Summary Arrest for Arrestable Offences

PACE uses the phrase ‘summary arrest’ to mean arrest without a warrant and lists the arrestable offences for which the police can arrest without a warrant. The following are arrestable offences:

Offences for which the sentence is fixed by law, including murder - life imprisonment.
Offences carrying a maximum sentence of imprisonment for five years or more - these include serious offences of violence and dishonesty, but also some relatively minor offences such as shoplifting.
Offences listed in Schedule 1A of PACE, which carry sentences that are, or can be (for example, if tried summarily), less than five years imprisonment. The list is added to from time to time and was most recently expanded by the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Examples include:

offences under Section 12 (1) Theft Act 1968 (taking a motor vehicle without consent)
offences under Section 3 Theft Act 1978 (making off without payment)
offences under Section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1978 (indecent photographs of children)
the offence of possession of cannabis or cannabis resin under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971

This power of arrest may be carried out by either a police officer or any other person performing a citizen's arrest against:

Anyone actually committing, or whom he or she reasonably suspects to be committing an arrestable offence.
Where an arrestable offence has been committed, anyone who is guilty or whom he or she reasonably suspects to be guilty of the offence.

A police officer may arrest in the same circumstances as any person, and may also arrest:

Anyone whom he or she reasonably suspects to be about to commit an arrestable offence.
Where he or she reasonably suspects an arrestable offence has been committed.

‘ Reasonable suspicion’ means that the person making the arrest must actually have suspicion and also that the suspicion is on reasonable grounds. If the arresting person is acting on instructions he or she must have enough information to believe there are reasonable grounds for suspicion. This will always be a question of fact in the particular circumstances. It could be, for instance, that knowledge that the arrested person had an opportunity to commit the offence is reasonable grounds for suspicion.

Serious Arrestable Offences

There is a further concept in PACE described as the ‘serious arrestable offence’. The definition of a serious arrestable offence does not affect the powers of arrest. However, where the offence is a serious arrestable offence, the more draconian powers under PACE relating to the detention of a subject can be invoked, such as detention without charge for up to 96 hours, denial of access to a solicitor and delaying notification of detention to a friend for up to 36 hours, the authorisation of road checks, and so on.

The following are included in the list of serious arrestable offences:

Treason, murder, manslaughter, rape, kidnapping, incest or intercourse with a girl under 13, buggery with a boy under 16, indecent assault constituting gross indecency, causing an explosion likely to endanger life or property, certain offences under the Firearms Act 1968, causing death by dangerous driving, hostage taking, torture and many drug-related offences, ship hijacking and Channel Tunnel train hijacking, taking indecent photographs of children, publication of obscene matter.
Any other arrestable offence if its commission has led or is intended to, is likely or threatened to lead to any of the following consequences: serious harm to the security of the State or to public order, serious interference with the administration of justice or with the investigation of offences, the death or serious injury - including disease and impairment - of any person, or a substantial financial gain or serious financial loss to any person.

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