Ac 1.4 Criminology Personal Notes
Unit: Crime Scene to Courtroom 30 Minutes Name:
Topic: 1.4 Individuals
- Suspects
- Victims
- Witnesses
Notes made during the lesson (in your own words)
Individuals such as suspects, victims and witnesses have certain rights when it comes to
criminal investigations.
SUSPECTS
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, states that police are permitted to arrest an
individual as a suspect of a crime, without a warrant. Police are able to do so if the officer has
reason to believe the arrest is necessary or if an individual has been involved, attempted to
be involved or is suspected of committing an offence. Some of the steps officers must go
through are: telling the individual they are under arrest, what the arrest is for and why it is
necessary. As well as this officers can use force to detain a suspect if it's deemed appropriate
in the situation. Individuals can also either be asked to participate in a stop and search or a
stop and account. A stop and account typically happens when an officer wishes to ask you
to account for your actions, an item in your possession or your presence in a public place
while a stop and search is to look for any drugs, firearms, weapons, stolen goods on a
suspect's person or to prevent acts of terrorism. Stop and searches can also include vehicles
and premises.
If an arrest takes place, the suspect will be handed over to a custody officer whose main role
is to take care of arrestees. The suspect will be searched and have any possessions taken off
them and handed over to the custody officer, then placed into a holding cell. The individual
will then have their rights explained to them: they are able to have someone tell of their
arrest and where they are being held, get free legal advice by consulting a solicitor and see
the rules the police must follow as well as a written notice telling the individual about their
rights. If the suspect who is arrested is deemed a vulnerable adult or under 18 years old,
police will attempt to contact their parent, guardian, relative or others.
When a suspect is being questioned by the police, they can be asked about the crime they
are thought to have committed, in this situation the individual has rights. These include the
right to silence and the right to legal advice. The right to silence means the suspect is not
required to answer any of the police officers questions, however there may be
consequences if they do not comply. The police officer questioning the suspect will read out
a caution to them explaining that carrying out the right to silence might “harm their
defence” and "anything they do say may be given in evidence”. If the case results in trial, the
suspect will be unable to use anything in their defence that they have failed to tell an officer
previously. As well as this, all police interviews will either be audio or video recorded. The
right to legal advice is when suspects are able to have a solicitor present during their
interview, in order to represent and advise them. Suspects cannot be questioned until their
solicitor is present, however in serious cases like terrorism they have 36-48 hours until they
Unit: Crime Scene to Courtroom 30 Minutes Name:
Topic: 1.4 Individuals
- Suspects
- Victims
- Witnesses
Notes made during the lesson (in your own words)
Individuals such as suspects, victims and witnesses have certain rights when it comes to
criminal investigations.
SUSPECTS
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, states that police are permitted to arrest an
individual as a suspect of a crime, without a warrant. Police are able to do so if the officer has
reason to believe the arrest is necessary or if an individual has been involved, attempted to
be involved or is suspected of committing an offence. Some of the steps officers must go
through are: telling the individual they are under arrest, what the arrest is for and why it is
necessary. As well as this officers can use force to detain a suspect if it's deemed appropriate
in the situation. Individuals can also either be asked to participate in a stop and search or a
stop and account. A stop and account typically happens when an officer wishes to ask you
to account for your actions, an item in your possession or your presence in a public place
while a stop and search is to look for any drugs, firearms, weapons, stolen goods on a
suspect's person or to prevent acts of terrorism. Stop and searches can also include vehicles
and premises.
If an arrest takes place, the suspect will be handed over to a custody officer whose main role
is to take care of arrestees. The suspect will be searched and have any possessions taken off
them and handed over to the custody officer, then placed into a holding cell. The individual
will then have their rights explained to them: they are able to have someone tell of their
arrest and where they are being held, get free legal advice by consulting a solicitor and see
the rules the police must follow as well as a written notice telling the individual about their
rights. If the suspect who is arrested is deemed a vulnerable adult or under 18 years old,
police will attempt to contact their parent, guardian, relative or others.
When a suspect is being questioned by the police, they can be asked about the crime they
are thought to have committed, in this situation the individual has rights. These include the
right to silence and the right to legal advice. The right to silence means the suspect is not
required to answer any of the police officers questions, however there may be
consequences if they do not comply. The police officer questioning the suspect will read out
a caution to them explaining that carrying out the right to silence might “harm their
defence” and "anything they do say may be given in evidence”. If the case results in trial, the
suspect will be unable to use anything in their defence that they have failed to tell an officer
previously. As well as this, all police interviews will either be audio or video recorded. The
right to legal advice is when suspects are able to have a solicitor present during their
interview, in order to represent and advise them. Suspects cannot be questioned until their
solicitor is present, however in serious cases like terrorism they have 36-48 hours until they
