Criminal Litigation - Preliminaries to Prosecution
The Codes of Practice issued under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and their importance to criminal investigations
2. The provisions of Code C.10 (cautions and special warnings) and Code C.11 (interviews)
3. The main powers of...
Criminal Litigation Revision Notes:
Syllabus 2: Preliminaries to prosecution
1. Police powers in the investigation of crime
[D1.1]
Police powers of investigation include:
- Arrest
- Detention
- Interrogation
- Entry and search of premises
- Personal search
- Taking of samples
- Procedures of identification
A failure by a PO or other person required to have regard to provisions of the codes does not, of itself,
render that officer liable to criminal or civil proceedings.
2. Interrogation of suspects d
[D1.81- D1.90]
a. Definition of interview [Code C para 11.1A]
An interview is the questioning of a person regarding their involvement or suspected involvement in a
criminal offence or offences which, under par 10.1, must be carried out under caution.
A caution is not necessary if questions are for the purposes such as:
- Solely to establish their ID or ownership of a vehicle;
- To obtain information in accordance with statutory requirements
- In furtherance of the proper and effective conduct of a search
- To seek verification of a written record of comments made by the person outside an interview.
b. Where interview is to be conducted [Code C section 11]
Following a decision to arrest a suspect, he must normally be interviewed only at a police station or
other authorised place of detention.
Exceptions:
the delay would lead to or is likely to lead to:
- Interference with or harm or physical harm to a person or serious loss of/or damage to property.
- Alert other people suspected of committing an offence but not yet arrested.
- Hinder the recovery of property (risk property won’t be recovered)
A caution must be administered at the commencement of an interview, whether or not conducted at a
police station.
There must be some reasonable, objective grounds for the suspicion, based on known facts or
information.
, Whenever a person is interviewed and solicitor if represented, must be given, before the interview,
sufficient information to make it possible to understand the nature of the suspected offence and why
the person is suspected of committing it.
Where a suspect is interviewed at a police station or other authorised place of detention following arrest
and:
- Is asked to account for an object, mark or substance, or mark on such objects found on his/her
person, in his or her clothing or footwear otherwise in his/her possession, or in the place where
the arrest took place, or
- To account for his/her presence at the place where the arrest took place
A special warning must be given in the terms set out in Code C para 10.11. Inferences cannot be drawn
if the warning is not given.
c. Information about legal advice
Prior to the commencement of the interview or recommencement, the officer must, unless access to a
solicitor has been delayed or one of the exceptions applies, remind the suspect of their entitlement to
free legal advice and the interview can be delayed for legal advice to be obtained.
d. Significant statement or silence
At the beginning of the interview, the officer must, after cautioning the suspect, put to the suspect any
significant statement or silence which occurred in the presence and hearing of a police officer or police
staff.
A significant statement is one which appears to be capable of being used in evidence and in particular
a direct admission of guilt.
A significant silence is a failure or refusal to answer a question or answer satisfactorily when under
caution, which might, allowing for the restrictions on drawing inferences from silence, give rise to an
adverse inference under CJPO 1994.
e. Conduct in interview
No PO may try to obtain answers to questions or to elicit a statement by the use of oppression, nor
indicate, except in answer to a direct question, what action the police will take if the suspect answers or
refuses to answer questions or make a statement.
f. When interviews should cease
Interview must cease when the OIC is satisfied that all the questions the officer considers relevant to
obtaining accurate and reliable information about the offence have been put to the suspect, the officer
has taken account of other available evidence and the OIC reaso nably believes there is sufficient
evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.
g. Recording of interviews
Must normally be contemporaneously recorded. Any comment that might be relevant to the suspected
offence made by the suspect outside the context of an interview must be recorded and where practicable
the suspect must be given the opportunity to verify the record.
3. Use of force
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