Clause 13 - Arrest for failing to comply with conditional caution
Police and Justice Bill
10:00 am
Hazel Blears (Minister of State (Policing, Security and Community Safety), Home Office; Salford, Labour)
It would be difficult to put an arbitrary limit in the Bill because, as the hon. Gentleman knows, circumstances could vary enormously. We envisage a person being held for a relatively short period, to allow the police to carry out quick inquiries into whether the conditions had been breached. It would be a ridiculous state of affairs if the police had to release someone automatically and then rearrest them, when a quick phone call or a quick inquiry could ascertain whether the conditions had been breached in order for the original prosecution to be brought.
It is a matter of practicality. I would not want the police to detain people for inordinately long periods in order to carry out inquiries. The safeguard is that the police must always be aware of this question: “Am I detaining this person for as long as necessary in order to carry out my inquiries?” That should act as a proper check and balance in the circumstances. I genuinely do not feel that putting one hour or two hours in the Bill would make it a good provision.