Clause 101 - Powers of arrest
Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill
2:30 pm
Mr Dominic Grieve (Shadow Attorney General, Home Affairs; Beaconsfield, Conservative)
I apologise for my late arrival.
I have had an opportunity to consider what the Minister said before lunch, and I appreciate that the first part of the clause, which deals with constables' powers, repeats many but not all the PACE provisions. It gets rid, however, of the distinction between arrestable and non-arrestable offences. That leaves me with an anxiety that the provision sends out a signal to the police about the use or extension of their powers that might work against the sensitive exercise of those powers. I do not know to what extent she intends to touch on that issue, but I hope that we can examine it.