Report and Recommendations - Scottish Government

ensure that reasonable lines of enquiry are pursued. This much is relativelyclear and there is no need to define the purpose of questioning in legislation.6.2.43 In these circumstances there should be no requirement for the initial policeinvestigation, including the questioning of a suspect, to cease once there is abare sufficiency of evidence entitling the police to charge the suspect. Itshould rather be focussed on obtaining as much evidence as is reasonablypossible at this preliminary stage, including any explanations which a suspectmay be willing to advance.Cessation of questioning6.2.44 The nature of police questioning ought to be sufficiently regulated by theoverall test of Article 6 fairness. The Review is conscious that there areoccasions when, at the beginning of an interview, a suspect may state thathe/she is not going to respond to any police questions. However, after a fewquestions, the suspect appears to change his/her mind and begins to talk. TheReview does not regard this as automatically unfair or that there shouldtherefore be a rule that an early indication of reluctance to answer should beacknowledged and no further questions should follow. Whether the actionstaken by the police amount to an infringement of the suspect’s right of silenceor the privilege against self incrimination will depend upon the circumstancesof each case as gauged primarily by the judge at first instance. Obviously, ifthe police choose to continue questioning in the face of a repeated refusal toanswer, the potential for unfairness becomes more acute.190