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No need to apologise, Lazarus Law, because you appear to be more ignorant of the law than you proclaim me to be. I probably have more experience than the solicitor involved in this case. I certainly know all about PACE. I also know about police practice since the bail act was amended to place limits on 47(3), which I’ll return to after my main response (because you’re wrong about over use of arrest powers also, since the legislative change).

Allow me to indulge myself in a demonstration of my modest knowledge and experience here. I’m certain the arresting officer will defend any legal challenge by reference to section 24(5)(e) which I’m sure you’re familiar with. The “prompt and effective investigation” test? Hence the example I used. Because some offences aren’t going to require a search and seizure of evidence (in which case an arrest is harder to justify) and some are (whereby the above provision protects rhe arresting officer). And please do correct me on how the young age of an accused prevents an arrest under the above provision when the risk of destruction or disposal of evidence is irrelevant to age? Imagine if this case for example involved gang tensions and the accused had sent messages seeking to provoke inter gang violence and the youth disposed of his phone when requested to attend voluntarily? I hope I’m wrong in my belief that you would be posting critical comments on here asking why an arrest wasn’t made after the street violence resulted from his NFA for want of that evidence?

Returning to your claim of s24’s overuse, in my professional experience, the police rarely arrest and bail but interview voluntary and “release under investigation” (RUI) which introduces far more injustices than the one suggested in this article. They include suspects labouring under suspicion for months and months without closure (because there isn’t any limit outside PACE), and also the very real problem of suspects reoffending whilst RUI so that when they’re later charged with all offences, the courts cannot punish them more for the further offences commited because they weren’t “committed whilst on bail” even though the effect on the victim is exactly the same (if the same victim). A clear and very unfortunate unintended consequence of this government’s well meant decision to tighten the law on police bail - a decision which needs revisiting so that RUI is also time regulated and any offences committed thereon are aggravated when sentence is passed (particularly if against the same victim).

So, yes, I certainly am qualified and experienced to comment ...



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