Report and Recommendations - Scottish Government

appropriate ground for both arrest and detention. “Reasonable suspicion” isthe standard currently required to detain a suspect in Scotland and it is,therefore, a threshold with which the police and other law enforcementagencies are familiar, even if it is not sufficient, without more, to justify arrestat common law. It is therefore proposed that this standard is adopted as theuniform ground for arrest.5.1.32 It is not sufficient justification for the continued detention of a suspect thatthere is a reasonable suspicion that he/she has committed a crime. When thesuspect is brought to the police station, a decision ought to be taken onwhether he/she should be detained in custody. That decision should be basedon whether, notwithstanding that there is reasonable suspicion, it is necessaryand proportionate for that detention to be authorised. If the suspect canreasonably be brought before the court without resort to the continueddeprivation of the suspect’s liberty, then detention ought not to be authorised.There are two broad grounds where it would be reasonable not to release asuspect prior to his/her court appearance. These are: (i) where the suspect is,if released, likely to behave incompatibly with the due administration ofjustice; and (ii) where his/her presence is reasonably required to enable thecrime to be properly investigated, for example by means of questioning or bythe taking of samples in line with the decisions in Brogan and Murray.Examples of the former category include the risk of escape, prospective failureto appear at an appointed court diet, the likelihood of committing furthercrimes and the possibility that the suspect may destroy evidence, interfere withwitnesses or otherwise obstruct the course of justice.91