Who Can Read A Simple Caution To Someone Committing An Offence?

[Iggle Piggle]

Does it have to be a Government officer (Police, Trading Standards etc.) or can anyone read a simple caution?
thanks legal Dudes.

[Buenchico]

See Section 79:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416068/cautions-guidance-2015.pdf
Although 'other suitability trained person to whom this responsibility has been delegated' seems to allow for the possibility of someone other than a police officer to administer a simple caution, the rest of the text of the document (such as the requirement for the person administering the caution to update the Police National Computer to record the caution) effectively means that a police office must do the job.

The foregoing paragraph should not be confused with cautioning a possible offender before asking them any questions where their answers could be used in a court of law. Anyone can do that, including (for example) RSPCA workers and those checking on whether shops and businesses hold a licence for playing music in public.

[Peter Pedant]

I think it means before taking a statement BC
this is a good read:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/488522/Witness_stat_v3.0_EXT_clean.pdf

page 11

If you have reason to suspect a person may have committed the offence before you take the
witness statement, you must not treat them as a witness and must interview them under
caution.
If a witness becomes a potential suspect in the course of you taking a witness statement you
must stop and offer to interview under caution.

say for housing benefit fraud
the usual starting place is the men from the ministry ( civil service )
and then perhaps the police
and I would be loath to suggest that the only statements that can be used are those from the police .....

[Buenchico]

>>> I think it means before taking a statement BC

Quite possibly, PP, but 'a simple caution' is the new name for what used to be called 'a formal caution' or 'a police caution', so I took the question to be referring to that (while still allowing for the alternative possibility with my second paragraph).

[Iggle Piggle]

Yeah Buenchico, the simple caution I'm waffling on about is the one "you do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence... NOT the arrest caution which is slightly different.

[Hypognosis]

@Iggle Piggle

In what way? Are the TV shows all getting it wrong (by using the exact words you just did)?

[Peter Pedant]

well HSE can do it

http://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/enforcementguide/investigation/witness-questioning.htm#P5_1248

but you may have known that

[Buenchico]

If you run your car into the back of mine and I reach for my mobile phone to record what you've got to say about it, I'm perfectly at liberty to warn you that anything you might say could be used in court at a later date but I'm not obliged to say so.

Similarly, RSPCA inspectors, on-train revenue staff, etc, etc, are allowed to caution people (and are probably obliged by their employers to do so in relevant circumstances) but there's no statutory requirement for them to always caution the people that they interact with.

It's only the police who MUST caution people by law. [Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, as amended, and statutory codes thereto].

[baza]

Although qualified ( pace trained ) as a revenue protection inspector my employers advised that they would prefer, if possible, to get a police officer to issue a caution.

[Hypognosis]

What about Citizen's Arrest situation? It got mentioned on The One Show, a few days ago but nothing was said about cautions. On the other hand they were only recommending interventions in certain circumstances: not worth it for littering and other trivial offences, worth it if it's a high street robbery but most of us, these days, would assume an armed/vicious perpetrator and leave it to the professionals.

[Buenchico]

^^^ 'Citizen's arrest' powers only apply to indictable offences.
https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q508.htm

[Hypognosis]

Thanks, Buen

But it only says: -
"There is no specific wording to use when making a citizens arrest. However you must inform the person you are arresting as soon as possible what you are doing, why you are doing it and what offence you believe the person has committed."

Nothing about cautioning them, as in Police arrest.

Basically the Police are being held to a higher standard thanks to unfortunate practices in the past (not necessarily in this country but legal practices are transmissable across borders… ahem!).

[hc4361]

This is the caution the police use when making an arrest in the UK:

You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something which you rely on in court. Anything you do say can be given in evidence.

[hc4361]

If you don't tell the person the reasons you are making a citizens' arrest you could be liable for offences such as false imprisonment.

[Peter Pedant]

// If you don't tell the person the reasons you are making a citizens' arrest you could be liable for offences such as false imprisonment.//

and even then you could be, if the offence that you are citizenly arresting them for has not taken place ( even if you honestly believe it has )

but back to PACE cautions - the rules also mention "designated officers"
Is there a policeman on this thread ?

[Orderlimit]

PACE Codes of Practice - CODE D

2.19 In this Code:

(a) ‘designated person’ means a person other than a police officer, designated under the Police Reform Act 2002, Part 4, who has specified powers and duties of police officers conferred or imposed on them;

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/30/part/4/chapter/1

[Peter Pedant]

thx I found some of them
but Code D is about questioning stat powers to identify people ....

[ and in reading them I did kinda lose the will to live ]

[thugulike]

Mr Thug was a Census Officer and I was his assistant some years ago and he had to read someone their rights for non-compliance. He started to read them and I had to stop him as he wasn't reading them to the first named person on the form. Then he started again. The person was whitefaced. I'll never forget it.