The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) (1984 c. 60) is an Act of Parliament which instituted a legislative framework for the powers of police officers in England and Wales to combat crime, and provided codes of practice for the exercise of those powers.[1] Part VI[2] of PACE required the Home Secretary to issue Codes of Practice governing police powers. The aim of PACE is to establish a balance between the powers of the police in England and Wales and the rights and freedoms of the public.[1] Equivalent provision is made for Northern Ireland by the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989(SI 1989/1341). The equivalent in Scots Law is the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.
An Act to make further provision in relation to the powers and duties of the police, persons in police detention, criminal evidence, police discipline and complaints against the police; to provide for arrangements for obtaining the views of the community on policing and for a rank of deputy chief constable; to amend the law relating to the Police Federations and Police Forces and Police Cadets in Scotland; and for connected purposes.
Text of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
PACE has been modified by the Policing and Crime Act 2017,[3][4][5] "which mean[s] that there is now a presumption that suspects who are released without charge from police detention will not be released on bail," a formality which was written in PACE 1984 Section 30A.[6]
Although PACE is a fairly wide-ranging piece of legislation, it mainly deals with police powers to search an individual or premises, including their powers to gain entry to those premises, the handling of exhibits seized from those searches, and the treatment of suspects once they are in custody, including being interviewed. Specific legislation as to more wide-ranging conduct of a criminal investigation is contained within the Criminal Procedures and Investigation Act 1996.
Criminal liability may arise if the specific terms of the Act itself are not conformed to, whereas failure to conform to the codes of practice while searching, arresting, detaining or interviewing a suspect may lead to evidence obtained during the process becoming inadmissible in court.
PACE also introduces various Codes of Practice, one of the most notable being an arrest without warrant can only be lawful if the necessity test contained within Code G of PACE is met.[7]
PACE is applicable not only to police officers but to anyone with conduct of a criminal investigation including Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs[9] and to military investigations conducted by service police.[10] Any person with a duty of investigating criminal offences or charging offenders is also required to follow the provisions of the PACE codes of practice as far as practical and relevant.[11]
Despite its safeguards, PACE was extremely controversial on its introduction,[citation needed] and reviews have also been controversial,[12] as the Act was thought to give considerable extra powers to the police.
Various other government agencies including TV Licensing, the Royal Mail, BT Group (from its days of being spun off from General Post Office Telephones) and about seventeen others also have a statutory right of entry. One intent of PACE and its successors is to prevent the abuse of this right, or remove it entirely, to balance the privacy of the individual against the needs of the State.[citation needed]
Background
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2015)
The 1981 Brixton riots and the subsequent Scarman report were key factors in the passage of the Act, which was brought in following recommendations set out by the Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure. The purpose of PACE was to unify police powers under one code of practice and to balance carefully the rights of the individual against the powers of the police.[citation needed]
PACE Codes of Practice
The Home Office and the Cabinet Office announced a joint review of PACE and its codes of practice in May 2002, and on 31 July 2004, new PACE Codes of Practice came into effect. Following a further review in 2010, PACE Codes A, B and D were re-issued to take effect on 7 March 2011.
PACE Code A: deals with the exercise by police officers of statutory powers to search a person or a vehicle without first making an arrest. It also deals with the need for a police officer to make a record of such a stop or encounter.[13] On 1 January 2009, Code A was amended to remove lengthy stop and account recording procedures, requiring police to only record a subject's ethnicity and to issue them with a receipt.[14]
PACE Code B: deals with police powers to search premises and to seize and retain property found on premises and persons.
PACE Code C: sets out the requirements for the detention, treatment and questioning of people in police custody by police officers. It replaced the Judges' Rules in England and Wales.
PACE Code D: concerns the main methods used by the police to identify people in connection with the investigation of offences and the keeping of accurate and reliable criminal records.
PACE Code E: deals with the tape recording of interviews with suspects in the police station.
PACE Code F: deals with the visual recording with sound of interviews with suspects.
On 1 January 2006 an additional code came into force:
PACE Code G: deals with statutory powers of arrest.
