1.4 Explain the rights of individuals in criminal investigation
The rights of suspects
The rights of suspects involved in criminal investigations are contained within the Police and
criminal evidence act (1984) under s.24. This section of the act describes the rights the
police have, in relation to suspects, when investigating a crime, and includes the right to
arrest people without a warrant if: there are reasonable grounds, the person has committed
a crime, is currently committing a crime, or is about to commit a crime. Under s.24, during
the point of arrest, the suspect has the right to be informed that they are being arrested as
well as why. If PACE is not carried out during an arrest in can lead to a miscarriage of
justice. For example in the case of Christoper Halliwell, he was suspected of kidnapping a
girl called Sian after CCTV showed Sian walking down a street and a car pulling up next to
Sian and then she suddenly disappeared. DS Fulcher was the lead investigator in the case
and an individual in his team looked at car registration and matched it to a car owned by
Chris Halliwell. He was brought to a police station for questioning, Fulcher's main aim for
police questioning was to know where Sian was. Fulcher took Halliwell to a field to speak
man to man and Halliwell admitted he killed Sian. Halliwell then surprisingly took Fulcher to a
different field and stated he buried a different girl in the specific field. However, Fulcher didn't
give Halliwell a chance to seek advice from a solicitor or read him his rights, this meant
Halliwell initially escaped justice due to Fulcher not following PACE, this also led to the loss
of Fulchers career. After the initial arrest the suspect has rights during the police
questioning. For example, they have a right to silence, where the suspect doesn't have to
answer questions, but if the case goes to court, refusing to answer questions can be used
against you. Suspects also have a right to legal advice during police questioning, where they
have right to legal advice from a solicitor during the interview. If you have asked for legal
advice, you cannot be questioned before you have it.
Suspects also have the right to information. This is where they can ask the police to remove
information about themselves, for example getting removed from a database. However, this
will only be done if an offence no longer exists. During custody, a suspect can be held for
twenty four hours. After this the police decide whether to charge a suspect with a crime, let
them go completely or release them on bail. Police bail involves releasing a suspect
temporarily, this may be done if there is insufficient evidence to charge a suspect. One type
of bail is conditional bail, this is where the police may release you, but with certain
restrictions. For example they can require you to stay away from certain people. During
court, if a suspect is convicted of an offence they have the right to appeal. If you were tried in
a Magistrates’ court, you can simply appeal on the sentence you were given or the
conviction if you pleaded not guilty. However, in a Crown court, a judge will decide whether
to accept your appeal.
The rights of victims
When a victim firstly reports a crime, they have certain rights. For example, they have the
right to ask the police to write a victim personal statement, where the victim writes how the
crime has affected them, this can be read in court at a later time. Victims also have the right
to be informed on what will happen next and updates on the investigation. During the
investigation, victims have the right to privacy, where police have to ask for the victims
permission to give information to the media to help with the investigation. During the trial
The rights of suspects
The rights of suspects involved in criminal investigations are contained within the Police and
criminal evidence act (1984) under s.24. This section of the act describes the rights the
police have, in relation to suspects, when investigating a crime, and includes the right to
arrest people without a warrant if: there are reasonable grounds, the person has committed
a crime, is currently committing a crime, or is about to commit a crime. Under s.24, during
the point of arrest, the suspect has the right to be informed that they are being arrested as
well as why. If PACE is not carried out during an arrest in can lead to a miscarriage of
justice. For example in the case of Christoper Halliwell, he was suspected of kidnapping a
girl called Sian after CCTV showed Sian walking down a street and a car pulling up next to
Sian and then she suddenly disappeared. DS Fulcher was the lead investigator in the case
and an individual in his team looked at car registration and matched it to a car owned by
Chris Halliwell. He was brought to a police station for questioning, Fulcher's main aim for
police questioning was to know where Sian was. Fulcher took Halliwell to a field to speak
man to man and Halliwell admitted he killed Sian. Halliwell then surprisingly took Fulcher to a
different field and stated he buried a different girl in the specific field. However, Fulcher didn't
give Halliwell a chance to seek advice from a solicitor or read him his rights, this meant
Halliwell initially escaped justice due to Fulcher not following PACE, this also led to the loss
of Fulchers career. After the initial arrest the suspect has rights during the police
questioning. For example, they have a right to silence, where the suspect doesn't have to
answer questions, but if the case goes to court, refusing to answer questions can be used
against you. Suspects also have a right to legal advice during police questioning, where they
have right to legal advice from a solicitor during the interview. If you have asked for legal
advice, you cannot be questioned before you have it.
Suspects also have the right to information. This is where they can ask the police to remove
information about themselves, for example getting removed from a database. However, this
will only be done if an offence no longer exists. During custody, a suspect can be held for
twenty four hours. After this the police decide whether to charge a suspect with a crime, let
them go completely or release them on bail. Police bail involves releasing a suspect
temporarily, this may be done if there is insufficient evidence to charge a suspect. One type
of bail is conditional bail, this is where the police may release you, but with certain
restrictions. For example they can require you to stay away from certain people. During
court, if a suspect is convicted of an offence they have the right to appeal. If you were tried in
a Magistrates’ court, you can simply appeal on the sentence you were given or the
conviction if you pleaded not guilty. However, in a Crown court, a judge will decide whether
to accept your appeal.
The rights of victims
When a victim firstly reports a crime, they have certain rights. For example, they have the
right to ask the police to write a victim personal statement, where the victim writes how the
crime has affected them, this can be read in court at a later time. Victims also have the right
to be informed on what will happen next and updates on the investigation. During the
investigation, victims have the right to privacy, where police have to ask for the victims
permission to give information to the media to help with the investigation. During the trial
