Correct on the date of publication - 28 October 2024

Question: 

What is the situation when a suspect is arrested for one offence and then, after he has been in custody for a while, he is told he is also under arrest for further offence(s).

There is sufficient evidence to charge him with the first offence, but there is a need to bail him on the other(s). How does this affect the detention clock?

Answer:

Section 31 of PACE sets out the procedure to be followed when a person already under arrest is suspected of a further offence. Occasions do arise where someone in police detention is arrested for a second offence (or several offences) and is bailed by the police for those matters, whilst being charged with the original offence. When the suspect answers bail for the second offence, it is important to know how much relevant time is left.

The relevant time for the second offence starts at the time of arrival at the police station for the original offence. This is the consequence of a combination of section 41(4) and section 47(7) of PACE. If an arrest has been made for offence A and then, during the detention period, a further arrest is made for offence B under section 31 (and there may be other similar arrests as the investigation progresses), the detention period still remains fixed by reference to the suspect's time of arrival at the station for offence A.

Example
1100hrs suspect, after arrest for burglary, arrives at the police station.
1500hrs arrest for further burglary.
1600hrs police bail for second burglary to answer in two weeks.
2000hrs charged with first burglary and bailed for court.
Two weeks later, the suspect answers bail for the second burglary offence.

His original relevant detention time stretched from 1100hrs to 2000hrs (9 hours). There would be 15 hours remaining on the clock.

View the full Legal Q&A document here, with links to related and similar legal questions. 

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