Police and Justice Bill

I understand the noble Lord’s concern, and he is right to say that three hours was the time limit referred to by my honourable friend in the other place. The only difference between us is whether the limit should be on a statutory basis or in guidance, and I shall explain why. The noble Lord will know that, under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, a custody officer is required to charge a person if there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for the offence, or to refer that person to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration under the statutory charging process. A sensible reading of PACE allows detention for a relatively short and reasonable time, for the purpose of referral to the CPS for a quick charging decision to be made. However, as the noble Lord knows, PACE is not explicit in providing for that detention, and we introduced a government amendment on Report in another place to provide that clarification. We could have left the position as it was, but we did not think it right. We then indicated that guidance would be issued making it clear that such a period of detention awaiting a decision from the detention officer would be for a maximum of three hours. We remain of the view that guidance is the most appropriate vehicle for dealing with this issue. There may be occasions when the decision takes, say, 10 or 15 minutes more than three hours. If the matter is laid down in legislation, the person would have to be released prior to the expiry of the three-hour period, bailed and asked to return at a later date. That is bureaucratic and benefits neither the police nor, for that matter, the suspect. I am sure the noble Lord will be familiar with circumstances when that has happened. The basis of the guidance and the three-hour suggested maximum is to require the custody officer and the prosecutor to consider at the very earliest stages the likelihood of a decision being reached within that period. If a decision is not thought likely, the presumption must be to bail that person at that time and not wait until the three-hour period has been reached. The guidance will make it clear that this is not simply a means to keep a person in police detention and that suitability for bail is to be given first consideration. It will also place a requirement on the custody officer to provide the reasons for any period of detention in which bail was considered suitable but for which the person was detained for up to three hours to await a decision, and for those cases in which a decision was not reached within that period and the person was detained further or granted bail. Setting a statutory time limit has its attractions, but as we are seeking to ensure that suspects are dealt with quicker and more effectively, we see merit in providing a degree of flexibility and allowing an element of discretion on the part of the custody officer when it is of benefit to the detained person. The way we see it is that if it is going to mean that we see a person more quickly, we should let him go and require him to come back at an appropriate time. That must be to everyone’s benefit, and we do not want to be unnecessarily bureaucratic when an extra five minutes may mean that the person can be charged, bailed and dealt with without having to come back again. Although I understand why the noble Lord has brought this matter back for us to debate, I invite him to withdraw his amendment.