After an arrest in England and Wales, a custody officer makes a separate decision on whether detention at the police station is justified. Arrest does not itself authorise continuing detention. For an arrest without a warrant under section 24 of PACE, the arresting officer needs reasonable grounds to suspect involvement in an offence and reasonable grounds to believe that arrest is necessary. The person must be told that they are under arrest and why.
On arrival at the station, the custody officer records the detention decision and explains the person’s rights. Those rights include legal advice, having someone notified, medical help, access to the PACE Codes and written notice. This stage concerns whether detention at the station is justified and ensures that the recorded decision is accompanied by information about the help and safeguards available in custody.
The ordinary limits before charge
For an ordinary case, detention before charge is normally limited to 24 hours. In a qualifying indictable case, an officer of superintendent rank may authorise an extension to 36 hours under the statutory tests. A magistrates’ court can authorise further detention up to 96 hours, again under the applicable statutory tests. The authority changes at each stage: the first extension belongs to the superintendent, while the later period requires the magistrates’ court.
These periods are maximum limits before charge, not automatic allocations of custody time. Reaching an extension depends on the kind of case, the applicable statutory tests and the authorisation identified for that stage. The ordinary limit remains the starting point, and later detention must follow the relevant extension route rather than being assumed from the arrest.
What can happen without a charge
If the case does not proceed to charge, two release routes are available. Police can use pre-charge police bail or release the person under investigation. Release under investigation comes without bail conditions; pre-charge bail is the separate conditional status. The choice is between forms of release for a person who has not been charged, rather than a continuation of station detention under another name.
Detention under terrorism legislation belongs to a separate regime and has an official maximum period of 14 days. That exceptional figure belongs only to that regime; it does not alter ordinary custody limits or the authorisations required to extend them. The legal route, rather than arrest alone, determines which maximum is relevant.
