Revise Police powers for Cambridge 9084 (1.2.4)

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) was introduced to codify and regulate the powers of the police in England and Wales, aiming to strike a balance between the need to investigate crime effectively and the protection of individual rights and liberties. Before PACE, police powers were a confusing mix of statute and common law, leading to inconsistency and controversy. The Act, alongside its accompanying Codes of Practice (A-H), provides a comprehensive framework governing major powers such as stop and search, arrest, detention, and questioning. The Codes are not law themselves, but a breach can have significant legal consequences, most notably the potential for evidence obtained improperly to be excluded from trial under s.76 or s.78 of PACE, thereby jeopardising a prosecution.

Section 1 of PACE 1984 grants police the power to stop and search persons and vehicles in a public place if they have 'reasonable grounds for suspecting' they will find stolen or prohibited articles. This is an objective test; it cannot be based on a hunch, stereotype, or a person's appearance. As established in cases like Osman v DPP, the suspicion must be based on specific information or intelligence. Code A of PACE outlines the procedure: the officer must state their name, station, the object of the search, and the grounds for it (often remembered by the mnemonic GOWISELY). They must also inform the person of their entitlement to a record of the search. While an outer coat, jacket, and gloves can be removed in public, any more intrusive search must be conducted out of public view.

A separate power exists under s.60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. This allows a senior officer to authorise searches within a specific locality for a limited period if they reasonably believe serious violence may occur. Crucially, this power does not require an officer to have reasonable suspicion about a specific individual, representing a significant departure from the s.1 PACE standard.

The primary power of arrest is found in s.24 PACE 1984 (as amended by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005), which allows for arrest without a warrant. This power is subject to a crucial two-part test. First, the officer must have reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person is committing, has committed, or is about to commit an offence. Second, the officer must have reasonable grounds for believing that the arrest is 'necessary' for one of the reasons listed in s.24(5). These 'necessity criteria' include enabling the person's name or address to be ascertained, preventing the person from causing injury or damage, or allowing for a prompt and effective investigation. Under s.28 PACE, the arrested person must be informed that they are under arrest and of the grounds for it as soon as is practicable.

Once arrested, a suspect is taken to a designated police station where their detention is overseen by a Custody Officer, who must be independent of the investigation. This officer is responsible for the suspect's welfare and for upholding their rights under Code C. The key rights are the right to have someone informed of the arrest (s.56 PACE) and the right to free and independent legal advice (s.58 PACE). While fundamental, these rights can be delayed for up to 36 hours in cases of indictable offences if a senior officer authorises it on specific grounds (e.g., risk of tipping off other suspects). Detention itself is strictly time-limited: an initial maximum of 24 hours (s.41), which can be extended to 36 hours by a superintendent (s.42), and then up to a total of 96 hours with authorisation from a magistrates' court. Detention must be reviewed periodically by a senior officer, first after 6 hours and then at intervals of no more than 9 hours.

PACE also governs the taking of samples and identification procedures. A distinction is made between intimate and non-intimate samples. Intimate samples (e.g., blood, semen, urine, pubic hair) can only be taken with the suspect's written consent and with the authority of a senior officer (s.62 PACE). Refusal without good cause can lead to an adverse inference being drawn in court. Non-intimate samples (e.g., hair (not pubic), saliva, fingerprints) do not require consent and can be taken by force if necessary (s.63 PACE). Identification procedures are governed by Code D and include video identification parades (VIPER), which are preferred, and group identifications. An eyewitness's failure to pick out a suspect can be valuable evidence for the defence.

A key safeguard against the abuse of police powers is the court's ability to exclude improperly obtained evidence. There are two main provisions. Section 76 PACE deals with confessions. It states that a confession must be excluded if it was obtained by oppression (e.g., torture, inhuman or degrading treatment) or in circumstances rendering it unreliable. This is a mandatory exclusion. Section 78 PACE provides a much broader, discretionary power. The court may refuse to allow any evidence on which the prosecution proposes to rely if it appears that, having regard to all the circumstances, including how the evidence was obtained, the admission of the evidence would have such an adverse effect on the fairness of the proceedings that it ought not to be admitted. This is often used to challenge evidence obtained following significant breaches of the PACE Codes of Practice.