Learning Outcomes
After reading this article, you will be able to identify and explain a suspect’s principal rights when detained at a police station under PACE 1984. You will understand the legal basis for these rights, including the right to legal advice, the right to have someone informed of arrest, detention time limits and reviews, and the circumstances in which these rights may be delayed. You will be able to apply these rules to SQE2-style problem scenarios and advise clients accurately.
SQE2 Syllabus
For SQE2, you are expected to demonstrate the ability to identify and apply the legal rights and procedural safeguards for suspects detained by police, as well as to advise clients—including vulnerable or juvenile suspects—about the implications of detention, delay, and access to legal advice.
As you work through this article, remember for your revision:
- The nature and source of a detained suspect’s principal rights under PACE 1984 (right to legal advice; right to have someone informed of arrest; detention time limits; review requirements).
- How and when detention time limits and review requirements operate, including who is authorised to extend detention.
- The rules on when and how access to legal advice or notification of arrest may be delayed, and associated procedural safeguards.
- The responsibilities of the custody officer and the importance of the custody record as an evidential document.
Test Your Knowledge
Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, remember to look more closely at that area during your revision.
- Under what circumstances, and by whom, can a suspect’s access to legal advice be lawfully delayed during police detention?
- What is the maximum period a suspect can be detained without charge for a standard indictable offence before judicial authorisation is required?
- What rights must the custody officer inform a suspect of upon arrival at the police station?
- Which document records details of a suspect’s detention, and what parties are entitled to inspect it during custody?
Introduction
When a client is detained at a police station, you must immediately check that their statutory rights are upheld. PACE 1984 provides core procedural safeguards for every suspect brought into police custody. These operate from the moment of arrival and throughout detention and interrogation. Failure by police to observe these rights can render evidence inadmissible and may amount to a breach of the client’s right to a fair trial.
Key Term: PACE 1984
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 is the main statute regulating police powers of investigation, detention, and the rights of suspects in England and Wales.
The Role of the Custody Officer
On arrival, the suspect must be presented to the custody officer, who is responsible for authorising and overseeing their detention. This officer must be of at least sergeant rank and should be independent from the investigation.
Key Term: custody officer
An officer of at least sergeant rank, responsible for safeguarding welfare and rights of a detainee, opening the custody record, and authorising further detention.
The Custody Record
The custody officer must open a custody record for each suspect as soon as practicable. This document logs all key information about the suspect’s detention, including grounds for detention, reviews, rights provided, and requests made.
Key Term: custody record
The official written record completed by the custody officer, detailing all events, authorisations, and rights exercised or waived during a person’s detention.
Informing the Suspect of Their Rights
Upon booking in, the custody officer must inform the suspect:
- Of the right to legal advice (free and private).
- Of the right to have a nominated person informed of their arrest.
- Of the right to consult the PACE codes and to receive a copy of the custody record on release.
- Of rights to medical attention if needed.
Key Term: PACE Codes
Codes of Practice issued under PACE 1984, setting out police powers, detainee rights, and procedures in custody (Codes A–H).
Detention Time Limits and Reviews
The maximum period for which a suspect may be detained without charge is 24 hours from the “relevant time.” For an indictable offence, continued detention up to 36 hours may be authorised by an officer of superintendent rank or above, provided statutory grounds are met. To hold a suspect for more than 36 hours, police must apply for a magistrates’ court warrant, extendable in blocks (typically 36 or 24 hours), up to a total maximum of 96 hours.
Key Term: relevant time
The time from which detention is legally counted, usually the time of arrival at the police station or, for voluntary attendees, the time of arrest.
Reviews of detention are essential safeguards. An inspector (or above) must review the detention not later than six hours after initial authorisation, and at intervals not exceeding nine hours thereafter to decide if continued detention is justified.
Key Term: detention review
Formal review of detention by an independent officer to determine if continued detention remains justified; must be timed and recorded.Key Term: review clock
The period used to calculate timing for required detention reviews, running from the time detention is first authorised.
Right to Legal Advice
Every suspect has the right to consult privately with a solicitor at any time in custody. This is free and cannot be refused except in strictly limited circumstances. The police must inform suspects of this right and facilitate its exercise without delay.
