Early Dawn

When Operation Early Dawn was instigated at short notice many Criminal Defence Solicitors were concerned that if a client, charged at the police station and refused bail, could not be brought before the next sitting of the Magistrates Court then continued detention would be unlawful.

It appears that our concerns are shared by the Police Federation of England and Wales who have, unusually, written an open letter that is linked from here.

They express their anxiety that their members might be open to civil and even criminal liability for wrongful detention in breach of S46 PACE.

Members may want to keep this letter and these concerns handy in the event that any such an ill-thought-out initiative is re-introduced in the future.

This is a link to the open letter on the Police Federation website section-46-pace_open-letter-to-npcc.pdf (polfed.org)