Automatic authorisation: an exploration of the decision to detain in police custody

Dehaghani, Roxanna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7400-9433 2017. Automatic authorisation: an exploration of the decision to detain in police custody. Criminal Law Review 3 , pp. 187-202.

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Abstract

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 was implemented in 1986 to, inter alia, routinise police powers and procedures in England and Wales, and to improve protection for those suspected of committing a criminal offence. Yet, in the thirty years since its inception, various provisions within PACE have attracted fervent criticism for their ineffectiveness. Drawing upon empirical data collected at two custody suites in England, this paper illustrates, in line with previous studies, that custody officers are still failing to act as a ‘check’ on police powers and are routinely authorising detention. Perhaps more problematically, custody officers may go beyond authorisation and may assist arresting officers in finding sufficient grounds for detention. As such, in the thirty years post- PACE, s 37 is still having little to no impact on custody practices. This paper explores the factors which influence the authorisation of detention and offers tentative conclusions about how the refusal or authorisation of detention may be regulated.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Law
Publisher:	Sweet and Maxwell
ISSN:	0011-135X
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	22 January 2018
Last Modified:	24 Nov 2024 16:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/105733

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