2.6 Detention and Treatment of Persons by Police Officers: PACE Code C
Custody authority, records, detainee rights and care, detention limits and reviews, charging, disposal, searches, vulnerability, fitness and interpretation.
Prepare for legal understanding and application
Use the exact 2026 syllabus, distinguish neighbouring offences and powers, apply facts to elements and safeguards, and monitor College channels for any exceptional formal update.
Core concepts
Concept 1
2.6 Detention and Treatment of Persons by Police Officers: PACE Code C: syllabus scope: Custody authority, records, detainee rights and care, detention limits and reviews, charging, disposal, searches, vulnerability, fitness and interpretation.
Exam cue: Locate the exact inspectors' Appendix A chapter before selecting the governing rule.
Concept 2
Custody authority: Identify the custody officer or designated person's function and the lawful basis, location and record for police detention.
Exam cue: Separate offence elements or power thresholds from safeguards, defences, procedure and consequence.
Concept 3
Rights and welfare: Protect notification, legal advice, communication, interpretation, property, healthcare, observation and vulnerable-person safeguards.
Exam cue: Apply the stated facts to neighbouring rules instead of answering from the seriousness of the outcome alone.
Concept 4
Time, review and disposal: Track detention clocks, reviews and extensions before applying charging, bail, caution or release procedure.
Risk pitfalls and guardrails
Using chapter 1.8, which the 2026 handbook reserves for the sergeants' examination.
Guardrail: Use a 15-second safety pause before finalizing your action.
Treating a post-examination subject-area breakdown as a fixed prediction of the next paper.
Guardrail: Use a 15-second safety pause before finalizing your action.
Collapsing distinct rules within Detention and Treatment of Persons by Police Officers: PACE Code C into one undifferentiated test.
Guardrail: Use a 15-second safety pause before finalizing your action.
Memory anchors
2.6 Detention and Treatment of Persons by Police Officers: PACE Code C: syllabus scope
Custody authority, records, detainee rights and care, detention limits and reviews, charging, disposal, searches, vulnerability, fitness and interpretation.
Custody authority
Identify the custody officer or designated person's function and the lawful basis, location and record for police detention.
Rights and welfare
Protect notification, legal advice, communication, interpretation, property, healthcare, observation and vulnerable-person safeguards.
Time, review and disposal
Track detention clocks, reviews and extensions before applying charging, bail, caution or release procedure.
2.6 Detention and Treatment of Persons by Police Officers: PACE Code C: examination boundary
Use the rule and procedure stated in the prescribed 2026 manual and any expressly notified College update; do not silently substitute an earlier edition or later live-law change.
Checkpoint rule
Do the check-up only after you can summarize each concept in one sentence and identify one dangerous pitfall from memory.
Knowledge Check (after reading)
Short check-up to confirm understanding of this module.
Check-up Questions
At a station, the custody officer has insufficient evidence to charge but reasonable grounds to believe detention is necessary to secure evidence by questioning. What may the custody officer do?
Why must the custody record state the reasons for authorising detention?
On arrival in custody, D asks what rights apply. What should D receive promptly?
D was arrested hours before arrival at the station. Why must the custody officer identify the 'relevant time' rather than simply start the clock on arrival?
Without extension or warrant, what is the ordinary maximum pre-charge detention period under PACE?
Answer all questions to submit.
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