On 24 July 2006 a further code came into force:
PACE Code H: deals with the detention of terrorism suspects.
Case law
In the case of Osman v. Southwark Crown Court (1999),[15] the search of Osman was held to be unlawful because the officers searching him did not give their names and station, contrary to PACE's requirements.[16]
In O'Loughlin v. Chief Constable of Essex (1997), the courts held that the entry of a premises under section 17 PACE to arrest O'Loughlin's wife for criminal damage was unlawful because under PACE, anyone present on the premises must be given the reason for entry.[17][18]
In the case of Christopher James Miller v. Director of Public Prosecutions (2018)[19] Mr. Miller's conviction for drug driving was revoked because West Midlands Police had breached Code C of PACE by not providing an appropriate adult, despite him telling officers that he had Asperger's syndrome and being aware from his previous interactions that he had Asperger's.
IPCC Investigation 2012/011560 - A breach of Code C of PACE occurred in 2012 when a vulnerable 11-year-old girl Child H with a neurological disability similar to autism who was denied an appropriate adult at Crawley Police Station, after she was arrested in Horsham on 4 separate occasions for minor offences between February and March 2012. Sussex Police referred the complaint to IPCC and accepted the IPCC recommendations.[20]
However, not all cases have gone against the police; in R. v. Longman (1988), it was held that the police entry of a premises to execute a search warrant for drugs was lawful, although deception had been utilised to gain entry, and, upon entering, the police had not identified themselves or shown the warrant.[21]
^ ab"Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) codes of practice". Home Office. GOV.UK. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
^Part VI of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
^Fouzder, Monidipa (15 May 2019). "Releasing suspects under investigation is having 'terrible consequences'". The Law Society Gazette.
^"Released under investigation – What can and should be done?". Wells Burcombe LLP. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
^Sharp, Sam (10 March 2020). "The Criminal Purgatory – Release Under Investigation – is the end in sight?". QS Jordans. Crime Jottings.
^"Pre-Charge Bail and Release Under Investigation Procedure" (PDF). Greater Manchester Police. June 2020.
^"Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) codes of practice".
^Spencer, J.R. (2007). "Arrest for Questioning". Cambridge Law Journal. 66 (2): 282–284. doi:10.1017/S0008197307000505. S2CID 221149784.
^Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, section 114
^Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, section 113
^Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, section 67(9). These include officers of the Serious Fraud Office (R v Director of the Serious Fraud Office, ex p. Saunders [1988] Crim LR 837), trading standards officers (Dudley MBC v Debenhams (1994) 159 JP 18), commercial investigators when interviewing an employee (Twaites and Brown (1990) 92 Cr App R 106), store detectives (Bayliss (1993) 98 Cr App R 235), Federation Against Copyright Theft investigators (Joy v Federation Against Copyright Theft [1993] Crim LR 588) and council officers[citation needed]. However such a duty is not owed by DTI inspectors appointed under sections 432 and 442 of the Companies Act 1985 (Seelig and Spens [1992] 1 WLR 148), nor by prison officers (Martin Taylor [2000] EWCA Crim 2922).
