90-day detention debate

25 July 2007

Jan Berry, Chairman, Police Federation of England and Wales:

“The safety and protection of the public must remain our first priority, balancing the need for such protection with the very real threat posed by this new breed of terrorist who have no regard for human life and seek to cause maximum devastation. Police officers need the powers to ensure this threat is minimised and suspects can be detained whilst evidence is gathered”. 

“The complexity and global nature of terrorism today requires us to keep under constant review such measures.  Given the complexity, it is impossible to be precise about with the length of time needed for pre-charge detention, but recognise that open-ended detention without charge is equally unacceptable”. 

“In our opinion 28 days pre-charge detention is too short. In light of announcements made by the Prime Minister and other leading politicians and opinion formers today, we will review the feasibility of using alternative legislation to provide and maintain that fine balance between safety and security”.

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