Witness Walkthrough - Arresting a suspect
Making an arrest
The police will use all the information they have to try to catch the offender, but it is important to remember that they cannot always do this. If the police have good reason to suspect that a person has committed an offence, what they can do next depends on whether the offence carries a 'power of arrest'.
The police cannot force a person who has not been arrested to attend the police station for an interview. However, a person can go to the police station voluntarily to answer questions. Some less serious offences do not have a power of arrest. However, in these cases the accused can be summonsed to attend court.
Serious offences such as theft, burglary and most assaults do carry a power of arrest, which means that the police can arrest the suspect and take them to the police station. Depending on the investigation and evidence, a suspect may be arrested at the scene of the crime days, weeks or months later.
When a suspect is arrested, they will be told their rights, which include the right to have someone informed about their arrest and the right to speak to a solicitor. If the suspect is under 17, the police must, where possible, find out who (if anyone) is responsible for the welfare of the suspect and tell them about the suspect's arrest.
Once the police have arrested a suspect they can interview them. The suspect can have a solicitor present during the interview. If the suspect is under 17, an 'appropriate adult' (for example, a parent or a social worker) must be present during the interview.
Sometimes, after interviewing a suspect, the police will decide that they want to carry out more investigations because they do not have enough evidence to charge and the suspect will be released.
If the police have enough evidence against the suspect they can charge them with the offence. The police may pass the case papers to the CPS for their advice on whether the suspect should be charged.
If this happens, the police may release the suspect on bail to return to the police station on a particular date at a particular time. If the suspect fails to turn up at the police station when they should, they can be arrested and kept in the police station while the investigation continues.
Once a suspect has been charged, they must appear before a magisrates' court. The police will decide whether to: release the suspect on bail, with the condition that they must go to the magistrates court at a certain date and time; or keep the suspect in custody until they are taken to the magistrates' court.
In England and Wales, a person is innocent until they are found guilty in a court, so a suspect should not be kept in custody before a trial unless there is a good reason for doing so (for example, if the suspect could be a danger to anyone or if there is a good chance that they would not return to court).