FAQs

No. If you are arrested, police can take your fingerprints without your consent.  

Yes. Following arrest, police are permitted to take a DNA sample (for example, from a hair root) without your permission.  

A warrant is an order, usually issued by a court or the police, authorising an arrest or a search of premises. It is commonly issued if a defendant fails to attend court.  

The police have the power to enter your premises to affect an arrest and, in doing so, to search the house for evidence relating to the investigation in question. Once under arrest and detained, the police can search the house, on the authority of an officer of at least an inspector's rank, for evidence relating to the current or other offences.

Generally up to 24 hours before charge. A superintendent can extend this to 36 hours, and a court can authorise further extensions up to a maximum of 96 hours before charge.

Police may release a suspect on bail (before or after charge) while enquiries continue or until a court date. Conditions can be imposed, such as living at a set address, avoiding certain people/places, or reporting to a police station. Breaching conditions, re-offending, interfering with witnesses, or failing to attend can lead to custody.  

Actual Bodily Harm relates to injuries more than ‘trifling’ but not the most serious, e.g., injuries needing stitches or a minor procedure. The maximum prison sentence is 5 years.

Grievous Bodily Harm covers really serious injuries (e.g., permanent disability or broken limbs). The maximum sentence is 5 years, but if GBH is intentional, it can carry life imprisonment.