Quick law question about the caution?
Discussion
Caution given after offence suspected, or before interview:
"You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in Court. Anything you do say may be used in evidence."
Caution given when charged:
"You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention now, something which you later rely on in Court. Anything you do say may be used in evidence."
Want to know about "Special Warnings" as well...?
"You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in Court. Anything you do say may be used in evidence."
Caution given when charged:
"You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention now, something which you later rely on in Court. Anything you do say may be used in evidence."
Want to know about "Special Warnings" as well...?
gh0st said:
Want to know about "Special Warnings" as well...?
Would that be "Oh sorry sir, you appear to have banged your head while getting into the van, whoops there you go again..." hopefully mostly used on Chavs
If only!!
Unfortunately, it's all to do with a suspect refusing to account for things found on him linking him to a crime, and the fact that his failing to account can lead said Chav up sh1t creek, sans paddle, sans canoe, sans lifejacket, at Court.
The caution (first version) should be given by an officer as soon as he/she suspects an offence has been committed. As a general rule, as soon as I start to deal with someone, I caution them first before anything else is said (also explaining that (usually) they're not under arrest (yet...!)). This is merely my way of doing things, as being a "bear of very little brain", I tend to stick to the same routine/form of words just so I don't forget stuff.
There are occasions when a caution is not necessary - for example if someone was so drunk, drugged or violent that to give it is not practicable. The caution should then be given as soon as it is practicable; the easiest example of this would be if I told someone I was arresting them, they then fought/resisted with me, I then gain comlpiance and handcuff them, we (both
) catch our breath, I caution the offender.
It may be that if stopped for speeding, you don't get cautioned until FPN or NIP is given. As far as I am aware, this doesn't necessarily invalidate the rest of the "interaction". The interaction doesn't necessarily constitue an interview under the various codes of PACE 1984, as many of the questions asked are to establish ID etc, rather than to seek admission to an offence. The caution is given at the NIP stage in case a reply is given, which can then be recorded, and may be submitted as evidence.
There is a stated case (the name escapes me), where an East End career villain , who had been arrested numerous times, was arrested by the Flying Squad, the words used by the arresting officer being along the lines of "OK Harry, yor'e nicked, mate. You know the score". "Yes, Guv'nor, course I do." 'Harry' appealed against conviction on the grounds that his subsequent admissions were inadmissible, as he had not been cautioned. His appeal was dismissed on the basis that he had been arrested and cautioned so many times already, that the arresting officer was basically paraphrasing the caution, and 'Harry' agreed his understanding of the procedure at the time.
There are occasions when a caution is not necessary - for example if someone was so drunk, drugged or violent that to give it is not practicable. The caution should then be given as soon as it is practicable; the easiest example of this would be if I told someone I was arresting them, they then fought/resisted with me, I then gain comlpiance and handcuff them, we (both
) catch our breath, I caution the offender. It may be that if stopped for speeding, you don't get cautioned until FPN or NIP is given. As far as I am aware, this doesn't necessarily invalidate the rest of the "interaction". The interaction doesn't necessarily constitue an interview under the various codes of PACE 1984, as many of the questions asked are to establish ID etc, rather than to seek admission to an offence. The caution is given at the NIP stage in case a reply is given, which can then be recorded, and may be submitted as evidence.
There is a stated case (the name escapes me), where an East End career villain , who had been arrested numerous times, was arrested by the Flying Squad, the words used by the arresting officer being along the lines of "OK Harry, yor'e nicked, mate. You know the score". "Yes, Guv'nor, course I do." 'Harry' appealed against conviction on the grounds that his subsequent admissions were inadmissible, as he had not been cautioned. His appeal was dismissed on the basis that he had been arrested and cautioned so many times already, that the arresting officer was basically paraphrasing the caution, and 'Harry' agreed his understanding of the procedure at the time.
Dibble, your last post above made me wonder- specifically:
qt
The caution should then be given as soon as it is practicable; the easiest example of this would be if I told someone I was arresting them, they then fought/resisted with me, I then gain comlpiance and handcuff them, we (both ) catch our breath, I caution the offender.
unqt
How often does it occur that you may stop someone (in a car/on the street) for a very minor offence, but they get stroppy and end up lashing out at you/your colleagues and it all goes downhill from there?
qt
The caution should then be given as soon as it is practicable; the easiest example of this would be if I told someone I was arresting them, they then fought/resisted with me, I then gain comlpiance and handcuff them, we (both ) catch our breath, I caution the offender.
unqt
How often does it occur that you may stop someone (in a car/on the street) for a very minor offence, but they get stroppy and end up lashing out at you/your colleagues and it all goes downhill from there?
bryan35 said:
What would BiB do if the person being cautioned was then to reply "I do not recognise the significance of those words,
Explain the caution to them in plain English.
bryan35 said:
and would like to exercise my legal rite to refer to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act"??
A person's right to consult a copy of the CODES OF PRACTICE to PACE only relates to when they are in custody at a Police Station designated under s35 PACE 1984 (ie one where there is a custody office with a custody officer in charge).
The CoP only relate to how a person should be treated while in Custody - eg meals, exercise, interviews etc. PACE 1984 is a huge (and often amended) Act covering a plethora of subjects.
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff