Detention Time Limits

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 fixes escalating limits on pre-charge detention. Section 41 sets the baseline: 'a person shall not be kept in police detention for more than 24 hours without being charged,' running from the 'relevant time,' and a person still detained and uncharged 'at the expiry of 24 hours after the relevant time... shall be released at that time' unless detention beyond 24 hours has been authorised under sections 42 or 43. Section 42 lets a superintendent extend detention for indictable offences: where the statutory grounds are met, 'he may authorise the keeping of that person in police detention for a period expiring at or before 36 hours after the relevant time.'

Beyond 36 hours, only a magistrates' court can authorise further detention. Section 43 provides that where satisfied the further detention is justified, 'a magistrates' court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the further detention of the person to whom the application relates is justified, it may issue a warrant of further detention.' Section 44 caps the absolute limit at 96 hours: any extension or further extension of a warrant of further detention must 'end later than 96 hours after the relevant time.' Terrorism suspects are held under a separate, longer regime: Schedule 8 to the Terrorism Act 2000 sets the ordinary maximum extension period by reference to '14 days' beginning with the relevant time, a period which the Act allows to be temporarily extended to 28 days only in the emergency circumstances of a dissolved Parliament, where the Secretary of State may order that 'in paragraph 36(3)(b)(ii) for "14 days" there were substituted "28 days".'