Section 4 — Powers and duties of police

Part of Protection from Abuse (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3 – in the Scottish Parliament at 9:45 am on 4 October 2001.

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Photo of Christine Grahame Christine Grahame Scottish National Party 9:45, 4 October 2001

Amendments 1 and 3 seek to replicate in the bill a discretion that is given to the police under criminal law. The amendments would allow the police to take an arrested person to premises other than a police station. For a number of reasons, such discretion at the point of arrest is inappropriate.

At stage 2, there was much debate about importing criminal provisions into the bill. The Justice 1 Committee accepted that this bill, which is a civil measure, should stand alone, and expressed its approval for the fact that the bill is self-contained. The bill is not a criminal measure, and it is necessary to examine closely the purpose and effect of importing provisions that resemble criminal provisions into a bill where the purpose of detention is quite different from that of detention under the criminal law.

At section 4(2) the bill requires the arrested person to

"be taken to a police station as quickly as is reasonably practicable".

It does not require the person to be detained thereafter at the police station; it requires only that they be detained. That is in line with the equivalent provisions in the 1981 act.

Under the criminal law, an arrested person could be taken elsewhere for other purposes, such as attendance at an identity parade or the search of premises. Both those situations would be in connection with the on-going investigation of a crime. Neither can apply under the bill, as there is no further investigation to be undertaken. The arrested person may also need to be taken to another police area where the crime is being investigated. Again, that situation does not apply under the bill. The person requires to be brought before the sheriff for the district where they were arrested.

Although under the bill there are no release provisions by the police, we see no operational reason why an arrested person should not initially be taken to a police station, be advised there of their rights, have those rights recorded and have any requests acted on. Should the police for operational reasons wish to detain the arrested person elsewhere thereafter, the bill allows for that.

We also consider that it is desirable that a child be taken initially to a police station in order to ensure that the active step of intimation to the parent is properly carried out and supervised. We note the additional safeguards provided to children under section 43 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. That section requires the involvement of senior officers or the officer in charge of a police station when a child is not released immediately. It suggests that the provision in section 15(4) of the 1995 act refers only to a police station and that children under criminal law must be taken directly to a police station. We consider that the serious circumstances of the arrest of a child merit their being taken directly to a police station.

For the sake of completeness, I should point out that there is a problem with amendment 3. At present, the officer in charge of the police station must intimate the detention to the child's parents. The amendment would require the officer in charge of the other premises to intimate the detention to the child's parents. However, there may be no officer in charge of the other premises.

It remains our view that there are sound reasons for requiring the alleged abuser to be brought to a police station immediately after arrest and that the provisions of the bill should be consistent with the equivalent provisions of the Matrimonial Homes (Family Protection) (Scotland) Act 1981.

I invite Bill Aitken to withdraw amendment 1 and not to move amendment 3.