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Police And Criminal Evidence Act 1984
Police powers are contained in the Police And Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and the Codes of Practice which are found in s66 of PACE. These powers are amended and added to by a number of other statutes, however PACE remains the starting point when looking at the power of the police to stop, search, arrest, detain, interview and take samples from suspects.
Arrest 
PowerPoint Presentation on New
Police Powers of Arrest
To view the BBC News story on the new powers of arrest click HERE (Please note this story is from December 2005, just before these new powers were introduced)
Stop & Search
The power to stop and search individuals on the street is a delicate balancing act between respecting people's civil rights and protection of society. The police's power to stop and search individuals on the street are contained in ss 1-7 of PACE and Code of Practice A.
s1 gives the police the right to stop and search people and vehicles in a public place. To exercise this power the officer must have reasonable grounds for suspecting that the person is in possession of (or the vehicle contains) stolen or prohibited articles. Prohibited articles includes such items as offensive weapons and articles for use in connection with burglary or theft.
Safeguards
These are extremely wide powers, therefore some safeguards have been put in place to protect the rights of the individual. The officer must;
This was illustrated by the case of Osman v DPP (1999)
In this case the officers failed to give their names or station, the Divisional Court held that this made the search unlawful and therefore Mr Osman could not be guilty of assaulting the police in the execution of their duty, when he resisted the search.
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If a search takes place in public then the police can only request that the suspect removes their outer coat, jacket and gloves.
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The officer must must make a written report of the search as soon as possible after the search has taken place.
Voluntary Searches
This is where an individual is prepared to be searched voluntarily. However, this has now reallly been abolished as the police can only carry out a voluntary search where they have the power to search the person anyway.
Other Powers to Stop & Search Outside of PACE
Misuse of Drugs Act 1972
This Act allows the police to search for controlled drugs.
Terrorism Act 2000
This gives the police the power to stop & search where there is reasonable suspicion of involvement in terrorism.
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
s60 gives the police the power to stop and search in anticipation of violence. This however can only happen where it has been authorised by a senior police officer who reasonably believes that serious violence may take place in any locality in his area. This power can only be in place for up to 24 hours, however once authorised by a senior officer the police can stop and search without having reasonable suspicion.
Road Checks
Where there is reasonable suspicion that a person who has committed a serious offence is still within a particular area, s4 of PACE, authorises road checks to be made. A road check allows the police to stop all vechiles within that particular area.
Summary (from the Home Office) of Police Powers to Stop and Search
Click here for stop & search summary
Search of Premises
The police can enter premises without the occupier's permission to make a search if;
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a warrant has been issued by a Magistrate, the warrant must be shown before the search starts R v Longman (1988) In this case the police knew it would be difficult to gain entry to a property where they wished to search for drugs so they sent a undercover policewoman posing as a delivery driver from Interflora to get the occupants to open the door. Once the door was open the police burst in without showing the warrant and without saying they were police officers. The Court of Appeal held that the search was still lawful in such circumstances.
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it is necessary in order to arrest a person named in an arrest warrant or to recapture an escaped prisoner. The police must give anyone present the reason for the entry. In O'Loughlin v Chief Constable of Essex (1998) the police forced their way in without explaining it was in order to arrest Mr O'loughlin's wife. This made the entry unlawful and Mr O'Loughlin was able to sue the police for damages.
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it is believed that there is evidence relating to an arrest. It was held in R v Badham (1987) that this power must be exercised immediately after the arrest, the police cannot return to the premises a few hours later to make the search.
The police can enter premises without a search warrant if the occupier of the premises gives them permission to do so. This consent must be given in writing and if withdrawn at any time the police must stop their search and leave the premises.
If the police exceed any of their powers to enter and search premises then any person affected may bring a claim against the police in the civil courts. If the police obtain any evidence as a result of an unlawful search then they may still be able to use it against the defendant in court. The defence can argue that it should be inadmissable under s78 PACE, ultimately it will be for the Judge or Magistrate to decide if the evidence should be used by the prosecution.
Powers of Detention
Once a suspect has been arrested and taken to a police station there are strict rules about the length of time they may be held.
The Time Limits
The general rule is that the police may detain a person for 24 hours. After this the police may detain a suspect for a further 12 hours (making a total of 36 hours) but only with the permission of a senior officer, superintendent or above. For ordinary arrestable offences a suspect must then be charged or released. However, with serious arrestable offences a suspect can be detained for a further period if the poilce apply to the Magistrates' Court. The Magistrates' Court can order the suspect to be detained for a maximun of 96 hours.
During a suspect's detention it is the Custody Officer's responsibility to review the suspect's detention on a regular basis, the first review must be not more than 6 hours after the suspect was first detained. Then the custody officer must review their detention at intervals of not more than 9 hours. If at any point the custody officer believes there are no grounds to detain the suspect then s/he is under a duty to release the suspect. Whilst detained the custody officer must keep a record of events that occur, for example, interviews and visits to the cells by police officiers.
