Guidance

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

(PACE) codes of practice
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 codes of
practice regulate police powers and protect public rights.

Overview
This page covers the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE)
and the accompanying PACE codes of practice, which establish the
powers of the police to combat crimes while protecting the rights of the
public.

PACE codes of practice
PACE sets out to strike the right balance between the powers of the
police and the rights and freedoms of the public. Maintaining that
balance is a central element of PACE.

The PACE codes of practice cover:

 stop and search

 arrest
 detention
 investigation
 identification
 interviewing detainees
Current versions of the codes

Code Subjects covered

Code A 2015 Exercise by police officers of statutory powers to search

a person or a vehicle without first making an arrest and
the need for a police officer to make a record of a stop or
encounter

Code B 2013 Police powers to search premises and to seize and retain

property found on premises and persons

Code C 2019 Requirements for the detention, treatment and

questioning of suspects not related to terrorism in police
custody by police officers. Includes the requirement to
explain a person’s rights while detained and the
requirement to explain the rights of a person who has not
been arrested that apply to a voluntary interview.

Code D 2017 Main methods used by the police to identify people in

connection with the investigation of offences and the
keeping of accurate and reliable criminal records
Code Subjects covered

Code E 2018 Audio recording of interviews with suspects in the police

station

Code F 2018 Visual recording with sound of interviews with suspects -

there is no statutory requirement on police officers to
visually record interviews, but the contents of this code
should be considered if an interviewing officer decides to
make a visual recording with sound of an interview with a
suspect

Code G 201 Powers of arrest under section 24 the Police and

2 Criminal Evidence Act 1984 as amended by section 110
of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005

Code H 2019 requirements for the detention, treatment and questioning

of suspects related to terrorism in police custody by
police officers. Includes the requirement to explain a
person’s rights while detained in connection with
terrorism
The latest version of the College of Policing Authorised Professional
Practice on detention and custody is published on the College of Policing
website under Authorised Professional Practice in the detention and
custody section

Previous versions
Previous versions of the codes are shown below, by the date they came
into force.

Code 1 Jan 7 Mar 11 27 Oct      

A 09 13

Code 1 Feb 7 Mar 11        

B 08

Code 1 Feb 10 Jul 12 27 Oct 2 Jun 23 Feb 31 July

C 08 13 14 17 2018

Code 1 Feb 7 Mar 11        

D 08

Code 30 Apr 23 Oct 2 Feb      

E 10 2013 16

Code 30 Apr 26 Oct 13        

F 10

Code 1 Jan          
G 06

Code 25 Jul 10 Jul 12 27 Oct 2 Jun 23 Feb 31 July

H 06 13 14 17 2018

Consultations
You can also read previous consultations which contributed to the
development of revised codes.