the detention of a person without his or her consent and without lawful authority. Such arrest consists in unlawful restraint of an individual's personal liberty or freedom of locomotion. An arrest without proper legal authority is a false arrest and because an arrest restrains the liberty of a person it is also false imprisonment. The gist of the tort is protection of the personal interest in freedom from restraint of movement. Neither ill will nor malice are elements of the tort, but if these elements are shown, punitive damages may be awarded in addition to compensatory or nominal damages. ”Cf. The Publisher's Editorial Staff, Black's Law Dictionary, abridged 6th edition, at p. 416, West Publishing Co. (1991).
[2]“The tort and crime of restricting a person to a particular area without legal justification ,whether by means of physical restraints (as in a prison，a locked room，or a speeding automobile) or through force or threat of immediate hann to one's person or valuable property. "Cf. James E. Clapp, Random House Webster's Dictionary of the Law, at p. 177, Random House (2000).