Michael Zander QC on important changes to four PACE Codes
- Changes to PACE Codes C, E, F & H.
The latest changes to the four Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) Codes, explained below, all came into effect this Tuesday, July 31.
Voluntary interviews put on the same basis as interviews of arrested persons (Code C 3.21(b), 3.21A, 3.21B, 3.22A)
These new provisions cover more than two A4 pages. The basic principle, expressed in 3.21(b) is that ‘the rights, entitlements and safeguards that apply to the conduct and recording of interviews with suspects are not diminished simply because the interview is arranged on a voluntary basis.’ The role of the custody officer has to be taken by the interviewer.
17-year-olds to be treated as juveniles (Code C 1.5)
‘Anyone who appears to be under 18, shall, in the absence of evidence that they are older, be treated as a juvenile for the purposes of this Code and any other Code.’
When transfers of juveniles to local authority accommodation are ‘impracticable’
The previous very narrow definition of ‘impracticable’ (the
