What is Custody in Police?
Custody, in the context of the police, refers to a situation where an individual is lawfully detained by authorized personnel, typically police officers, for a period of time. This can involve detention in a police station, vehicle, or another secured area. In essence, custody is the right to control and hold the person, restricting their ability to leave or flee from the scene.
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The Purpose of Custody in Police
To Maintain Order: Custody is an important aspect of maintaining order in a society. By exercising their authority, police can investigate crimes, apprehend suspects, and ensure community safety.
To Hold a Person for Questioning: Custody provides law enforcement with the ability to interrogate individuals and collect vital information related to investigations. This can involve in-depth questioning, the conducting of forensic tests, or obtaining statements.
For Court Purposes: In custody, individuals are brought into the legal system and provided a fair trial, wherein the court determines the defendant’s guilt or innocence based on evidence presented.
How Custody Works:
- Types of Custody: There are various types of custody in the police, including:
- Detention: a more severe form of custody used in situations where there’s an immediate threat to society.
- Arrest: a more severe legal proceeding where an individual’s liberty is restricted for questioning and investigation.
- Restructive Custody: a less severe variant typically for vulnerable people who, despite being detained, aren’t under immediate arrest due to their condition (example: a mentally challenged suspect unable to comprehend the consequences) and will be released when treated for their condition.
Legal Grounds for Custody in the United States
The 1974 Supreme Court Ruling:
- In U.S. v. Gonzales, the court unanimously declared that police may require people to remain at an inspection station for the minimum period necessary to achieve this inspection, as long as this period is not indefinitely extended.
Exceedingly Brief Detention Ordinances (EBD’s):
- Implemented to address concerns around unnecessary, lengthy detentions;
- Allow for temporary investigations into suspicious activities;
Key differences between EBD and routine detention:
- Longer allowed detention time: normally a few hours compared to standard detention (e.g., 15 minutes during the initial stop)
What must be considered in exceptional situations:
- Potential witness interviews
- Conductance of forensic tests
Common instances where EBD policies have been applied include airport or border control inspections.
Custody Challenges
- Pre-Frisk Searches: Custodial searches, carried out on individuals before questioning in various situations, require scrutiny; courts have strict safeguards.
- Duration-of-Detention Laws:** Some jurisdictions regulate detained durations, ensuring prompt inquiries begin.
- Probable Cause: Justifiably, courts weigh information about the suspect against all of the circumstances leading law enforcement to believe an action to be criminal (mischief, disturbance et cetera), assessing it as "satisfying" or not ("the totality of [known] circumstances")
Issues and Concerns surrounding Custody in the Police
- Racial Proportionality: Detaining more people of a race and ethnicity than other backgrounds leads to concerns around impartial enforcement.
- Coercive Interrogations: Custody and forced interviews can lead to untrue testimony, as subjects respond based on fear.
- We should be aware that confessions are not evidence – if the suspect recant!
Best Practices: Some jurisdictions have developed standard guidelines for custody situations,
- Training officers around interviewing techniques
- Use clear, concise, neutral questioning
- Be thorough while avoiding leading or inappropriately suggestive information and consider consulting lawyers
Custody plays an integral role in policing’s broader mission to keep crime in check and serve people through fair, accountable authority, while addressing public mistrust and ensuring law-and-order balance. Transparency by all parties involved – like governments, law enforcement offices and the public at heart of this delicate issue—remind each other of its impact, and the role responsibility within it‘.
Data is crucial in helping with that transparency</b:
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