Terrorism
There are longer time limits with terrorism cases. ss 23-25 of the Terrorism Act 2006 provides that;
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prosecutors can apply for an extension of the detention warrant
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this must be approved by a Magistrate for up to 14 days
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this 14 day period can be extended to a maximum period of detention of 28 day
The Rights of a Detained Person
It is the job of the custody officer to tell the detained person their rights, which include;
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having someone informed that they have been arrested
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being told that independent legal advice is available free of charge
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being able to consult with a solicitor in private
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being allowed to consult the Codes of Practice
The right to have someone informed of their arrest
This is covered by s56 of PACE. The arrested person can have any friend, relative or any other person who they think is likely to take an interest in their welfare informed of their arrest and told where they are being held. Where the person is being held for a serious arrestable offence then a senior police officer can authorise that there be a delay of up to 36 hours in informing the nominated person of their arrest. This can only be done where there are reasonable grounds for believeing that telling the nominated person will lead to;
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interference with the investigation
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harm to evidence
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harm to another person
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the alerting of others involved in the offence
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hindering the recovery of property
Code C of PACE also states that a detained person should be allowed to speak on the telepone for a reasonable time to one person. This, however, is not a right and the police can refuse.
The right to legal advice
A detained person may either contact their own solicitor or they can speak, free of charge, to the duty solicitor. The custody officer must get the suspect to sign to say whether or not they wish to have legal advice. It is possible for a senior officer to authorise a delay in the right to see a solicitor in the case of serious arrestable offences. However this can only happen where there are reasonable grounds to believe that giving access to a solicitor will lead to;
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interference with or harm to evidence
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interference with or harm to any other person
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the alerting of others involved in the offence
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hindering the recovery of property obtained through the offence
The case of R v Samuel (1988) shows that it would only be in rare cases that such a deley was justified and any delay must be based on specific aspects of the case and not on a general assumption that access to a solicitor might lead to the alerting of accomplices.
In R v Grant (2005) the Court of Appeal held that illegal conduct by the police would not be tolerated. In this case there had been deliverate interference by the police with the detained suspect's right to a private meeting with his solicitor. This was viewed to be so serious that his coinviction for murder was quashed.
Police Interviews of Suspects
Searches, Fingerprints and Body Samples
The custody officer should record everything a detained person has with them when they are brought to the police station. If they feel it is necessary they can make a non-intimate search of the suspect.
Strip Searches
These are defined in Code C as searches which involve the removal of more that the outer clothing. Searches should be made in a private area and should be carried out by a police officer who is the same sex as the suspect. Suspects should not be made to remove all their clothes at once.
Intimate Searches
A high ranking police officer can athorise an intimate search of a suspect, if there is reason to believe that the person has with them an item which could be used to cause phyical injury to themselves or others or that they are in possession of a class A drug.
An intimate search is defined as;
'a search which consists of the physical examination of a person's body orifices other than the mouth'
Such searches should be carried out by a suitably qualified person.
Fingerprints and Body Samples
 Whilst in detention the police may take a person's fingerprints and non-intimate body samples (hair & saliva) without the person's consent. If necessaey the police may use reasonable force to take these.
There are however different rules for the taking of intimate body samples, intimate samples are defined as;
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a sample of blood, semen, urine or pubic hair
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a dental impression
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a swab taken from a person's genitals or any other body orifice other than the mouth
These samples can only be taken by a registered medical practicitioner or a nurse.
The retention of samples
Until 2001 fingerprints and samples were only kept where the suspect was found guilty of an offence. However the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 amended PACE to allow for the retention of fingerprints and bodysamples. The result of this piece of legislation is that fingerprints and samples can be kept even if the suspect isn't even charged with an offence. All samples are put onto the national DNA database.
Complaints Against The Police
The Independent Police Complaints Commission deals with complaints against the police.
For details of the IPCC visit there website by clicking HERE
Past Examination Questions:
The police have the right to stop and search and arrest individuals. Discuss the extent to which an individuals's rights are protected in such circumstances.
(20 marks) June 2003
Discuss whether the balance between the rights of an individual and the powers of the police to detain and interview a person at the police station are satisfactory.
(20 marks) January 2006
Revision & Examination Advice
You should never learn a 'model' answer to use in the examination as the majority of the marks will be gained by applying your knowledge to the question set. Don't be tempted to just 'write everything you know' about a topic.
However, it is worth learning an opening paragraph or sentance which you can then use whatever question is set on the topic area. For example, for police powers you could start any question with the follwing;
"The relevant law relating to police powers can be found in the Police And Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and the Codes of Practice found in s66 of PACE."
This immediately shows the examiner that you are aware of the key statute and the codes of practice in relation to police powers. Of course, this isn't a substitute for learning the topic it just gets you off to a good start and immediately gains you marks.
Still haven't found what you're looking for on police powers? Try searching the web.
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