The full text of Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 at Wikisource
Learning materials related to Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 at Wikiversity
Home Office: PACE Codes
O'Loughlin v Chief Constable Of Essex [1997] EWCA Civ 2891 (3 December 1997)
March 24, 2023
police, criminal, evidence, 1984, pace, 1984, parliament, which, instituted, legislative, framework, powers, police, officers, england, wales, combat, crime, provided, codes, practice, exercise, those, powers, part, pace, required, home, secretary, issue, code. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 PACE 1984 c 60 is an Act of Parliament which instituted a legislative framework for the powers of police officers in England and Wales to combat crime and provided codes of practice for the exercise of those powers 1 Part VI 2 of PACE required the Home Secretary to issue Codes of Practice governing police powers The aim of PACE is to establish a balance between the powers of the police in England and Wales and the rights and freedoms of the public 1 Equivalent provision is made for Northern Ireland by the Police and Criminal Evidence Northern Ireland Order 1989 SI 1989 1341 The equivalent in Scots Law is the Criminal Procedure Scotland Act 1995 Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984Parliament of the United KingdomLong titleAn Act to make further provision in relation to the powers and duties of the police persons in police detention criminal evidence police discipline and complaints against the police to provide for arrangements for obtaining the views of the community on policing and for a rank of deputy chief constable to amend the law relating to the Police Federations and Police Forces and Police Cadets in Scotland and for connected purposes Citation1984 c 60DatesCommencementin forceOther legislationRelates toSerious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 Police Detention and Bail Act 2011Status AmendedText of statute as originally enactedText of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 as in force today including any amendments within the United Kingdom from legislation gov uk PACE has been modified by the Policing and Crime Act 2017 3 4 5 which mean s that there is now a presumption that suspects who are released without charge from police detention will not be released on bail a formality which was written in PACE 1984 Section 30A 6 Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Background 3 PACE Codes of Practice 4 Case law 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksSynopsis EditAlthough PACE is a fairly wide ranging piece of legislation it mainly deals with police powers to search an individual or premises including their powers to gain entry to those premises the handling of exhibits seized from those searches and the treatment of suspects once they are in custody including being interviewed Specific legislation as to more wide ranging conduct of a criminal investigation is contained within the Criminal Procedures and Investigation Act 1996 Criminal liability may arise if the specific terms of the Act itself are not conformed to whereas failure to conform to the codes of practice while searching arresting detaining or interviewing a suspect may lead to evidence obtained during the process becoming inadmissible in court PACE also introduces various Codes of Practice one of the most notable being an arrest without warrant can only be lawful if the necessity test contained within Code G of PACE is met 7 PACE was significantly modified by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 This replaced nearly all existing powers of arrest including the category of arrestable offences with a new general power of arrest for all offences 8 PACE is applicable not only to police officers but to anyone with conduct of a criminal investigation including Her Majesty s Revenue and Customs 9 and to military investigations conducted by service police 10 Any person with a duty of investigating criminal offences or charging offenders is also required to follow the provisions of the PACE codes of practice as far as practical and relevant 11 Despite its safeguards PACE was extremely controversial on its introduction citation needed and reviews have also been controversial 12 as the Act was thought to give considerable extra powers to the police With the conjunction of the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise into Her Majesty s Revenue and Customs HMRC HMRC essentially gained extra powers since Customs and Excise had a statutory right of entry into a private dwelling that is to say they were allowed to break and enter without reason but the Inland Revenue did not PACE and its subsequent enactments limits that citation needed Various other government agencies including TV Licensing the Royal Mail BT Group from its days of being spun off from General Post Office Telephones and about seventeen others also have a statutory right of entry One intent of PACE and its successors is to prevent the abuse of this right or remove it entirely to balance the privacy of the individual against the needs of the State citation needed Background EditThis section needs expansion You can help by adding to it December 2015 The 1981 Brixton riots and the subsequent Scarman report were key factors in the passage of the Act which was brought in following recommendations set out by the Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure The purpose of PACE was to unify police powers under one code of practice and to balance carefully the rights of the individual against the powers of the police citation needed PACE Codes of Practice EditThe Home Office and the Cabinet Office announced a joint review of PACE and its codes of practice in May 2002 and on 31 July 2004 new PACE Codes of Practice came into effect Following a further review in 2010 PACE Codes A B and