The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 transformed criminal justice. Writing in NLJ this week, Ed Cape of UWE and Matthew Hardcastle and Sandra Paul of Kingsley Napley trace its ‘seismic impact’
PACE introduced custody officers, codes of practice and a robust right to legal advice, replacing an era when only one in 100 suspects received advice before interview.
Yet over time, amendments have largely expanded police powers while suspects’ protections have ‘been minimal’. With legal aid squeezed and custody culture shifting, the authors question whether PACE’s protective promise is fading.
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