Key Term: right to legal advice
The statutory right, under PACE 1984, for a suspect to receive confidential legal advice from a solicitor, whether in person or by telephone, without means testing.Key Term: Defence Solicitor Call Centre (DSCC)
The central system for contacting solicitors to provide legal advice to detained suspects in police stations.
Delaying Rights
Access to legal advice can only be delayed by a superintendent (or above), and only if strictly defined statutory conditions are met, such as risk of evidence interference or alerting other suspects, and only for as long as these reasons persist. The maximum possible delay is 36 hours from the relevant time. When the right is delayed, reasons must be given both orally and in writing to the suspect, and the delay must be recorded.
Similarly, the right to have someone informed of the arrest may be delayed by an inspector (or above), for the same type of reasons and periods as above, only where the offence is indictable.
Key Term: delaying rights
The permitted power for police to postpone only certain suspect rights, such as access to a solicitor or informing a nominated person, if specific grounds and procedures are satisfied under PACE 1984.
Related Procedural Safeguards
The custody officer must ensure that all action, including delays or authorisations, is recorded in the custody record. The suspect, their solicitor, or appropriate adult may inspect the custody record during detention or obtain a copy on release.
For vulnerable suspects or juveniles, extra protections apply, such as the presence of an appropriate adult during interview or when rights are explained.
Worked Example 1.1
Your client Sarah is detained on suspicion of burglary. She asks for legal advice but, after a senior officer is told that informing her solicitor could lead to other suspects fleeing, the police delay her access to a solicitor. After 30 hours, Sarah is interviewed without legal advice. Were the police actions lawful?
Answer:
The police may only delay legal advice for limited reasons and while those grounds genuinely persist, and the maximum delay is 36 hours from the relevant time. Sarah was interviewed within the permitted period, so the delay is lawful only if a superintendent authorised it and the reason for delay continued to exist with regular review and recording.
Worked Example 1.2
Imran is arrested at 18:00 and booked into custody at a police station at 18:30. What is the latest time the police can hold him in custody without charge for a standard indictable offence, and what is the earliest point magistrate authorisation is required for further detention?
Answer:
The maximum period is 24 hours from 18:30 (relevant time), i.e., until 18:30 the following day. An extension up to 36 hours from a superintendent is possible (until 06:30 two days later). To detain Imran beyond 36 hours, magistrate authorisation must be obtained.
Worked Example 1.3
Amy is detained on suspicion of theft and has her detention reviewed by an inspector at hour 6 and hour 15 after booking in. Is PACE compliance achieved for detention reviews?
Answer:
The first review was correct (within 6 hours), but the second was at hour 15, which is 9 hours after the first (the maximum permitted). This schedule is compliant, but further reviews must not exceed 9-hour intervals.
Exam Warning
The detention time limit “clock” and the review of detention “clock” start at different points. Do not confuse them in SQE2 scenarios. Detention time limit runs from the relevant time; the review clock starts from detention authorisation.
Revision Tip
Always check that the correct officer (with genuinely independent authority) is being asked to delay legal advice or notification, and that delay is justified and properly recorded in the custody record.
Key Point Checklist
This article has covered the following key knowledge points:
- Detained suspects must be informed of and allowed to exercise their rights, including legal advice and notification of arrest, as soon as practicable.
- Custody officers must keep a custody record, detailing all events during a suspect’s detention; this can be inspected by the suspect or their representative at any time.
- Detention without charge is limited to initial periods of up to 24 hours, extendable to 36 hours with superintendent authorisation, and up to 96 hours by magistrates’ court warrant.
- Reviews of detention by an inspector or above must occur at set intervals (first at no more than 6 hours, then every 9 hours).
- Both right to legal advice and right to have someone informed of arrest can only be delayed in exceptional circumstances, for strictly limited periods, by senior officers, following procedural safeguards.
- For vulnerable or juvenile suspects, additional protections apply, including the right to an appropriate adult.
- All rights, delays, reviews, and authorisations must be carefully recorded and available for inspection; failures to comply can render police evidence inadmissible.
Key Terms and Concepts
- PACE 1984
- custody officer
- custody record
- PACE Codes
- relevant time
- detention review
- review clock
- right to legal advice
- Defence Solicitor Call Centre (DSCC)
- delaying rights