The Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989

Limitations on police detention N.I.

35.—(1) A person arrested for an offence shall not be kept in police detention except in accordance with the provisions of this Part.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), if at any time a custody officer—

(a) becomes aware, in relation to any person in police detention, that the grounds for the detention of that person have ceased to apply; and

(b) is not aware of any other grounds on which the continued detention of that person could be justified under the provisions of this Part,

it shall be the duty of the custody officer, subject to[F1 paragraphs (4) and (4A)], to order his immediate release from custody.

(3) No person in police detention shall be released except on the authority of a custody officer at the police station where his detention was authorised or, if it was authorised at more than one station, a custody officer at the station where it was last authorised.

(4) Nothing in this Part requires the release of a person who appears to the custody officer to have been unlawfully at large when he was arrested.

[F1 (4A) Nothing in this Part requires the release of a person who was arrested after being taken to a police station from a custodial establishment in pursuance of a direction under section 16 of the Prison Act (Northern Ireland) 1953 and this Part shall have effect in relation to such a person as if references to a person being released (either on bail or without bail) were references to a person being returned to the custody of the governor of the custodial establishment from which he was taken to the police station.]

(5) Subject to paragraph (6), a person whose release is ordered under paragraph (2) shall be released without bail.

(6) Where—

(a) it appears to the custody officer—

(i) that there is need for further investigation of any matter in connection with which that person was detained at any time during his detention; or

(ii) that proceedings may be taken against that person in respect of any such matter; and

(b) the custody officer considers that, having regard to all the circumstances, that person should be released only on bail,

the custody officer shall so release that person.

(7) For the purposes of this Part a person arrested[F2 under Article 17D of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995] is arrested for an offence.

[F3 (8) For the purposes of this Part a person who—

(a) attends a police station to answer to bail granted under Article 32A;

(b) returns to a police station to answer to bail granted under this Part; or

(c) is arrested under Article 32D or 47A,

is to be treated as arrested for an offence and that offence is the offence in connection with which he was granted bail under Article 32A or this Part.]

.

F1 1995 NI 17

F2 Words in art. 35(7) substituted (15.11.2007) by Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/916 (N.I. 10)), arts. 1(3), 86(1), Sch. 7 para. 8; S.R. 2007/454, art. 2, Sch.

F3 2004 NI 9

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Art. 35(1)-(6) applied (with modifications) (1.12.2007) by Police and Criminal Evidence (Application to Revenue and Customs) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/464), arts. 3-15, Sch. 1, Sch. 2

C2 Art. 35(1)-(6) applied (with modifications) (18.5.2009) by Police and Criminal Evidence (Application to the Police Ombudsman) Order (Northern Ireland) 2009 (S.R. 2009/142), art. 3, Sch. 1, Sch. 2