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'Retail jails' ease police burden | 'Retail jails' ease police burden |
(about 7 hours later) | |
Jail cells could be set up in high streets and shopping centres to detain suspects for short periods, under Home Office plans to increase police powers. | Jail cells could be set up in high streets and shopping centres to detain suspects for short periods, under Home Office plans to increase police powers. |
At present suspects must be taken to a police station. | At present suspects must be taken to a police station. |
Officers could also be given greater powers to take fingerprint or DNA evidence from anyone they suspect of committing an offence. | Officers could also be given greater powers to take fingerprint or DNA evidence from anyone they suspect of committing an offence. |
Civil rights campaigners said the ideas replaced the best traditions of English law with a presumption of guilt. | Civil rights campaigners said the ideas replaced the best traditions of English law with a presumption of guilt. |
Responding to newspaper headlines about "Tesco jails", a spokesman for the supermarket said it already used security guards and CCTV to cut down on theft and was not considering the use of cells in its stores. | |
"It's nonsense to suggest that there are going to be any Tesco jails," said the spokesman. | |
Asda said that under its "zero tolerance" approach towards shoplifters and thieves, offenders could be stopped by security guards or identified at a later date from CCTV footage. | |
Shoplifters | Shoplifters |
The British Retail Consortium said: "Where there is additional space in shopping centres and where shops are willing to work with the police, it's a positive move towards tackling the 10 million or so shoplifting offences each year." | |
Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, if a suspect refuses to give their name, they must be taken to a police station to be interviewed. | |
But a Home Office consultation document, Modernising Police Powers, argues that this wastes time and takes officers off the streets. | But a Home Office consultation document, Modernising Police Powers, argues that this wastes time and takes officers off the streets. |
To speed up the process, the document suggests creating a network of "short-term holding facilities" in shopping centres and town centres to hold suspects for up to four hours. | To speed up the process, the document suggests creating a network of "short-term holding facilities" in shopping centres and town centres to hold suspects for up to four hours. |
The plan is aims to help the police deal more quickly with petty offenders like shoplifters. | The plan is aims to help the police deal more quickly with petty offenders like shoplifters. |
Fingerprints | |
"Persons would be subject to detention to a maximum period of four hours to enable fingerprinting, photographing and DNA sampling. | "Persons would be subject to detention to a maximum period of four hours to enable fingerprinting, photographing and DNA sampling. |
"The aim would be to locate the short-term holding facility in busy areas to allow quick access and processing of suspects to enable the officer to resume operational duties as quickly as possible," the document says. | "The aim would be to locate the short-term holding facility in busy areas to allow quick access and processing of suspects to enable the officer to resume operational duties as quickly as possible," the document says. |
The Selfridges store, in Oxford Street, London, said it had had discussions with the Metropolitan Police about "retail jails" but had "no update at this time". | |
The consultation document also contains proposals to allow the police to take fingerprint and DNA evidence from people accused of crimes which do not carry a prison sentence. | The consultation document also contains proposals to allow the police to take fingerprint and DNA evidence from people accused of crimes which do not carry a prison sentence. |
At present these kind of samples can only be taken when the crime carries a prison term. | At present these kind of samples can only be taken when the crime carries a prison term. |
The civil rights group Liberty accused the government of replacing the best traditions of English law with "a chilling presumption of guilt". |
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