ARREST
Powers of arrest
Powers of arrest allow people to be detained against their will. Such detention is only lawful if the arrest is carried out in accordance with the law. An arrest can take place wither with or without a warrant.
Arrest with a warrant
s.1 Magistrates’ Court Act 1980 – criminal proceedings may be initiated either by the issue of a summons requiring the accused to attend court on a particular day or, in more serious cases, by a warrant of arrest issued by the magistrates’ court. The police obtain a warrant by applying in writing to a magistrate, and backing up the application with an oral statement made on oath. The warrant issued must specify the name of the person to be arrested and general particulars of the offence. When an arrest warrant has been granted, a constable may enter and search premises to make the arrest, using reasonable force as is necessary. (PACE s.117)
Arrest without a warrant
There are five main categories of arrest without a warrant.
Powers of arrest allow people to be detained against their will. Such detention is only lawful if the arrest is carried out in accordance with the law. An arrest can take place wither with or without a warrant.
Arrest with a warrant
s.1 Magistrates’ Court Act 1980 – criminal proceedings may be initiated either by the issue of a summons requiring the accused to attend court on a particular day or, in more serious cases, by a warrant of arrest issued by the magistrates’ court. The police obtain a warrant by applying in writing to a magistrate, and backing up the application with an oral statement made on oath. The warrant issued must specify the name of the person to be arrested and general particulars of the offence. When an arrest warrant has been granted, a constable may enter and search premises to make the arrest, using reasonable force as is necessary. (PACE s.117)
Arrest without a warrant
There are five main categories of arrest without a warrant.
Reasonable suspicion concerning an arrestable offence
Under s.24 PACE, a police officer can arrest without a warrant a person who he or she reasonably suspects has committed or is committing, or is about to commit, an arrestable offence. Arrestable offences comprise:
Under s.24 PACE, a police officer can arrest without a warrant a person who he or she reasonably suspects has committed or is committing, or is about to commit, an arrestable offence. Arrestable offences comprise:
- Offences with a sentence fixed by law (for example, life imprisonment in the case of murder);
- Offences for which the maximum sentence for an adult is five years’ imprisonment or longer;
- Certain other specified offences (for example, ‘kerb-crawling’, offences contained in the Official Secrets Act 1911-89, the Sexual Offences Act 1956, and the Theft Act 1968
General arrest conditions
s.25 PACE 1984 gives the police a power to arrest anyone who they reasonably suspect has committed or attempted, or is committing or attempting, any offence if serving a summons appears inappropriate or impracticable because of the existence of specified circumstances. Known as the ‘general arrest conditions’, these circumstances are:
that the suspect will not give his/her name and address, or the police officer reasonably suspects that the name or address given is false, or the address is unsatisfactory for service of a summons; or
that arrest is necessary to prevent physical harm and damage to property, to prevent obstruction of the highway, to protect a child or other vulnerable person from the suspect, or to protect the suspect from harming themselves or suffering physical injury.
In G v director of Public Prosecutions (1989), it was held that a belief by the police officer concerned that ‘suspects generally give false names’ was not sufficient to satisfy general arrest conditions.
s.25 PACE 1984 gives the police a power to arrest anyone who they reasonably suspect has committed or attempted, or is committing or attempting, any offence if serving a summons appears inappropriate or impracticable because of the existence of specified circumstances. Known as the ‘general arrest conditions’, these circumstances are:
that the suspect will not give his/her name and address, or the police officer reasonably suspects that the name or address given is false, or the address is unsatisfactory for service of a summons; or
that arrest is necessary to prevent physical harm and damage to property, to prevent obstruction of the highway, to protect a child or other vulnerable person from the suspect, or to protect the suspect from harming themselves or suffering physical injury.
In G v director of Public Prosecutions (1989), it was held that a belief by the police officer concerned that ‘suspects generally give false names’ was not sufficient to satisfy general arrest conditions.
Other statutory powers of arrest
Certain other statutes provide powers of arrest. For example, s.5 Public Order Act 1986 permits a police officer to arrest without a warrant anyone who commits the offence of disorderly conduct, provided the officer has warned the person in question to stop the disorderly conduct, and the person has continued; and the CJPOA gives a constable in uniform the power to arrest without a warrant a person reasonably suspected of attending or preparing for a rave. |
Arrest for breach of the peace
s.26 PACE 1984 preserved the old common law power of arrest for breach of the peace recognized in the important case of R v Howell (1982). This area of common law was strictly applied in Nicol v DPP (1996). During an angling competition, animal rights activists blew horns, threw twigs into the water and tried to persuade the anglers to stop fishing. This provoked the anglers so that they were on the verge of using force to remove the protestors, at which point the activists were arrested for breach of the peace. The court found that the protesters were lawfully arrested as, while their behaviour was in itself lawful, it was not reasonable. |
Citizen’s arrest
An ordinary citizen can arrest someone who is reasonably suspected to be committing an arrestable offence, and, where such an offence has been committed, anyone who is reasonably suspected of being guilty of it. If the offence has not actually been committed by anyone, the citizen may be liable for damages (Walters v WH Smith 1914) |
Manner of arrest
PACE requires that at the time of the arrest, or as soon as practicable after the arrest, the person arrested must be informed that they are under arrest, and given the grounds for their arrest, even if it is perfectly obvious that they are being arrested and why (s.28 PACE). This is in line with the pre-existing case law, where in Christie v Leachinsky (1947), Viscount Simon said: ‘No one, I think, would approve a situation in which when the person arrested asked for the reason, the policeman replied ‘that has nothing to do with you: come along with me…’ There is no set form of words that must be used, and colloquial language such as ‘You’re nicked for mugging’ may be acceptable. |