D were re issued to take effect on 7 March 2011 PACE Code A deals with the exercise by police officers of statutory powers to search a person or a vehicle without first making an arrest It also deals with the need for a police officer to make a record of such a stop or encounter 13 On 1 January 2009 Code A was amended to remove lengthy stop and account recording procedures requiring police to only record a subject s ethnicity and to issue them with a receipt 14 PACE Code B deals with police powers to search premises and to seize and retain property found on premises and persons PACE Code C sets out the requirements for the detention treatment and questioning of people in police custody by police officers It replaced the Judges Rules in England and Wales PACE Code D concerns the main methods used by the police to identify people in connection with the investigation of offences and the keeping of accurate and reliable criminal records PACE Code E deals with the tape recording of interviews with suspects in the police station PACE Code F deals with the visual recording with sound of interviews with suspects On 1 January 2006 an additional code came into force PACE Code G deals with statutory powers of arrest On 24 July 2006 a further code came into force PACE Code H deals with the detention of terrorism suspects Case law EditIn the case of Osman v Southwark Crown Court 1999 15 the search of Osman was held to be unlawful because the officers searching him did not give their names and station contrary to PACE s requirements 16 In O Loughlin v Chief Constable of Essex 1997 the courts held that the entry of a premises under section 17 PACE to arrest O Loughlin s wife for criminal damage was unlawful because under PACE anyone present on the premises must be given the reason for entry 17 18 In the case of Christopher James Miller v Director of Public Prosecutions 2018 19 Mr Miller s conviction for drug driving was revoked because West Midlands Police had breached Code C of PACE by not providing an appropriate adult despite him telling officers that he had Asperger s syndrome and being aware from his previous interactions that he had Asperger s IPCC Investigation 2012 011560 A breach of Code C of PACE occurred in 2012 when a vulnerable 11 year old girl Child H with a neurological disability similar to autism who was denied an appropriate adult at Crawley Police Station after she was arrested in Horsham on 4 separate occasions for minor offences between February and March 2012 Sussex Police referred the complaint to IPCC and accepted the IPCC recommendations 20 However not all cases have gone against the police in R v Longman 1988 it was held that the police entry of a premises to execute a search warrant for drugs was lawful although deception had been utilised to gain entry and upon entering the police had not identified themselves or shown the warrant 21 See also EditComputer forensics Police and Criminal Evidence Northern Ireland Order 1989References Edit a b Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 PACE codes of practice Home Office GOV UK 26 March 2013 Retrieved 14 December 2014 Part VI of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 Fouzder Monidipa 15 May 2019 Releasing suspects under investigation is having terrible consequences The Law Society Gazette Released under investigation What can and should be done Wells Burcombe LLP Retrieved 3 July 2021 Sharp Sam 10 March 2020 The Criminal Purgatory Release Under Investigation is the end in sight QS Jordans Crime Jottings Pre Charge Bail and Release Under Investigation Procedure PDF Greater Manchester Police June 2020 Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 PACE codes of practice Spencer J R 2007 Arrest for Questioning Cambridge Law Journal 66 2 282 284 doi 10 1017 S0008197307000505 S2CID 221149784 Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 section 114 Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 section 113 Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 section 67 9 These include officers of the Serious Fraud Office R v Director of the Serious Fraud Office ex p Saunders 1988 Crim LR 837 trading standards officers Dudley MBC v Debenhams 1994 159 JP 18 commercial investigators when interviewing an employee Twaites and Brown 1990 92 Cr App R 106 store detectives Bayliss 1993 98 Cr App R 235 Federation Against Copyright Theft investigators Joy v Federation Against Copyright Theft 1993 Crim LR 588 and council officers citation needed However such a duty is not owed by DTI inspectors appointed under sections 432 and 442 of the Companies Act 1985 Seelig and Spens 1992 1 WLR 148 nor by prison officers Martin Taylor 2000 EWCA Crim 2922 Press Gazette PACE review is wake up call Stop and Search Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine under Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 Home Office Circular 032 2008 Stop And Account Amendment To Pace Code A permanent dead link Home Office 19 December 2008 Osman v Southwark Crown Court bailii org British and Irish Legal Information Institute Martin Jacqueline 2005 The English Legal System 4th ed p 129 London Hodder Arnold ISBN 0 340 89991 3 O Loughlin v Chief Constable of Essex 1997 EWCA Civ 2891 Martin p 133 Miller v Director of Public Prosecutions 2018 EWHC 262 bailii org British and Irish Legal Information Institute Recommendation Sussex police February 2016 policeconduct gov uk Independent Office for Police Conduct Martin p 132 External links Edit The full text of Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 at Wikisource Learning materials related to Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 at Wikiversity Home Office PACE Codes O Loughlin v Chief Constable Of Essex 1997 EWCA Civ 2891 3 December 1997 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 amp oldid 1140863366, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
